WSU PROFESSOR ELECTED INTO INTERNATIONAL BODY EXECUTIVE BOARD.

WSU’s sociology professor, Emeka Obioha, in the Faculty of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences has been elected to serve in the executive board of the International Sociological Association (ISA): Research Committee 29 (RC29) for a four-year tenure (2023 – 2027).

The RC29 is to expedite communication among scholars interested in cross-cultural research on deviance and social control, in line with ISA’s mission to advance sociological knowledge throughout the world in the field of sociology and social sciences.

“Being elected to the Executive Board from Africa as a region where the membership of ISA in general and RC29 in particular is not yet very great throws up a challenge. I will use my position to engage various institutional structures in strengthening sociological enterprise in the continent. I will organize and coordinate RC29 activities in the continent, which includes, but not limited to, focused symposiums, mini-conferences and workshops,” said the Professor.

Obioha was elected at the RC29 Business Meeting, during the 20^th International Sociological Association (ISA) World Congress of Sociology (WCS) held in Melbourne, Australia from June 25 – July 1, 2023.

He will serve in the Executive Board alongside international scholars from Canada, Mexico, Australia, India and Brazil.

He said,” I will also facilitate the building and sustenance of a critical mass of emerging, mid-career and established researchers that will work collaboratively in various international research projects in my field.”

In his presentation at the WCS entitled: ‘Barriers to Accessing Criminal Justice Services in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Reflections on the Policing System,” Prof Obioha robustly touched on the very crucial, less researched and yet-to-be-accomplished aspect of the democratisation architecture in the country.

Democratisation architecture typically refers to the design, structure, and systems put in place to facilitate the democratization of a particular governance system, or institution with the aim to promote and enable greater participation, transparency, and inclusivity, allowing a wider range of people to have a say or influence in decision-making.

This achievement comes a few years after his call up to the Expert Group of United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) in 2019 and subsequently joining the Knowledge Network of United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (UN-OSAA) in 2021, by an official invitation from the United Nations Under-Secretary – General.

- By Ongezwa Sigodi