ISA RC51 on Sociocybernetics

Dear RC51 members and friends,

I trust this message reaches you in good health and high spirits as we embark on 2026.

As I reflect on 2025, I am pleased to report on the remarkable progress our community has achieved.

Throughout the year, our membership has grown steadily, welcoming new colleagues who share our passion for sociocybernetics.

In July, RC51 actively participated in the 5th ISA Forum, where we facilitated enriching sessions that sparked insightful dialogue and exchange among participants.

The Open Online Activity initiative, which commenced in 2024, has flourished, with multiple engaging sessions held throughout 2025, strengthening connections within our global community.

As we turn our attention to 2026, exciting opportunities await us.

Our primary milestone will be the 19th International Conference of Sociocybernetics, scheduled to take place in Oaxaca, Mexico, in August. The Call for Papers will be announced soon, and we are excited to hear your contributions.

Concurrently, preparations are underway for the ISA World Congress of Sociology in Gwangju, South Korea, in 2027. We will soon begin soliciting session proposals for this significant gathering.

I look forward to our continued collaboration and the vibrant exchanges that lie ahead, both in virtual and physical spaces.

Warmest regards,

On behalf of the RC51 Board
Saburo Akahori

Visit our website:  https://sociocybernetics.org/
RC51 newsletter: https://sociocybernetics.org/newsletter (The latest version was published last November)
Journal of Sociocybernetics: https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/rc51-jos/index

According to our statutes, following the call for candidates and afterwards the mail-ballot among our members, the RC51 has elected new Board for 2018-2022.

The Elections Committee (Eva Buchinger, Bernd Hornung and Chaime Marcuello Servós) received the nomination of candidates for the positions of President, Vice-president, Secretary and Treasurer as follows:

President          : Patricia E. Almaguer Kalixto (SPAIN)
Vice-President  : Raija Koskinen (FINLAND)
Secretary          : Manuel Meza Cuervo (MEXICO)
Treasurer          : Saburo Akahori (JAPAN)

The Elections Committee confirm that all are members in good standing and willing to serve in the Board. After the electoral process, the new Board was approved with 25 votes in favour, all of members in good standing (i.e. paid fees) both of the ISA and the RC51 by the 20th of November, due date to vote.

Congratulations to the new Board and thank you to all the members of the previous Board with special thank you to our past president Chaime Marcuello Servós.

We must continue working as RC51, now is the time to support our new president and her team.

According to our statutes the election of the RC51 Board 2018-2022 is now due. As a result of the call and the work of the Nominating Committee you will find the following excellent candidates in the voting sheet.

Please vote by the 20^th of November 2018.

You can find all the details here: RC51 Board Elections 2018-2022

Following the call for candidates and afterwards the mail-ballot among our members, there it is the RC51 Board 2014-2018:

• President: Chaime Marcuello‐Servós, Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain)
• Vice‐President: José A. Amozurrutia, National University Autonomous of México (México)
• Secretary: Patricia E. Almaguer Kalixto, Centro de Estudios y Agricultura Internacional (CERAI) / Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain)
• Treasurer: Saburo Akahori, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University (Japan)
• Newsletter Editor: Juan Carlos Barrón Pastor, Center for Research on North America (CISAN) / National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
• Journal Editor: Fabio Giglietto, University of Urbino “Carlo Bo”, Italy

We had 27 votes out of which 23 are valid ‐ members in good standing (i.e. being a registered member and having paid fees – so for those who forgot, please do renew your membership :-D). All candidates have received the same number of votes.

We also take the chance to thanks all the members of the previous board with special thank you to our past president Eva Buchinger.

We are pleased to announce the composition of the Research Committee 51 on Sociocybernetics board for 2010-2014.