Welcome

Dear colleagues,

We would like to invite you to the 9th International Conference on Social Representations which will take place in Bali, June 30th -July 5th, 2008, under the the theme 'Alternative Productions of Knowledge and Social Representations'.

This conference is an academic tradition aimed at developing the Social Representations Theory, formulated by Professor Serge Moscovici. The first meeting was held in Ravello, Italy, 1992. Held once in every two years since then, the meetings have moved from Ravello to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1994) ; Aix-en-Provence, France (1996) ; Mexico-City, Mexico (1998) ; Montreal, Canada (2000) ; Stirling, Scotland (2002) ; Guadalajara, Mexico (2004), and Rome, Italy (2006).

For their first eight meetings, the conference regularly took place alternatively in Europe and America, mostly in South America. This is because the theory has been blossoming most quickly on those two continents, from where it has to touch other disciplines and other in this part of the world. The Bali conference, then, will be the first to take place in Asia. With Indonesia as its host, Asia will be taking its first step towards becoming a region for the theory's further development in this region.

As with the earlier eight, this conference has managed to catch the attention of many academics, researchers and practitioners, not only from the sphere of social psychology, from which this theory has been articulated, but also from other fields such as sociology, anthropology, history, culture, communication etc which has been integrated into this approach at the theoretical, empirical, and application levels.

Professor Serge Moscovici himself, as the founder of this theory, will be present and deliver his speech in this 9th International Conference on Social Representations in Bali, along with other guest speakers.

Unlike what has been customary in the previous eight conferences, the 9th International Conference on Social Representations will be held between the end of June and early July 2008.

We have to admit that the Olympic Games, which will be held in China in August, has compelled the organizers to reconsider the usual schedule, which usually falls between the end of August and early September. September has not been chosen because early September will be fasting time in this country, the majority of whose population is Muslim.

The choice of Bali as the venue for next year's conference also has to do with the fact that the weather there would likely be at its best at that time of the year, with the cool winter breezes from Australia tempering the island's tropical climate.

Therefore, we would like to invite your contribution and participation in the conference, which will consist of symposiums, thematic group discussions, a round table meetings, interactive poster sessions, contributions, and also presentations by guest speakers who are well known in the development this theory.

One of the new traditions that we will introduce in this upcoming 9th International Conference on Social Representation is the Scientific Competition for Young Researchers. The Scientific Committee will select three young researchers and invite them to present their work in a special session in this conference. Hopefully, this new event will mark the participation of young researchers in international forums, which enable their work to stand at a level that is equal to that of their predecessors.

See you in Bali.

Denise Jodelet
(Honorary President)

Risa Permanadeli
(Chairperson of The Conference)