WORLD ANTHROPOLOGIES: STRENGTHENING THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROFESSION

History was made in Recife, Brazil on the 11th June 2004 within the anthropological circles. There was a conference that had brought together 14 Presidents of national and international anthropological organizations to discuss and propose mechanisms for a much needed increase in international cooperation of the discipline of anthropology. It happened immediately before the 24th Biannual meeting of the Association of Brazilian Anthropologists (ABA) in Recife, Brazil, in June of 2004. A collective proposal for international cooperation was drafted, presented at the ABA meeting and disseminated worldwide through existing anthropological publications and networks.

The conference was organized by GUSTAVO LINS RIBEIRO, the current president of the Associations of Brazilian Anthropologists together with PAUL E. LITTLE an Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Brasilia and Aline Sapiezinskas who really made every participant to feel at home.

The conference was financially supported by THE WENNER-GREN FOUNDATION FOR ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH.

WORLD ANTHROPOLOGIES CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS

  1. Annie Benveniste – President of French Association of Anthropologists (France)

  2. Ajit K. Danda – President of Indian Anthropology Society (India)

  3. David Bogopa – President of Pan-African Anthropology Association (South Africa)

  4. Elizabeth Margareth Brumfiel – President of American Anthropological Association (United States)

  5. Gustavo Lins Ribeiro – President of Association of Brazilian Anthropologists (Brazil)

  6. Hendrik Christiaan Pauw – President of Anthropology Southern Africa Association (South Africa)

  7. James B. Waldram – President of Canadian Anthropology Society (Canada)

  8. Joal de Pina Cabral – President of European Association of Social Anthropologists (Portugal)

  9. Junji Koizumi – Chair of Committee for International Relations of the Japanese Society of Cultural Anthropology (Japan)

  10. Luis Alberto Vargas – President of International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (Mexico)

  11. Milka Castro Lucic – President of Latin-American Association of Anthropology – Latin American (Chile)

  12. Paul Elliott Little – Co-Organizer, University of Brasilia (Brazil)

  13. Richard Fardon – Chair of Association of Social Anthropology (United Kingdom)

  14. Thomas Anton Reuter – President of Australian Anthropological Society (Australia)

  15. Victoria Malkin – Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (United States)

  16. Yuri K. Chistov – President of Russian Association of Anthropologists and Ethnologists (Russia)

  17. Aline Sapiezinskas – Graduate Program in Anthropology, University of Brasilia


World Council of Anthropological Associations
Founding Agreement

Article 1. The World Council of Anthropological Associations (WCAA) is a network of national and international association that aims to promote worldwide communication and cooperation in anthropology.

Article 2. Its primary objectives are:

  • To promote the discipline of anthropology in an international context.

  • To promote cooperation and the sharing of information among world anthropologists

  • To promote jointly organized events of scientific debate and cooperation in research activities and dissemination of anthropological knowledge.

Article 3. Each member association will undertake to designate an International Delegate whose role will be to promote the sharing of information between the member associations. One of the International Delegates will take on the role of WCAA Facilitator for a period of one year on a rotational basis.

Article 4. Whenever appropriate, members of any of the WCAA associations will participate in the conferences of the other associations under the following terms:

  • If membership is required to attend the conference, this is waived for members of the other associations.

  • If members receive a discount on registration fees, that same discount is afforded to members of the other associations.

Article 5. The President (or equivalent) and/or an International Delegate of member associations will be welcome to the other members’ regular conferences waving or subsidizing registration fees.

Article 6. Member associations undertake to promote events aimed at showcasing the activities of other member associations in their regular conferences.

Article 7. A WCAA website will be instituted by agreement among the founding members. The WCAA Facilitator will create and maintain the information contained on the WCAA website.

Article 8. Members who have websites will

  • Prominently display their membership of the WCAA on their sites.

  • Undertake to create a link to the WCAA.

  • Whenever possible, create links to other associations’ sites.

Article 9. Members will encourage the debate of issues of relevance to anthropology and neighboring disciplines by such means as the organization of joint events (conferences, symposia, summer schools, etc.) by a number of member associations.

Article 10. The WCAA may produce joint statements on issues of common relevance to its member associations. These have to be approved by all responding Presidents within a reasonable period of time.

Article 11. Member associations will assist in the exchange of information about programs, researchers and research opportunities for students and researchers.

Article 12. Application for membership in the WCAA is open to all national and international associations of anthropology. Association who wish to join, do so in writing to the WCAA Facilitator describing their association and indicating that they subscribe to the terms of the present agreement. For a new member association to be accepted a positive vote is required from two thirds of the Presidents of member associations.

Article 13. After inquiry from the facilitator, an association’s membership of the WCAA will lapse at the end of a calendar year in which it fails to designate an International Delegate.

Article 14. Any amendments to the present agreement should be reached through a consensus of member associations and voted by at least two thirds of the Presidents of the member associations.

Article 15. The WCAA is not responsible or liable for any of the activities of member associations or of their respective members.