Executive Committee

Letter to ISA members

Dear ISA Members,

Since Alberto Martinelli sent his first “Letter to ISA Members” in 1998, ISA presidents’ letters have offered an opportunity to share updates on the life of our association and reflections on the challenges and transformations shaping global sociology. During the first two years of my mandate, ISA social media and articles in our magazine Global Dialogue have become our primary channels of communication. We have gathered these articles, along with my addresses at ISA events and interviews on global sociology in a rapidly changing world, on the newly reactivated "Presidential Corner" on the ISA website. These letters to ISA members provide an opportunity to focus on the life of our association.
In the first letter of my mandate, I have chosen to feature seven topics:

1. The declaration “A Time for Sociology”
2. The recent 5th ISA Forum of Sociology
3. The ISA’s digital infrastructure, member portal, and social media
4. ISA Charter and Task Force on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
5. ISA’s stances on the genocide in Gaza and the suspension of the Israeli Sociological Society
6. Participation in National Congresses of Sociology and Research Network Conferences
7. The ISA team

1. Declaration “A Time for Sociology”
The declaration A Time for Sociology was presented at the opening ceremony for the ISA Forum. It has already been endorsed by over 1,000 sociologists from all continents and is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Armenian, and Russian. It will soon be published in a series of journals, including International Sociology, Revista Mexicana de Sociología and Revue du MAUSS.
In a context marked by political attacks on science, threats to academic freedom, the spread of disinformation, hate speech, environmental denialism, and growing repression of dissent, the declaration reaffirms sociology’s core values and its essential role in addressing global crises. We call for a sociology that is rigorous, fact-based, and resistant to simplistic narratives; independent, challenging the falsehoods of the powerful; critical, exposing inequalities, market dogmas, and patriarchal norms; public, engaging in dialogue with those seeking social change; and global, learning from diverse contexts to foster shared humanity. Sociology and the social sciences are intrinsic to democracy and must be protected and promoted.
→ Read and endorse the declaration
→ Share it with your colleagues
→ Contact me if you want to publish it in your journal.

2. ISA Forum of Sociology in Rabat
In July, the 5th ISA Forum of Sociology brought together 4,800 sociologists and social science researchers from over 100 countries in Rabat, Morocco. The high quality of the presentations, the convivial atmosphere, and the warm welcome by our Moroccan hosts made it an unforgettable event. Beyond the scale and quality of the event, our main collective achievement was to demonstrate that, even in this time of rising intolerance, sociologists from all continents can share our research and perspectives, including on the most sensitive topics. We learned from one another, and the diversity of insights enriched our analyses. When disagreements arose, we addressed them constructively. This is no small achievement. This is the foundation of global sociology and the raison d’être of the ISA.
Warmest thank you and congratulations on an excellent event to Allison Loconto, ISA Vice-President for Research and President of this Forum; our Executive Secretary, Cecilia Delgado-Molina, Zouhair El Hairan, our 2025 Forum Liaison Coordinator, and the entire ISA team; the Local Organising Committee, chaired by Abdelfattah Ezzine; the University Mohamed V and the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Abdelattif Kidai; the fantastic volunteers who became the faces of this Forum; and the presidents and programme coordinators of our RCs, WGs, and TGs.
The Forum was preceded by an insightful ISA PhD Laboratory, that gathered 15 young researchers from all continents. It was organized by Elina Oinas, with the support of Michael Okyerefo, Nazanin Shahrokni, and Dan Woodman.
→ Check the Forum participants’ statistics.
→ Watch the photos and videos of the Forum.
→ My opening address, "A Time for Sociology", text/video
→ My closing remark, "Sharing research in an increasingly intolerant world", text/video

