In light of the United States’ January 27, 2017 executive order restricting entry to its borders, based upon intersectional stereotypes of Islamic religious faith as embodied within Middle Eastern, African, and South Asian identity, we hereby restate our commitment to the fundamental values upon which the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) is founded. These values center upon human dignity, equality of opportunity, and the principles of academic freedom. AoIR vehemently opposes any entities, groups, measures, or activities that seek to undermine such principles, in scholarly research and in society at large, wherever in the world they may operate.
AoIR, following its mission to provide and promote outstanding research upon the Internet’s capacity to mediate transnational and global culture through networking, is proud to represent a diverse international community of Internet researchers. In affirming the shared values of our community, we encourage our members to exercise their inalienable right to speak out whenever and wherever they believe those values to be undermined or violated. In keeping with the principle of academic freedom, AoIR conferences themselves also support that free exercise by offering a venue for such discussions to be conducted respectfully.
AoIR is constantly at work to ensure that our actions and our words are in sync. Therefore, we proudly state that we do not tolerate or create any undue barriers to the full and equal participation of its members because of race, age, culture, ability, ethnicity or nationality, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, marital status, religious affiliation, or socioeconomic status. This commitment means, in particular, that we will endeavor to not stage future conferences in locations where such participation cannot be guaranteed. As an organization, AoIR stands ready to support any colleague who may be directly or indirectly affected by this order.
Members of the Executive Committee:
André Brock
Axel Bruns
Jenny Korn
Annette Markham
Adrienne Massanari
Susanna Paasonen
Kelly Quinn
Jennifer Stromer-Galley
P.S.: Our full Statement of Principles and Statement of Inclusivity can be found here: https://aoir.org/diversity-and-inclusivity/
