Ronald Inglehart’s lecture entitled “35 years of Cultural Change: What’s Next?" at the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Secretariat of International Political Science Association
Source: IPSA web-site
The International Political Science Association (IPSA) celebrated the 10th anniversary of the establishment of its permanent Secretariat in Montreal with its two main partners, Concordia University and Montreal International, as well as distinguished guests from the region and in the political science community.
The establishment of the IPSA Secretariat was considered as a great step forward for the development of political science in Montreal. The permanent Secretariat created a strong link between the global political science community and Montreal, which established Montreal as a center of expertise in political science. Moreover, due to IPSA’s efforts, Montreal hosted various international events in the last 10 years including International Political Science: New Theoretical and Regional Perspectives in 2008 and the 23rd IPSA World Congress of Political Science in 2014. The 10th anniversary celebration took place on March 30th at Concordia University. During the event, IPSA Executive Director Andrea Cestaro, Concordia’s Provost and Vice-President Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon, Liberal MP Marc Miller, IPSA Secretary General Prof. Guy Lachapelle, Past President of IPSA Prof. Max Kaase and IPSA President Prof. Aiji Tanaka gave speeches to highlight the important function IPSA plays in the field of political science.
In her address to attendees, IPSA Executive Director Andrea Cestaro thanked IPSA’s two main partners, Concordia University and Montreal International for their consistent support throughout IPSA’s history in Montreal.
In their speeches, Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon and Marc Miller both emphasized Concordia University and IPSA’s contribution to Montreal and the political science community in general.
IPSA Secretary General Prof. Guy Lachapelle looked back on the conditions that led to the permanent establishment of the Secretariat in Canada, as well as IPSA’s achievements in the last 10 years.
IPSA Past President Prof. Max Kaase referred back to how the idea for a permanent location for IPSA was realized under his presidency. Prof. Kaase mentioned that the plan to move from Dublin to Montreal was taken up as a challenge by Prof. Lachapelle. “What finally turned the scales in favour of Montreal” according to Mr. Kaase, was the the offer by Montreal International to support the Secretariat’s move financially for 5 years and engagement of Concordia University to help in the move.
The speeches were followed by Ronald Inglehart’s lecture entitled “35 years of Cultural Change: What’s Next? During his presentation, Dr. Inglehart focused on the findings of the World Value Survey and European Values Study that have been completed in six waves of surveys on all six inhabited continents, from 1981 to 2012. The upcoming survey will be undertaken in 2017, with Prof. Lachapelle leading the Canadian component of the study. What makes these surveys so essential, according to Dr. Inglehart is that they create a worldwide network of social scientists who try to gain a better understanding of how to cope with social change and cultural differences.
The event was followed by a cocktail reception which gathered prominent political scientists, representatives of the governments of Canada and Quebec and the City of Montreal, as well as consuls, members of international organizations and students.
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