University holds presidency of the Mediterranean Studies Association

A team from the University of Gibraltar, comprised of Dr Darren Fa, Director of Academic Programmes and Research and Dr Jennifer Ballantine Perera, Director of the Institute for Gibraltar and Mediterranean Studies (IGMS), attended the Mediterranean Studies Association (MSA) conference held this month in Crete.

At this conference, Dr Ballantine Perera took over the Presidency of the MSA Conference for the University of Gibraltar for a period of a year.
The MSA is an established and respected US academic organisation based at Massachusetts Dartmouth University, with wide outreach within the USA and key European Universities.

It is an interdisciplinary organisation which promotes the scholarly study of the Mediterranean region in all aspects and disciplines.

The IGMS has been developing its relationship with the MSA over recent years, securing the MSA 2020 conference for the University of Gibraltar in the process.

“Holding the presidency for the 2020 conference will offer a significant opportunity for connectivity and outreach initiatives with European and US institutions of higher education, thus networking the University and the research carried out at the IGMS within a much wider Mediterranean footprint,” said a statement from the university.

Dr Fa said: “The Mediterranean Studies Association is a highly reputable body whose influence spans the globe. Taking on this year’s presidency is an honour and represents a real endorsement of the research activities taking place at the University”.

Dr Ballantine Perera added: “Gibraltar offers a unique and often less considered perspective of the West Med; the Rock’s position as a gateway, straddling continents and the Mediterranean at its meeting point with the Atlantic, will serve to broaden the scope of this area of study. Hosting the MSA 2020 conference will place us in the centre of a meaningful discourse about the ideas and ideals of the Mediterranean”.