Security and Equality for Sustainable Futures: World Social Science Forum 2018

The World Social Science Forum (WSSF) 2018 will be organized around the theme of Security and Equality for Sustainable Futures. The Forum will be hosted by Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. This marks the first time that the WSSF will take place in Asia.

Over the course of four days, discussion at the Forum will explore how current concerns about security relate to equality and sustainability. The Forum is expected to convene around 1,000 researchers and stakeholders from all over the world, who will identify critical research priorities on security, as well as data and knowledge gaps, globally and in specific regions. Discussions at the Forum will be arranged around the following sub-themes:

• Sustainability and security;
• Cybersecurity, cyberattacks, hybrid warfare;
• Human security;
• Security and the 2030 Agenda;
• Globalization, diversity, and cultures of belonging;
• Development and inclusion in urban and rural areas;
• Gender equality and security;
• Health, safety and biosecurity; and
• Freedom, democracy and security.

“In a globalising and increasingly complex world, threats to security and equality for sustainable futures are transnational and transcend the boundaries of disciplinary research,” says Alberto Martinelli, President of the ISSC. “Understanding them, and responding effectively, requires diverse knowledge from across the scientific disciplines, and from around the world. As the International Social Science Council enters a new period in its history, in the context of a potential merger with the International Council for Science, the 2018 World Social Science Forum in Fukuoka will be a timely opportunity to bring together leading social scientists and other stakeholders to advance thinking on this crucial topic.”

The tri-annual World Social Science Forum is a flagship activity of the ISSC. The WSS Forum gather researchers, funders, policymakers and other stakeholders from all over the world to discuss important societal challenges, take stock of social science contributions and capacities, and make recommendations for future research, practice and policy. The 4th World Social Science Forum will take place in Asia for the first time.

The ISSC is an independent non-governmental organization established by UNESCO in 1952. It is the primary body representing the social, economic and behavioural sciences at an international level. Its mission is to strengthen social science to help solve global priority problems. Through its members and programs, the ISSC reaches hundreds of thousands of individual social scientists working across a wide range of disciplines and representing all parts of the world. The ISSC is a member organization of the Future Earth Governing Council.

Adapted from the website of the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and the website of the World Social Science Forum 2018.