In 2020, I extended my Chair’s welcome on behalf of the organising committee of the 52nd Conference of Irish Geographers… and in 2021 I have the somewhat dubious honour of doing so again.

 

The theme of the conference we planned last year was Geographies of Responsibility: Rethinking Boundaries and Borders in a Turbulent World. And 2020 has certainly brought some turbulence! It has also, at least temporarily, reshaped how our borders are made to work and are understood. At the same time, our strange year has laid bare our interconnectedness and responsibility towards each other. The political, ecological and social divisions that were at the forefront of our minds while planning the 2020 conference are still very much a feature of the world that we struggle to understand and to live in. But the past year has inflected these concerns with both a new urgency and nascent hopes.

 

In order to survive – and indeed to dream of flourishing – in the face of what is certainly to come, we must recognise our shared vulnerability before each other and our planet. Seeking to learn from the turbulence, vulnerabilities and indeed solidarities that the last year has revealed will be a crucial task. And to fight for the creation of a geography and a politics of responsibility, as well as an infrastructure and an ethics of care, will be an imperative.

 

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is our firm belief that geography – the ultimate synthesis discipline – is uniquely positioned to respond to these challenges.

 

So somewhat weary and beaten, but with the stirring desire for more than the more-of-the-same that we have for too long come to expect, we invite you all to submit sessions and papers that speak to our conference theme for 2021: Geographies of Responsibility: Rethinking Boundaries and Borders in a Turbulent World.

 

On behalf of all in Geography at Trinity College Dublin, we wish to extend a very warm and enthusiastic welcome to you all to the 52nd Conference of Irish Geographers. For this year’s conference, we are fully online. We look forward to experimenting with our traditional format while offering you all some unique experiences. Eyes front, thinking of the future.

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Cian O'Callaghan

Conference Chair

Email: info@conferenceofirishgeographers.ie

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Important dates:

Registration is open.

Friday 9th April - themed session submissions close.

Friday 30th April - abstract submissions and conference enrichment fund applications close.