3. Digital ISA, Member Portal & Social Media
Modernising ISA’s digital infrastructure is one of the pillars of my presidency. Over the past two years, under the leadership of Cecilia Delgado-Molina, the ISA team has brought a series of innovations and improvements to our online presence that respond to the ISA’s unique structure and the needs of our global community and will improve the services we can offer you as an ISA member.
A milestone has been the launch of the new ISA Member Portal. I hope you have found it both functional and easy to use. The portal offers much more than a new and improved payment system. It opens access to the latest issue of Global Dialogue in your language, our journals and the SAGE Sociology Collection, webinars organised by the Research Council, and updates from your RCs, WGs, and TGs. In the coming weeks, the Secretariat will invite you to update your profile for the new Public Member Directory, to help make our vibrant community more visible and better connected.
ISA social media has become the main channel of communication and information about the ISA, its publications, and its events, both among ISA members and with a broader community of global sociologists. Our Communications Officer, Anna-Maria Kutateladze, has developed social media manuals, created a mailing list, and new tools for RC/WG/TG and National Associations' communication managers. We have also launched new social media campaigns, among them the #ResearchNetNews campaign, which provides a regular digest of newsletters from ISA Research Networks.
→Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram & BlueSky.

4. ISA Charter and Task Force on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
The ISA Executive Committee has been working over the past few years to establish a Charter of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the final version of which was approved by the EC last March in Johannesburg. We have, furthermore, established a Task Force on EDI, including representatives from the National Associations, the RCC, and the Executive Committee, to oversee the implementation of the Charter. The work of this Task Force will begin this September. If anyone would like to learn more, or would like to share ideas or concerns about equity, diversity and inclusion in the ISA, please contact the chair of the Task Force, Debra Davidson (debra.davidson@ualberta.ca).

5. ISA Stances on the Genocide in Gaza and the Suspension of the Israeli Sociological Society
The ISA has issued three public statements condemning the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Following requests from a number of National Associations and RCs, and given the increasingly unbearable situation in Gaza, the ISA Executive Committee decided to temporarily suspend the collective membership of the Israeli Sociological Society (ISS), which has not taken a clear stance condemning the situation in Gaza.

I want to share the following considerations regarding the ISA's decision to suspend the ISS:

• This was a complex and sensitive decision, taken after consultations with colleagues from all perspectives, including the ISS leadership, members of the network Global Sociologists for Palestine, and leaders of the Forum Boycott Campaigns..
• Our priority has been to maintain a space for individual sociologists from all countries to participate fully in the ISA Forum and in other ISA and RC/WG/TG activities.
• We do not reduce individuals to their nationality and are aware that many Israeli colleagues have mobilised against their government's inhumane policies. Israeli sociologists remain welcome in the ISA as individual members.
• After the publication of this decision and the ISA Forum in Rabat, some NAs, RCs, and ISA members have expressed their support for the suspension, while others have expressed their disapproval. This is a legitimate debate and an important conversation among the ISA constituencies. Following the ISA rules and customs, we will continue to engage in dialogue and reassess the situation over time. The next stage of internal deliberation will take place in the National Association Liaison Committee, chaired by Bandana Purkayastha (VP for National Associations), which will consult widely and present proposals for discussion at the ISA Council of National Associations Conference in Pune, India, in December.
• Among the statements published in the weeks following the Forum, two are of particular significance.
  • Over 200 Israeli colleagues signed a statement denouncing crimes committed in Gaza and the West Bank, urging international pressure on the Israeli government, and calling for greater support for Palestinians. It should be noted that this statement has been endorsed by individual colleagues, and not by the Israeli Sociological Society.
  • The latest statement by the network Global Sociologists for Palestine (GS4P) has been endorsed by over 500 sociologists. It reasserts the responsibility to speak out “in a moment when entire communities are being annihilated in Palestine, and when universities, scholars, and civil society in Gaza are under direct and systematic attack”. It insists on the distinction between institutional and individual boycott. “Some have unfortunately mischaracterised this suspension as a silencing of critical voices within the Israeli academy. This is simply not the case.
• At ISA, our priority remains to call for an end to the genocide and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the state of Israel, and to provide solidarity and support to colleagues working under extremely difficult conditions in Palestine. We reaffirm the commitments of the Solidarity Statement with the Palestinian People, adopted by the Executive Committee on 13 May 2025.
  “The ISA calls for:
  1. An end to the genocide in Gaza and the escalating violence in the West Bank, and a complete end to Israel’s military occupation and all colonial practices in these territories, as well as in Lebanon and Syria.
  2. An end to the apartheid-like conditions faced by Palestinians with Israeli citizenship; the establishment of conditions that enable the return of Palestinian refugees, including ensuring a viable and dignified life upon return; and the urgent, unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid—such as food, healthcare, and water—which is currently being obstructed by Israel’s government.
  3. The protection of academic freedom and freedom of speech for all people, especially faculty and students who research, teach, and speak out against the Israeli government's violent practices, both within Israel and globally.”
• Solidarity must also translate into concrete actions and projects supporting Palestinian colleagues as teachers, students, and engaged sociologists.
• We also express solidarity with colleagues affected by other armed conflicts, across the globe, notably in Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and with those facing repression in many countries for practising sociology and speaking truth to power.

