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International Sociological Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences. The ISA was founded in 1949 under UNESCO and currently its members come from 109 countries.

Its mission is to "represent sociologists everywhere, regardless of their school of thought, scientific approaches or ideological opinion, and to advance sociological knowledge throughout the world."

The ISA is a member of the International Social Science Council with the status of the Non-Governmental Organization in formal associate relations with UNESCO and special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

The ISA congress is held every four years, the last of which, the 16th congress, was held in Durban, South Africa. President (2006-2010) is the French Sociologist Michel Wieviorka, Vice President the German Sociologist Hans Joas (University of Erfurt).

The most visible activity of the ISA is the World Congress which takes place every four years. Its programme and the number of participants have grown rapidly since the first Congress met in Zurich, Sweden (1950) with just over 100 participants.

The subsequent world congresses were held in

Liège, Belgium (1953) Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1956) Stresa, Italy (1959) Washington D.C.. USA (1962) Evian, France (1966) Varna, Bulgaria (1970) Toronto, Canada (1974) Uppsala, Sweden (1978) Mexico City, Mexico (1982) New Delhi, India (1986) Madrid, Spain (1990) Bielefeld, Germany (1994) Montreal, Canada (1998) Brisbane, Australia (2002) Durban, South Africa (2006)

The forthcoming XVII World Congress of Sociology is scheduled for July 11-17, 2010 in Göteborg, Sweden

• ISA Homepage

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