The International Small Islands Studies Association (ISISA) is a non-profit, scholarly organisation and registered Scottish Charity (SC053127). ISISA has the form of a membership association and is governed by an Executive Committee elected by its membership. ISISA works at:
• Promoting Island Research: Encouraging critical, place-based research into small island environments, cultures, and governance.
• Networking of Small Island Communities: Creating and maintaining international communication systems, such as conference series, journals and other publications, and digitally mediated discussions.
History
ISISA was officially established in 1992 on the occasion of the 3rd Islands of the World conference held in Nassau, Bahamas. Prior to the association’s formal establishment, a group of scholars, researchers, professionals, and others from around the world had met on two previous occasions, in Victoria, BC, Canada, in 1986 and in Tasmania, Australia, in 1988.
ISISA met officially for the first time in Okinawa (Japan) June 22-26, 1994. The meeting was sponsored jointly by INSULA (UNESCO’s International Scientific Council for Island Development), International University of Japan, the Okinawa Labour and Economic Research Institute and the Office of the Governor of Okinawa Prefecture. Topics discussed at this meeting included global networking of island communities, non-nuclearisation of island realms, gender relations in solving socio-economic problems of small islands, island microstates and their prospects, sustainable, environmentally sound agro-ecosystems, the case for more effective utilisation of traditional resources and food-production systems and many other issues concerning the nature of island life, problems and prospects.
Over the years, ISISA has developed into the world’s largest and most disciplinarily and geographically diverse international academic body for the study of islands. ISISA’s affiliated publication Island Studies Journal was founded in 2006, and the association held its 20th Islands of the World conference in Shinan County, South Korea in 2026.