The Ibero-American Association of Applied Linguistics (AIALA, by its abbreviations in both Spanish– Asociación Iberoamericana de Lingüística Aplicada – and Portuguese: Associação Ibero-Americana de Linguística Aplicada) was created in 2020 to better reflect the global linguistic diversity within the International Association of Applied Linguists (AILA). Recent sociopolitical events have demonstrated the critical importance for regional/global collaboration and multilingual perspectives in all areas of science, including applied linguistics, and making sure that this science is available and accessible to all. In creating AIALA, we have reconceptualized AILA “regional” membership beyond physical residence/ geographical location, focusing instead on linguistic bonds to promote regional languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, and affiliated minoritized language(s) spoken and researched by applied linguists worldwide. Currently, AIALA is a collaboration between AAAL (United States), AMLA (Mexico), ALAB (Brazil), and AESLA (Spain), with additional opportunity for membership by AILA members-at-large where there are no national affiliates (yet). Thus, members of AAAL, AMLA, ALAB, and AESLA are automatically members of AIALA.
After initial presentations introducing AIALA at AAAL 2021, ALAB 2021, and the 2021 AILA World Congress, this upcoming year will be focused on engaging directly with applied linguists who speak and/or research the affiliated languages. Additionally, we are in active recruitment of facilitating the formation of AILA affiliates where the languages celebrated by AIALA are present, including Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, and Argentina as well as with applied linguists in Peru, Portugal, and outside the geographical boundaries of Ibero-America in Goa, India, Malaysia, Mozambique, and Angola.
AIALA will be present at all the national meetings of the AIALA founding members (AAAL, AESLA, AMLA, and ALAB) and our organizing questions for these meetings will include: (1) How do we provide more visibility to the existing and ongoing research of the AIALA membership, especially the research produced in minoritized languages or that of colleagues of historically underrepresented and marginalized and/or racialized backgrounds?; (2) How do we facilitate connections between AIALA researchers across the globe to learn from and work with each other?; (3) How do we conduct collaborative research that has impact beyond academia?; and (4) How do we do this taking particular care to ensure that all of AIALA’s actions demonstrate our commitment to DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and access)? Before our in-person meetings in 2022, the founding national members will determine the organizing governance of AIALA.
We invite you to join the conversation at https://aila.info/about/regionalization/aila-ibero-america/ or by emailing one of the co-organizers.
Very best,
Kyria y Laura
Laura Gurzynski-Weiss, Indiana University, Estados Unidos (lgurzyns@indiana.edu) &
Kyria Finardi, Universidad Federal de Espírito Santo, Brasil (kyria.finardi@gmail.com)