On 26–28 June 2019, the JU Faculty of International and Political Studies hosted the 6th edition of the European Workshops in International Studies – the largest European workshop in the field of international relations, attended by more than 300 specialists from all over the world. The workshops are organised annually by the European International Studies Association (EISA). The aim of the event is to provide experts with a platform for sharing knowledge and experience.
The form of the event creates an atmosphere that fosters discussion and establishing new study groups featuring members from different research centres. Within the framework of EWIS, two- and three-day long closed workshops are organised to focus on specific issues and discuss the participants’ research projects.
Each year, the programme of EWIS event is shaped by two researchers. The latest one, organised in Kraków, was coordinated by Dr Maria Mälksoo from the University of Kent (a representative of EISA) and Prof. Artur Gruszczak from the Jagiellonian University. Its theme, ‘The Next 100 Years of International Relations’, did not only underline the 100th anniversary of international relations as an academic discipline, but also referred to the current transformations in the international and political arena.
The event was opened by Prof. Artur Gruszczak, with the following speeches delivered by President of EISA Victoria Basham (Cardiff University), President of the Polish Association for International Studies Prof. Edward Haliżak (University of Warsaw), and JU Faculty of International and Political Studies Vice-Dean for Educational Affairs Dr hab. Paweł Laidler, Prof. UJ.
The official opening of the event was followed by two plenary sessions (‘What Have We Learnt?’ and ‘The Next 100 Years of International Relations: How To?’) and a multitude of thematic workshops were organised in the conference venue. Although the subject matter of those workshops was very divers, they were all related to the keynotes presented during the plenary sessions.
In comparison to 2018, the number of Polish participants in the 2019 edition of EWIS has risen thirty times, with about 10% of attendees coming from Polish universities. Furthermore, as many as four workshops were coordinated or co-coordinated by Polish researchers.
