Letter from WAPOR President (September 2019)

Dear WAPOR Members,

In my last letter to you I mentioned we were planning to organize a series of webinars, and now I’m very pleased to announce that our first Webinar will be held on September 19^th – Noon 2:30 pm ET. We have opened registration for it and you are all invited to join! On this particular occasion, the presenters will be Dr. Zeina Mneimneh and Julie de Jong from the University of Michigan. This presentation will showcase two modules provided by the Survey Research Center International Unit at the University of Michigan. The first module covers the key stages of the survey life-cycle and the challenges faced in international surveys. The second one will be linked to the Cross-Cultural Survey Guidelines, developed to promote internationally recognized best practices for the design and implementation of multinational, multicultural, and multiregional (3MC) surveys, covering all stages of the survey life cycle. This webinar is offered free and you can register for this webinar here: https://wapor.org/wapor-offering-first-webinar/

Education is a key element for our goal of making WAPOR the organization that sets standards for Public Opinion research in the world, and to help this goal, we are committed to a range of educational activities. More upcoming webinars are being planned, and our Education Committee, led by Michael Traugott, is aiming to explore different formats –such as a video interview with keynote speakers. Also we intend to hold one webinar this year targeted to journalists but addressed to all members who are interested on the subject of public opinion and polls coverage.

We have received –through the membership survey- your comments and suggestions for topics of future training courses and webinars, and we will continue planning with this information in mind, hoping this new variety of programs and formats will match your needs and expectations. Thanks for your input and please continue to let us know what you think and what you are interested in learning more about!

In line with our goal to be setting the standards in our field, Janet Streicher -our Professional Standards Committee Chair- will be leading the creation of a special Code of Ethics Committee, with the purpose of revitalizing WAPOR’s Code of Ethics. The members of this committee have already started their review of our code, identifying topics that are not covered today or need to be adjusted in light of the evolving demands, methodologies and challenges of public opinion research and polling today.

On another subject, we would like to remind you that the Second Annual Conference of WAPOR- ASIA will take place soon in New Delhi, India from September 26 to September 29, 2019. We believe this event will strengthen WAPOR’S Asia chapter, as it aims to bring polling scholars and practitioners together to share their research, experiences and practice. This year the theme of the conference is “Digital Democracy: The Scope and limitations of Digital Advancement on Democratization in Asia.” We are excited to see the outcome of this conference, as it will provide participants with the opportunity to address the new challenges to public opinion polling in the region. For more information about the upcoming WAPOR-ASIA Conference you can visit: https://www.waporasia.org/2019-call

Spanish speaking members please do not to miss the latest issue of the Revista Latinoamericana de Opinión Política (RLOP), volume 8, issue 1, 2019 which is now available. I strongly recommend it for its excellent content. http://www.waporlatinoamerica.org/uploads/3/7/6/6/37666309/rlop-wapor-v8-1_vf.pdf

Regarding WAPOR’s digital communications strategy, we are planning to renew and refresh our website to increase our presence and influence within the digital world. Moreover, we continue working on having a stronger and more constant reporting of our activities on social media. We invite you once more to follow WAPOR on Facebook, Twitter and now LinkedIn, to stay updated on all our activities and to engage in conversation with this talented worldwide community.

Soon we will announce details for the 73^rd WAPOR ´s Annual conference in Salamanca, Spain. The highlight of next year’s WAPOR Annual conference is that we will be holding it together with WAPOR LATAM, and it will be an outstanding opportunity to further strengthen relations with this important Chapter. The specifics of this Conference are still in the planning stage, and we will have more information to share in the coming months. It will take place in early October 2020 and we are planning hosting some activities together, so be watching for more news!

Strengthening relationships inside and outside the WAPOR network is fundamental to our organization, and this is something we continue to draw our efforts to. Early in June together with Vice President Timothy Johnson we have been reaching National Representatives to ask them for thoughts on important issues and topics within their Nation that should be addressed during the 2020 International Conference. We very much appreciate the responses we have received, as we believe their advice and recommendation are fundamental in reaching our full potential.

As for the relationships outside our network, I will be attending to ESOMAR’s Congress in Edinburgh, participating in the meeting planned by the Associations Sounding Board, to facilitate collaboration with other associations that represent the data, research and insights sector. Hope this participation will further help our efforts of strengthening bonds with other organizations!

From WAPOR we want to thank you for joining us in this exciting and fulfilling journey.

Best wishes,