Open Call for Organizing and Hosting the Bi-Annual WAU Congress

This is an open call for organizing and hosting the WAU Anthropology Congress. Proposals are welcome at any time, but the WAU Steering Committee prefers to receive them no later than 30 months in advance of the proposed congress dates. Please consult all details of this call for proposals and write to the WAU Steering Committee at org@waunet.org. Additionally, please send a copy to the current WAU Co-Chairs, Isaac Nyamongo (org@iuaes.org), IUAES President, and Clara Saraiva (org@wcaanet.org), WCAA Chair.

WAU values the participation of all anthropologists in the scholarly and professional activities of the WAU. Proposals will be prioritized based on demonstrated commitment to anthropology, intellectual quality, and adequate rotation of venues between continents (for previous Congress locations, please see below).

Beginning in 2025, WAU Congresses (previously known as IUAES Inter-Congresses) are to be held every two years. If a proposed conference only partially fulfills the conditions for a WAU Congress, the WAU Steering Committee may approve it as another type of meeting.

Host

WAU Congresses are hosted or organized by national/regional anthropology associations, universities, institutions, WCAA Task Forces, or IUAES Commissions. Any individual who is affiliated with a WCAA member association or a member of the IUAES is eligible to submit a proposal. However, if the proponent is an individual and not an organization / institution, they should be able to demonstrate in writing that they have institutional backing either through their association or another collaborating organization (e.g., including, but not limited to, a university department, research center, museum).

Proposal

All proposals must include a formal letter of proposal according to the guidelines provided below. Proposals will be carefully examined and assessed, and the WAU Steering Committee will contact proposers for any necessary clarification. Before approval, organizers will be expected to present their proposal to the WAU Steering Committee, either in person or online.

Previous IUAES Inter-Congresses

• Amsterdam, Netherlands (1981)
• Lisbon, Portugal (1990)
• Florence, Italy (1995)
• Linkoping, Sweden (1996)
• Perth, Australia (1997)
• Beijing, China (2000)
• Gottingen, Germany (2001)
• Tokyo, Japan (2002)
• Calcutta and Ranchi, India (2004)
• Pardubice, Czech Republic (2005)
• Cape Town, South Africa (2006)
• Antalya, Turkey (2010)
• Perth, Australia (2011)
• Bhubaneswar, India (2012)
• Chiba, Japan (2014)
• Bangkok, Thailand (2015)
• Dubrovnik, Croatia (2016)
• Ottawa, Canada (2017)
• Poznan, Poland (2019)
• Šibenik, Croatia (2020)
• Yucatán, Mexico (2021)
• New Delhi, India (2023) jointly with WAU

WAU Congresses

• Johannesburg, South Africa (2024)
• Antigua, Guatemala (2025)
• Lisbon, Portugal (2027)

 

WAU Review Process

• The IUAES EC and WCAA OC will complete a preliminary review of all proposals with respect to adequacy, completeness, and potential attractiveness within six weeks of receipt
• Questions and comments will be provided to the proponent upon completion of preliminary review
• A final proposal in response to questions and comments will be submitted to IUAES EC and WCAA OC within four weeks of receiving questions and comments.
• IUAES EC / WCAA OC will make a final decision within two weeks of final proposal receipt, so that such a decision can be announced at the Congress that will precede the proposed Congress.

Submission Guidelines

Please submit your proposal with information on the following items. There is no submission form. If inadequate information is provided, the WAU Steering Committee may not consider the proposal.

General Information

• Month and year of the proposed Congress.
• City and country

Proposed Organizing Committee Chair and Qualifications

• Names, titles/positions, and institutional affiliations of the responsible persons and the proposed Congress Organizing Committee Chair.
• Office address, phone number (with country code), WhatsApp contact, and email address for Organizing Committee Chair.
• Confirm that the Organizing Committee Chair is a member in good standing of a WCAA-affiliated organization or the IUAES
• Describe Proposed Organizing Committee Chair’s prior experience in scholarly event program organizing
• Demonstrate through written documentation the adequacy of Proposed Organizing Committee Chair’s institutional support

Proposed Scientific Committee

• Affirm support for WAU’s commitment to demonstrating geographic and specialty area diversity, and to working with a group that has at least eight persons, with an equal number designated by the Organizing Committee Chair and by WAU.
• Identify proposed committee members to be designated by the Organizing Committee, along with their affiliations
• Identify any additional individuals (and their affiliations) who have been invited to help with organizing local arrangements
• Identify supporting or cooperating anthropological associations or institutions, with evidence of support
• If proposed Committee members have not yet been identified, specify the date by which the Scientific Committee will be assembled.

