It has been a great honour to be elected President of CIPL at the Poznań 2024 Congress. I am stepping into the role at a very exciting time for CIPL and all its member societies. In 2028 we will celebrate our centenary – 100 years of CIPL! The 2028 Congress will be held in Leiden, The Netherlands (not the birthplace of CIPL, which was Den Haag/The Hague, but a very close neighbour). The Congress will provide an excellent and unique opportunity not only to reflect on the past but, more importantly, to focus on the future: our role as an umbrella organisation for linguistic and language-related societies around the world, our contribution to shaping the study of language in light of so many socio-cultural, political, economic and technological changes. In the next few newsletters, as well as on the CIPL and Congress websites, you will receive regular updates on the Congress. Meanwhile, the Executive Committee of CIPL has launched an ambitious programme of actions to further strengthen our role as an umbrella society that can act as an important facilitator and link between very diverse language, linguistic and philological societies around the world. Our role is not one of competition with other national or international organisations, but one that brings these together. In the next few years, we will focus on (a) increasing our membership, (b) improving our communication with member societies, and (c) seeking financial and other resources through grants, donations and collaborative projects, so that we can provide more and better support for travel bursaries, projects, and various outreach activities. We would be very grateful if member societies could assist us in this endeavour. Any ideas or proposals relating to these three main foci can be forwarded to the CIPL secretariat [email: cipl@ciplnet.com]. Together with the Executive Committee, the Secretary-General and the secretariat team, I very much look forward to working with you all and hope to see you at the 2028 Congress, if not earlier!
Anne Pauwels
