A reminder that the RGS-IBG Economic Geography Research Group will be holding our AGM this Wednesday (8th September) at 1300 hours (BST).

If you haven’t registered, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/JCqubRxyMELBgL2v8.

We have the following four roles open for election at the AGM:

• a new Chair
• 2 new postgraduate representatives
• an early career representative

Please get in touch with Jennifer Johns (jennifer.johns@bristol.ac.uk) or Kean Fan Lim (Keanfan.Lim@newcastle.ac.uk) if you are interested in these roles.

We look forward to seeing many of you on Wednesday!

The Economic Geography Research Group of the RGS-IBG is having its AGM at on Wednesday 8th September 2021, 1pm (UK BST).

The meeting will be held online, and a meeting link will be distributed closer to the time. If you would like to attend, please register here: https://forms.gle/JCqubRxyMELBgL2v8

The EGRG committee has two roles open for election at the AGM. We are seeking:

• a new Chair
• a new postgraduate representative

If you are interested in either of these positions, please contact Kean Fan Lim (Keanfan.Lim@newcastle.ac.uk) and/or Jennifer Johns (jennifer.johns@bristol.ac.uk).

Call for papers: (Dis)connections and disruptions in global value chains 

The COVID-19 pandemic has had (and continues to have) an enormous impact on global value chains across a multitude of sectors around the world.  From prohibition to panic-buying, we have witnessed the volatility of value chains, including multi-scalar disruptions and disconnections.  We also see widening inequalities, tensions, and injustices across the ‘length’ of these chains, from production, distribution, to consumption and beyond. 

This call invites postgraduate students working (broadly) around global value chains to present their research in a warm and supportive environment at the RGS-IBG post-graduate mid-term conference.  Presenters are encouraged to reflect on the ways in which they see connections, reconnections, and/or disconnections within their research, particularly in relation to work around global value chains (both before and during the pandemic).  Presentations are welcomed that reflect on themes around theory, methodology, empirical work, and more. 

The conference will take place online from the 19^th-23^rd April 2021.  

Please send abstracts of up to 250 words (including key words) by Friday 5^th March 2021 to Zara Babakordi (z.babakordi2@newcastle.ac.uk) and Minjing Li (m.li51@newcastle.ac.uk).  

The Economic Geography Research Group Annual General Meeting will be held online on Tuesday, 22nd September 2020, from 16:00 to 17:00 BST. We will also hold an informal ‘social’ after the formal meeting has concluded. Please register in advance via Eventbrite at this link. We will subsequently send you a link to the Microsoft Teams meeting.

During the meeting, we need to fill several open committee positions including Secretary, Prizes Officer, Early Career Rep, and PGR Rep. Please send expressions of interest to the EGRG Chair, Jennifer Johns (jennifer.johns@bristol.ac.uk).

If you have any trouble registering or have any other questions, please get in touch with EGRG Secretary, Chris Muellerleile (c.m.muellerleile@SWANSEA.AC.UK)

As the RGS Annual Conference is not going ahead in 2020, we will be holding our Annual General Meeting (AGM) virtually. This will take place on Tuesday 22nd September 2020, 1600-1700 BST online. Further details regarding how to join the online AGM will be posted later.  There will also be an informal social space after the formal meeting, so please do try to attend if you can. Apologies in advance if your geographical location precludes your participation.

CALL FOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS – UK based only
This year the Secretary, Prizes Officer, one Early Career Rep, PGR Rep are coming to the end of their terms, with new members starting after the AGM at the end of September. Please consider standing for the following roles or encourage suitable candidates to do so. Nomination and election will take place during the online AGM. Details of the positions are as follows:

• The Secretary role is a significant one for the EGRG as it is a coordinating role, taking minutes at meetings, responding to member emails, attending EGRG meetings and helping to coordinate those meetings. Supporting the Chair and Treasurer and playing an important strategic role in the direction of the research group.
• The Prizes Officer manages our UG and PG prizes, accepting submissions and coordinating judging of the UG dissertations/PhDs (which are shared across the committee). 
• The Early Career Rep works with the committee leading our strategy on supporting PG and ECR economic geographers.  Work in this area has been increasing through meetings (recently virtual), peer support and the development of a mentoring scheme. There are two ECR reps on the committee, there will be one vacancy this year. 
• The PGR Rep works with the committee leading our strategy on supporting postgraduate economic geographers, as well as working with the ECR reps and leads on organising the EGRG contribution to the RGS mid-term annual conference. (Note: the EGRG sponsors PGR rep travel, several bursaries and a drinks reception). There are two PGR reps on the committee, there will be one vacancy this year.

Please distribute through your own networks and send expressions of interest/questions to the EGRG Chair at jennifer.johns@bristol.ac.uk. Votes will be made during the AGM. Jennifer Johns’s term as Chair will end in 2021 so if you are interested in the role, please contact Jennifer at the above email address for an informal chat. A formal call will go out in the new year.