Given the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccination campaign worldwide, it appears increasingly unlikely that we would be able to hold a conference in 2021 in which participants from many continents could gather in person at the University of Antwerp. After consultations within the Conference Program Committee and the HDCA Executive Council, a decision was taken to postpone the Antwerp conference to 19-22 September 2022, when we expect there to be fewer restrictions on travel and in-person gatherings.

Of the options considered, including an online-only meeting this fall, we felt it would be worth the wait in order to provide a better conference experience for all. We’re aware that this decision may interfere with the preparations you were already making for the September 2021 conference and we apologize for this. If you’ve already sent in a proposal, you are free to withdraw it, or, alternatively, to keep it in the Conftool archive.

“Capabilities and Transformative Institutions”

How can we organize for the world of tomorrow? Covid-19 has taught us that we are not ready. We have re-discovered our common vulnerability – not only to a virus, but also to policy mismatch, institutional hiccups and authoritarian backlash. Divided we stood, unable to act in concert, lacking real opportunities for deliberation. How can we improve the structures of living together and face the challenges ahead to build a more just and sustainable world? The HDCA Conference 2022 puts this question center stage.

Institutions, social arrangements, or the structures which emerge from our social living, have been conceived in different ways in the variety of disciplines that engage with the capability approach. The conference will provide an opportunity to let these various understandings speak to and learn from each other.