7 October 2005

AN INVITATION...

to all those interested in Phoenician, Punic, and related studies.

A week ago, after a memorable boat tour on the Sado River, the 6th International Congress of Phoenician and Punic Studies in Lisbon concluded. During this congress, over coffee and in informal discussions, many participants expressed the desire to form an Association for promoting Phoenician and Punic Studies. The need for additional forms of regular contact—beyond the successful formula of our quadrennial/quintennial international congresses—was not met by any formal initiative during the six days of scientific meetings.

To advance the creation of such an Association, a group of participants to the Lisbon Congress informally met to outline the proposal below.

We invite you to join this organization, provisionally entitled the “International Phoenician and Punic Studies Association” (IPPSA).

We think this Association should be:

• international
• democratically organized
• open to anyone professionally engaged in Phoenician, Punic and related studies, or otherwise interested in these fields
• free of charge, as far as possible

The goals of the Association are twofold:

• to create a platform for the timely exchange of information—for example, notice of new research projects, new discoveries, excavation and study possibilities, recently published books, conferences, lectures, academic courses, websites, etc.
• to stimulate the participation in international congresses and in workshops related to our field, notably the quadrennial/quintennial congresses organized by the International Committee of Phoenician and Punic Studies (Comitato internazionale di studi fenici e punici).

To achieve these goals, the Association shall:

• create and maintain a website for the exchange of information
• open membership to all scholars, and maintain an address database of its members

Organization and logistics
The undersigned have taken the initiative to form a preliminary organization committee that will take the first steps necessary in creating IPPSA. The Department of Archaeology of Ghent University has offered to host the Secretariat of the Association in the first four years, and will also take charge of costs for maintenance of address database and website hosting. Brien Garnand has offered to serve as webmaster. In 2009/2010, we plan to make use of the 7th International Congress of Phoenician and Punic Studies (kindly hosted by our Tunisian colleagues) in order to evaluate the performance of the Association, elect an organizing committee, choose a definitive name, and formalize the status of the Association.

Membership
You may become member of the Association, free of charge, by replying affirmatively to this invitation, or by sending us your address and affiliation details by regular mail. We will confirm your membership by sending you a unique, individual membership number. Although anyone may visit the website, membership will allow you to become informed more directly about non-public topics and, moreover, to have a vote in the organization of the Association.

So, you are invited:

• to become member of the Association
• to make any suggestions that would help this Association to become a true venue for international exchange
• to provide us with any information that may be of interest to others working in the field
• to pass on this mail to any person you know that may be interested in becoming a member

With our best regards, and with the regards of the many others who shared our intentions during the Lisbon Congress,

Roald Docter
Brien Garnand
Karin Mansel
Boutheina Maraoui Telmini
Antonella Mezzolani
Joan Ramon Torres
Fernando Villada Paredes

Contact Address
info(at)ippsa.net (please mention IPPSA in the subject heading)

or

IPPSA
Department of Archaeology
Ghent University
Blandijnberg 2
B-9000 Ghent
Belgium