On June 17-20, 2020, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) were due to host the next AIESEP International Conference.
The AIESEP Board initially supported the organization of the conference despite the protests, expecting some improvement. Unfortunately, the situation became much more worrying in the last number of weeks when the campus was occupied by protestors. Several AIESEP members contacted us to share their concern about the safety of the delegates during the AIESEP 2020 event. They informed us about their intent to not attend to the conference because of potential risks to their safety. Such feeling seems to be shared now by many universities who have called back their exchange students currently staying in Hong Kong.
All these facts prompted the Executive Committee to seek the advice of the AIESEP Board of Directors regarding the cancellation of the conference. The unanimity of the answers confirmed that such difficult decision was necessary. On behalf of all colleagues, I would like to express our sadness for this situation because we all know that the Organizing Committee, chaired by Professor Amy HA, is a victim of something over which they had no control. AIESEP will support our Hong Kong colleagues.
Next week, the AIESEP Board will propose an alternative conference solution to its members. We will prioritise Asia as a site for this alternative event.
Prof. Marc CLOES
AIESEP President
