Announcement of the First UIA Academic Forum Meeting, Lisbon, Portugal, and Call for Participants.
The Union of International Associations (UIA) has documented global civil society since 1907 as part of
its mandate as an independent, nonprofit institution working to promote international collaboration, peace,
security, and sustainability through information provision and networking. The current geopolitical context
increases the importance of the UIA’s activities while also throwing more challenges in the way. This first
UIA Academic Forum proposes to examine the future of international associations in this time of
uncertainty. We invite proposals for both research presentations on all aspects of the future prospects
and developments for international associations (using UIA resources and data or not) as well as
suggestions for Round Tables to discuss current activities and interventions that could be undertaken to
shore up the institutional and financial foundations of international associations now such that they have
a future moving forward.
This UIA Academic Forum meeting will occur on Monday 13 July, and Tuesday 14 July 2026, prior to the
International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) 17th International Conference in the same
location. Founded in 1992, the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) is a global
community of people dedicated to conducting, discussing, and advancing research about the Third
Sector broadly defined worldwide.
Participants can attend the UIA Academic Forum without joining ISTR or registering for the conference.
We encourage you to examine the ISTR Call for Contributions in case you would also like to participate in
this larger event. Anyone who wishes to participate in the ISTR conference will need to register. For more
information, see https://www.istr.org/page/ISTR2026.
Tentative Schedule
MONDAY 13 July 2026
1:15 Opening
2:15 Panel 1
3:15 Coffee break
3:30 Panel 2
4:45 Close
5:00 Reception
TUESDAY 14 July 2026
9:00 Panel 3
10:00 Coffee break
10:30 Closing Round Table
Submission Information
Brief paper proposals of 500 words for consideration for presentation at the UIA Academic Forum should
be submitted here https://forms.gle/VVksGcxsZkVM3e1R7 by 15 December. Abstracts should include a
working title, empirical or theoretical contribution, references to wider literature, argument, and primary
conclusions as well as relevance to the theme of the Academic Forum.
For any questions relating to the programme of his event, feel free to contact Elizabeth Bloodgood
(elizabeth.bloodgood@concordia.ca) and Daniel Laqua (daniel.laqua@northumbria.ac.uk).
For questions concerning UIA, contact the President, Cyril Ritchie (critchie485@gmail.com)
and/or go to https://uia.org/.
Timeline:
Deadline to submit to UIA Academic Forum: 15 December 2025
Select and notify speakers: 30 January 2026
Deadline for speakers to register: 28 February 2026