Instead of a preamble, we wish to address a triple “thank you very much”! A special thanks  to the Helsinki organisers, another to those of Rio de Janeiro and finally another to those in Malta! IIAS, IASIA and EGPA have just held three high-level conferences, each  organised differently and in the respective cultural spirit of each of these international organisations, but with a point in common – a perfect efficacy. To say that these events were managed in a masterly manner would be a euphemism! Among polite people it is, of course, current practice to thank and congratulate one’s host when leaving. Sometimes the words used during these occasions are slightly exaggerated and by courtesy express an acknowledgment that may be slightly greater than the services provided. Nothing of that in our propos!! We had a real pleasure working with the three organising committees mentioned above during the entire preparatory phase and even more so during the events themselves. Also, the locations chosen provided our numerous participants with an ideal meeting place for exchanges, thus contributing significantly to a relaxed and cordial atmosphere. The comments that we have received corroborate our observations, as the participants have unanimously acknowledged the success of the annual conferences. We will come back in greater detail to the conferences under specific headings in this « Newsletter ».

 

Traditionally statutory meetings are held during the conferences of the three entities of IIAS; this was done at the three locations in a serious and convivial manner. There were occasions when other meetings also took place simultaneously or prior to the annual conferences, notably the Braibant Lecture in Helsinki, during which a distinguished presentation was given by our esteemed friend Derry Ormond. But Helsinki was also the meeting place of TED and, especially, an historical event: the signing of an agreement with the Chinese Academy of Personnel Science which assures that henceforth the IRAS will be translated and published in Mandarin Chinese bi-annually including two numbers at each publication. We should like to express our sincere gratitude here to our Chinese friends for having made this ambitious project possible.

 

Summer is now well behind us and we are currently concentrating our efforts on other important projects of the Institute and its sub-entities: the Knowledge Portal, BABEL, the complete revision of the Institute’s Statutes, preparations to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Institute and the 35th Anniversary of EGPA, etc.

At this pace, Christmas will soon be here!.