6. Participation in National Congresses of Sociology and Research Network Conferences
In the past two years, I attended the European (ESA, Porto, Aug. 2024) and Latin American (ALAS, Santo Domingo, Oct. 2024) Congresses of Sociology, the 2023 congress of the Asia-Pacific Sociological Association in Sydney and national congresses of sociology in Turkey (2023), Colombia (2023), Spain (2024), Japan (2024), Lithuania (2024), India (2024), and Brazil (2023 & 2025). I participated online in the congresses of the Philippine (2023), Uruguayan (2024), and Peruvian (2025) associations of sociology, and attended conferences and meetings organised by the Taiwanese (2024), South Korean (2024 and 2025), and Chinese (2025) associations of sociology. Everywhere, I encountered a vibrant sociology, grounded in local realities yet attuned to global dynamics, a sociology transformed by feminist and decolonial critiques, and enriched by epistemologies from the Global South and Global East.

In the remaining months of the year, I look forward to meeting some of you during the following NA or ISA Research network events:

• Alta Scuola Internazionale di Sociologia, coorganized by the Italian Association of Sociology, Rome, September 8-12, 2025.
• XIX Polish Congress of Sociology, Bialystok, September 16-19, 2025.
• ISA Council of National Associations Conference, Pune, India, December 17-21, 2025.
• Philippine Sociological Society Conference (online contribution), October 1-3, 2025.
• Third Congress of the International Network of Sociology of Sensibilities (RedISS) “Politics of Sensibilities and Poverty. Between criticism and utopias”, October 27-31, 2025 (Call for abstracts open until September 15, 2025).

7. The ISA Team
The ISA is fortunate to rely on a dedicated and professional team that has recently expanded:

• Cecilia Delgado-Molina, Executive Secretary
• Lola Busuttil, Publications Officer and Global Dialogue Coordinator
• Anna-Maria Kutateladze, Social Media Manager
• Nataly Moreno, Membership Officer, a role that includes leadership of the new member portal, the database and the website
• Priscilla Torres, Support Officer (since June)
• Elena Velcheva, Events Officer (since June)

Thank you to this team for their hard work.

I also thank our four Vice-Presidents, Allison Loconto (VP for Research and president of the 5th ISA Forum), Bandana Purkayastha (VP for National Associations, President of the Council of National Associations Conference), Marta Soler (VP for Publications) and Elina Oinas (VP for Finance & Membership, who organized the 2025 PhD Laboratory), as well as Ana Rivoir (chair of the Human Rights Committee), Debra Davidson (chair of the EDI task force), Aaron Pitluck (chair of the online symposium project) and the members of the ISA Executive Committee.

Geoffrey Pleyers,
geoffrey.pleyers@uclouvain.be
ISA President 2023-2027