I& #39;m not inclined to dramatic displays of emotion but I almost cried when preparing my introductory remarks to the #isa2021 roundtable I chaired on Tuesday. I hadn& #39;t realised just how central to my academic life conferences were. I need my friends and that& #39;s you!1/3

While extremely fun, the ceaseless psychic violence of competition for scarce jobs/resources is not why I entered this profession. I did it because the most exciting thing in the world is gathering with colleagues and talking about interesting stuff. 2/3

But access to that was always so inequitable. This year has really sensitised me to how we isolate and exclude from our best spaces those without funding, those with disabilities, and those without the right citizenships. We should all make addressing this a priority 3/3