June 6–11, 2025, Kazakhstani Sociologists Took Part in the 5th Forum of the International Sociological Association (ISA) Titled “Knowing Justice in the Anthropocene” (Rabat, Morocco).
The 5th Forum of the International Sociological Association (ISA) Knowing Justice in the Anthropocene was held in Rabat, Morocco, on July 6-11, 2025, hosted by Mohammed V University. The forum brought together more than 4,200 scholars from over 100 countries. Leading sociological theoreticians discussed a wide range of issues related to the challenges of the Anthropocene, from climate justice and technological development to social sustainability.
The organizer of the Forum was the International Sociological Association (ISA), established with the support of UNESCO and registered with the UN. For the first time, an ISA Forum was held on the African continent. The theme of the 5th Forum, Knowing Justice in the Anthropocene, was particularly timely. The Anthropocene is a proposed new geological epoch in which human beings have become the main driver of climate and environmental change. Organizers emphasized the importance of not only studying justice but also rethinking it under conditions of radical transformation: What does social justice mean in a world where natural resources are being depleted? How are ecological and social justice interconnected? These questions became the leitmotif of the Forum’s opening and closing plenary sessions.
For sociologists, participation in such international events is of great importance. It is a unique platform for knowledge exchange, professional networking, and interdisciplinary dialogue. ISA Forums are held once every four years, alternating with World Congresses of Sociology. It was also significant that for the first time Morocco, a North African country, served as host. Special attention was devoted to global challenges such as inequality, climate, and justice, interpreted through the sociological lens.
The Forum program included 1,329 sessions organized by 67 ISA research committees and working groups. Events took various formats: plenary and sectional sessions, round tables, presentations, and moderated discussions. A new feature was a thematic film screening as part of a sociological film festival, providing a visual complement to the academic program.
The Forum was organized at an exceptionally high level. Rabat, the capital of Morocco, is symbolically located at the crossroads of four cultural sphere: Africa, the Mediterranean, the Arab world, and Europe. Mohammed V University, founded in 1957 and ranked among the region’s leading universities (QS 1201-1400), provided an excellent venue. Its campuses hosted events across four departments (education, law, economics, and engineering), enabling flexible organization of parallel sessions).
It is also important to note Morocco’s stance of neutrality and openness amid growing international academic boycotts. The country refused to discriminate on national or political grounds, demonstrating its commitment to academic freedom and international scientific cooperation.
Thus, the 5th ISA Forum became not just a conference but a true academic festival, uniting researchers from around the world in an atmosphere of open dialogue, intellectual freedom, and scientific inquiry. On the ISA website, a Letter to ISA Members (https://www.isa-sociology.org/en/about-isa/executive-committee/presidential-corner-23/lfp-presidential-letter-august-2025), written by its president, D. Plehwe, highlights the outcomes of the 5th ISA Forum. This letter also contains a link to the Time for Sociology Declaration, presented at the Forum’s opening ceremony.
As repeatedly emphasized by M. Tazhin, President of the Association of Sociologists of Kazakhstan (ASK), in his speeches at Congresses of Sociologists in Kazakhstan, since the founding of ASK in 2002 we have become a full-fledged participant of the ISA. Since 2011, visits by ISA Executive Committee members to Kazakhstan have become regular. Over these years, our ties with the international sociological community have significantly expanded, and numerous international conferences and discussions have been held. Kazakh sociologists actively take part in joint events with colleagues from both near and far abroad, with the most significant among them being the ISA Forums and Congresses.
According to Forum Statistics 2025, Kazakhstan was represented at the 5th ISA Forum by 21 sociologists (including 4 students) from the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Institute of Philosophy, Political Science and Religious Studies of the Committee of Science of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Nazarbayev University, Narxoz University, the Republican Center for Public Opinion Research, the Institute of Applied Politics, the Corporate Foundation “El Umiti” Fund, and InDrive. Kazakh participants presented 16 reports, including those prepared in collaboration with colleagues from abroad. These attracted lively interest from other participants, particularly in the context of global discussions on the interrelation of cultural attitudes, political participation, and sustainable development. This issue of the journal of the Association of Sociologists of Kazakhstan features greetings from the Forum’s organizers and all 16 abstracts of Kazakh participants’ reports, published in the Book of Abstracts with translations into Kazakh, Russian, and Turkish.