Planning Timeline

Proposals for the next Congress must be received no later than six months prior to the date of the preceding WAU Congress to allow for appropriate planning. Proposal must include a timeline for:

• Proposed dates of the Congress
• Date by which a Scientific Program Committee will be assembled
• Website content upload
• Call for panels issued
• Call for papers issued
• Call for roundtables, workshops, and films issued
• Proposed abstracts for panels, papers and other events received, reviewed, approved
• Preliminary Program publication
• Early-Bird and Advanced Registration
• Program Schedule and abstracts publicly available (preliminary and final)

Proposed Program Theme and Events

• Theme
• Keynote(s) and other opening / closing ceremonies
• Plenaries
• IUAES General Assembly and WAU Constituency Meeting
• Other governance meetings (Council of Commissions, IUAES Commissions, WCAA Organizing Committee, IUAES Executive Committee, WAU Steering Committee)
• Scholarly panels (it is recommended that they be affiliated with IUAES Commissions or WCAA task forces)
• Roundtables
• Workshops
• Book launches and publisher exhibitions
• Film program
• Exhibitions: photograph, multimodal
• Other (please specify)

Host Facility Capacity and Technology Support

Please estimate the number of anticipated participants so that adequacy of facility capacity can be evaluated

• Anticipated number of in-person participants
• Virtual participation – please describe plans for hybrid meeting
• Number of simultaneous break-out rooms for in-person participation
• Technology support for virtual participation
• Plans for preserving recorded events
• Capacity and technology support for plenary event hall
• Accessibility accommodations for participants with disabilities
• Emergency preparedness planning and response
• Commitment to uphold WAU’s anti-harassment policy
• Plan for recruiting and training volunteers, with preference for anthropology students and anthropologists

 

International Transportation Access to Host Facility

• Please describe international air, train, and / or bus access
• Please note any special host country visa requirements for visitors, and whether residents / passport holders of any countries may be excluded from participation

Lodging and Ground Transportation Arrangements

• Please describe available lodging and ground transportation to/from Congress venue, including affordable accommodation for financially challenged participants

 

Plans for Registration and Publicity, including:

• Timeline for developing a marketing strategy, including logo design, contacting WCAA affiliates and IUAES Commissions, social media strategy, onsite signage
• Website content and social media content, including consistent WAU Congress hashtag
• Responsibilities of host organization and WAU for registration and publicity
• Statement of commitment that all Congress participants will be individual members of the IUAES, with a clearly articulated plan for collecting and remitting to WAU the membership fees, if such fees are collected by Congress organizer.
• If collected by the Congress organizer, all membership fees will be transferred to WAU no later than one month after the last day of the WAU Congress,

Financial Elements – please provide a preliminary budget, including:

• Projected Revenue
  • Congress Registration Fees, calibrated for global equity
  • Prospective Grant Support (e.g., Wenner-Gren Foundation or other philanthropic source to support financially challenged participants; this is the proponent’s responsibility)
  • Sponsorships (this is the proponent’s responsibility)
  • Ticketed special events
• Planned in-kind contributions
• Commitment to waive registration fees for the members of the IUAES EC and WCAA OC.
• Projected Expenditures
  • Facility Costs
  • Technology Costs
  • Financial Assistance for participants
• Proposed Cost / Revenue Sharing Arrangement with WAU – Statement about responsibility in case of financial loss or surplus. WAU will not be liable for any financial losses, and an MoU will be signed once the proposal is approved (a template MoU is available on the WAU website). For any surplus generated after all expenses are met, 50% will be retained by the Organizing Committee and 50% will be transferred to WAU no later than 90 days after the last day of the Congress.

If you have any questions or need further information, please write to the WAU Steering Committee at org@waunet.org.