ISISA – ISISA

Help shape the next decade of small islands research and community.

Access the member survey. Deadline: 30 September 2026.

ISISA exists for its members, but when you’re spread across every ocean, time zone, and discipline, it’s not always easy to know what you truly think. That’s why we’re launching a new, fully anonymous member survey, and we need your honest feedback.

Whether you’re a student, a tenured professor, or an independent researcher, whether you’ve been to one conference or to ten, your perspective is essential. All ISISA members (including all delegates at the recent Islands of the World conference in Jeaundo, South Korea) are invited to take the survey.

What will we ask?

The survey has six short sections and takes 10–15 minutes to complete. Most questions are checkboxes or ratings, with room for your stories at the end. All questions are optional, so you only need to answer what you want. Here’s what we cover:

Section 1: Background.

Section 2: Mission and Governance. What is the purpose of ISISA? What should its focus be?

Section 3: Conferences. Format preferences, what you value most, and what factors influence your decision to attend conferences.

Section 4: Year-Round Activities

Section 5: Diversity and Inclusion. Whether you feel represented, welcomed, and supported, and where we can do better.

Section 6: Open Feedback.

Why now?

This survey builds on a similar exercise led by then-President Godfrey Baldacchino in 2015. Many suggestions from that survey contributed to the ISISA we have today. Now we want to update that roadmap for a new era, and for a membership that has grown more diverse and globally distributed than ever.

ISISA’s new Executive Committee has initiated this survey to understand:

What is working, and what is not
What ISISA is getting right, and what could be improved
What you need, hope for, and worry about.

The Executive Committee will use the results of the survey to produce a report that will be published and shared with the membership.

Privacy

All responses are completely anonymous. We do not collect emails, IP addresses, or names. The Executive Committee will see only aggregated data, and we will publish a full report of themes and actions, not individual answers. You can skip any question or select ‘Prefer not to say’ at any time.

The deadline for completing the survey is 30 September. Take the survey now.

We look forward to hearing from you, and to building a stronger, responsive, and more vibrant ISISA together.

Best regards,
Adam Grydehøj
President, International Small Islands Studies Association
Professor, School of Foreign Languages, South China University of Technology
agrydehoj@islanddynamics.org

Dear ISISA Members, Colleagues, and Friends,

I am delighted to welcome you to the newly updated official website of the International Small Islands Studies Association.

ISISA has flourished over three and a half decades thanks to the extraordinary dedication of the members, past Executive Committees, and organisational leaders who established our global network and sustained its vibrant community. This platform has long served as an essential hub for our shared passion for island studies. Our latest updates are designed to build upon that strong legacy.

The isisa.org website was launched in 2006 and underwent a redesign in 2015. With developments in internet technologies and digital communications over the past decade, the new Executive Committee elected in 2026 felt the time had come to redesign the ISISA website and modernise the association’s digital infrastructure to support our global membership.

The new isisa.org design focuses on both making basic information about ISISA more accessible and giving members more opportunities to contribute to the ISISA community. Major new changes and features include:

ISISA Research Archive: We have created a streamlined, searchable repository for members to browse, access, and share their island studies scholarship (articles, chapters, working papers, etc.). https://isisa.org/research-archive
Posts: In the past, ISISA communications outside conferences have mainly occurred through biannual Newsletters. Going forward, we will strive for more regular communication through website Posts, including messages from the Executive (such as this one) as well as blog-style contributions and announcements from members. You the possibility of subscribing so that you receive an e-mail roundup of ISISA posts each week, ensuring that you are kept up to date about ISISA activities. These will be regularly collated into Newsletters in order to fulfil our archiving needs. https://isisa.org/posts
Modernised Navigation & Structure: The new isisa.org features a clean, responsive design that ensures seamless access across desktop and mobile devices. There are now clearer pathways to organisational information, news about upcoming conferences, and other member resources.

This update represents the first step in fulfilling the new Executive Committee’s commitment to supporting member responsiveness and engagement. Over the coming months, we be introducing additional features to the website and engaging with the membership to better understand how our members wish to be involved with ISISA.

We invite you to explore the updated site and contribute your work to our growing Research Archive.