The delegation of Kazakh sociologists also visited the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Kingdom of Morocco and met with Ambassador Saulekul Sailaukyzy.
Thus, Kazakhstan was represented at the 5th ISA Forum Knowing Justice in the Anthropocene as an important country for studying transformation processes in transitional societies, with a rich historical and cultural heritage and active social dynamics.
The organizer of the Forum was the International Sociological Association (ISA), established with the support of UNESCO and registered with the UN. For the first time, an ISA Forum was held on the African continent. The theme of the 5th Forum, Knowing Justice in the Anthropocene, was particularly timely. The Anthropocene is a proposed new geological epoch in which human beings have become the main driver of climate and environmental change. Organizers emphasized the importance of not only studying justice but also rethinking it under conditions of radical transformation: What does social justice mean in a world where natural resources are being depleted? How are ecological and social justice interconnected? These questions became the leitmotif of the Forum’s opening and closing plenary sessions.
For sociologists, participation in such international events is of great importance. It is a unique platform for knowledge exchange, professional networking, and interdisciplinary dialogue. ISA Forums are held once every four years, alternating with World Congresses of Sociology. It was also significant that for the first time Morocco, a North African country, served as host. Special attention was devoted to global challenges such as inequality, climate, and justice, interpreted through the sociological lens.
The Forum program included 1,329 sessions organized by 67 ISA research committees and working groups. Events took various formats: plenary and sectional sessions, round tables, presentations, and moderated discussions. A new feature was a thematic film screening as part of a sociological film festival, providing a visual complement to the academic program.
The Forum was organized at an exceptionally high level. Rabat, the capital of Morocco, is symbolically located at the crossroads of four cultural sphere: Africa, the Mediterranean, the Arab world, and Europe. Mohammed V University, founded in 1957 and ranked among the region’s leading universities (QS 1201-1400), provided an excellent venue. Its campuses hosted events across four departments (education, law, economics, and engineering), enabling flexible organization of parallel sessions).
It is also important to note Morocco’s stance of neutrality and openness amid growing international academic boycotts. The country refused to discriminate on national or political grounds, demonstrating its commitment to academic freedom and international scientific cooperation.
Thus, the 5th ISA Forum became not just a conference but a true academic festival, uniting researchers from around the world in an atmosphere of open dialogue, intellectual freedom, and scientific inquiry. On the ISA website, a Letter to ISA Members (https://www.isa-sociology.org/en/about-isa/executive-committee/presidential-corner-23/lfp-presidential-letter-august-2025), written by its president, D. Plehwe, highlights the outcomes of the 5th ISA Forum. This letter also contains a link to the Time for Sociology Declaration, presented at the Forum’s opening ceremony.
As repeatedly emphasized by M. Tazhin, President of the Association of Sociologists of Kazakhstan (ASK), in his speeches at Congresses of Sociologists in Kazakhstan, since the founding of ASK in 2002 we have become a full-fledged participant of the ISA. Since 2011, visits by ISA Executive Committee members to Kazakhstan have become regular. Over these years, our ties with the international sociological community have significantly expanded, and numerous international conferences and discussions have been held. Kazakh sociologists actively take part in joint events with colleagues from both near and far abroad, with the most significant among them being the ISA Forums and Congresses.
According to Forum Statistics 2025, Kazakhstan was represented at the 5th ISA Forum by 21 sociologists (including 4 students) from the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Institute of Philosophy, Political Science and Religious Studies of the Committee of Science of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Nazarbayev University, Narxoz University, the Republican Center for Public Opinion Research, the Institute of Applied Politics, the Corporate Foundation “El Umiti” Fund, and InDrive. Kazakh participants presented 16 reports, including those prepared in collaboration with colleagues from abroad. These attracted lively interest from other participants, particularly in the context of global discussions on the interrelation of cultural attitudes, political participation, and sustainable development. This issue of the journal of the Association of Sociologists of Kazakhstan features greetings from the Forum’s organizers and all 16 abstracts of Kazakh participants’ reports, published in the Book of Abstracts with translations into Kazakh, Russian, and Turkish.
The delegation of Kazakh sociologists also visited the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Kingdom of Morocco and met with Ambassador Saulekul Sailaukyzy.
Thus, Kazakhstan was represented at the 5th ISA Forum Knowing Justice in the Anthropocene as an important country for studying transformation processes in transitional societies, with a rich historical and cultural heritage and active social dynamics.