International Committee of Historical Sciences

The Comité International des Sciences Historiques (CISH) invites panel proposals for its Centennial Conference “The Past, the Present, and the future of History: Celebrating 100 Years of International Committee of Historical Sciences” to be held in 

Leipzig, Germany
27–30 August 2026

The centennial conference celebrates 100 years of international cooperation in the historical sciences since the foundation of the CISH in Geneva on May 14, 1926. The conference will explore the developments, dynamics, and diversification the historical sciences have undergone over the past decades while also fostering inspiration for future research and innovation.

The conference will serve as an opportunity for  

• a balanced reflection on the current state of historiography, taking into consideration a wide range of historiographical traditions and schools of thought;
• a mobilization of historians as broad as possible in terms of geography, gender, and age as well as the inclusion of various approaches and political orientations to contribute to such a balance; and 
• a comparison of historiographical fields and their current standings, together with discussions of cross-fertilization, with the aim of deepening a broader understanding of common goals and hazards.

Recognizing that the historical sciences are embedded in diverse sociopolitical developments while upholding the freedom of thought and expression in research and addressing the misuse of history, the centennial conference invites panels that critically (self-)reflect on past and future developments in historical research. Panel proposals should address majors trends in the diverse historiographical fields represented by the member organizations of the CISH. To encourage discussions, panels should 

• consider possible (counter)tendencies to transnational openings and to nationalizing closures in different fields, leading to integration and cooperation, on the one hand, as well as pillarization and fragmentation, on the other hand; 
• acknowledge that history (as part of the humanities and social sciences) is often influenced by current sociopolitical trends prioritizing “useful knowledge” and infotainment over critical reflection, which requires the development of strategies for continued critical research that questions mainstream narratives and addresses the inherent complexities and multi-perspectivity of historical developments; and
• recognize that international historiography itself is characterized by many inequalities that result in different chances to be heard and, therefore, sees the conference as an opportunity to present and consider more marginal trends in the historical sciences.

Accordingly, we encourage applicants to view the CISH as the worldwide forum of historians and a shared platform for necessary discussions on possible future orientations of the historical sciences.

The conference is planned around 3 plenary sessions and the CISH General Assembly (including the elections for a new board and a president of the CISH), with approximatively 80 panels. This format ideally allows each member organization (national and thematic) the possibility to be responsible for at least 1 panel with 4–5 contributors each. At the same time, we encourage cooperation between the member organizations and wherever possible joint submissions.

Criteria for panel selections are

• a topic complementing the overall theme of the centennial conference,
• an inclusive approach in terms of geography, gender, academic age, and perspectives covered, and
• the taking into account of the number of panels organized by the submitting member organization.

Panels can be organized in hybrid mode to allow those who have not the means to travel or who would like to reduce their ecological footprint to participate. However, the success of the conference also depends on direct intellectual exchange and face-to-face contact. To balance these considerations, we suggest that at least the chair and the majority of speakers be physically present, which is a prerequisite for panel acceptance. Accordingly, up to 2 out of 5 contributors may participate remotely. 

The schedule is as follows:

• Call for panels: December 2024–March 2025; deadline for submissions: 31 March 2025
• Decision by the CISH board on submitted panel proposals: May 2025; decisions communicated to convener: end of June 2025
• Deadline for early-bird rate registration: February 2026; all panelists have to be registered by that date in order to appear in the program

Please use the form here to submit your panel proposal until 31 March 2025.

The Comité International des Sciences Historiques (CISH) has been founded in 1926. Today, the organization encompasses a total of 58 members.

The CISH includes two sorts of members. Firstly, there are the National Committees formed in each country from their individual centres for historical research. Secondly, International Organizations specializing in particular fields of history have formed over the years. The Board is responsible for the functioning and co-ordination of the CISH’s activities. 

For the term 2026–2031 eight positions
in the Board are open

Tasks: To enable each member to efficiently carry out their duties within the Board, missions have been defined for the mandate. Accountable to the President and the Secretary General, the newly appointed members of the Board have been assigned a specific task in order develop the activities of the CISH:

• Members’ relations: to ensure the relationship with the members of the CISH and to encourage relations with countries that are not, or are no longer, members.
• International partnerships: to develop links with major international institutions and to carry out major scientific events.

Application and procedures: Each candidate to these posts must have a corresponding profile and ensure that they have the necessary material possibilities for the realisation of these tasks.

The candidates must hold a doctoral degree or have the title of a professor or research director. Fluency in at least two of the official languages of the CISH (English, French, Spanish) is appreciated. Candidates older than 70 years in 2026 are not eligible. The nomination committee values diversity in gender and cultural background as well as different epochal specialisation in research.

The application must include the following:

• A letter of motivation and a CV (2 pages maximum)
• A list of the most important publications
• One letter of support from at least one member organisation of the CISH
• A summary of an original and innovative project for the CISH or a project of a mission

The application must be sent as one PDF to office@cish.org before 31 May 2025. 

The selected applicants will be subject to a vote by the General Assembly in 2026. The details of the selection procedures are stated in the CISH constitution.

The nomination committee appointed at the General Assembly of 2024 in Tokyo is composed by: Catherine Horel (CISH President); Edoardo Tortarolo (General Secretary); Katalin Szende (Member of the Board); Radhika Seshan (India); Olunfunke Adeboye (Nigeria), Véronica Zarate (Mexico), Tomasz Schramm (Poland).

In May 1926, the Comité International des Sciences Historiques (CISH) was founded in Lausanne as a non-governmental organization intended to bring together historians from all over the world. The 100^th anniversary of this event is approaching. Therefore, the CISH Board would like to announce 2026 as the year of CISH and invite not only its members (both national committees and affiliated commissions) but also representatives of the entire ‘ecumene’ of historians to celebrate the anniversary together. We especially wish to celebrate and embrace the values that have guided CISH from the beginning, namely defense of freedom of thought and expression in the field of historical research and teaching, and opposition to the misuse of history. CISH was also created to use every means at its disposal to ensure the ethical professional conduct of its members. These are core values that we still put central stage in our work today.

The central event of the celebrations will be the Centennial Conference in Leipzig on 26–30 August 2026 under the theme The Past, the Present, and the Future of History. The Conference is to serve as a platform for historians to reflect on the evolution of historiography over the past century, while looking ahead to future challenges.

As decided by the General Assembly in Tokyo, the Board will focus on the main conference in Leipzig, but we also wish to support other ‘grassroots’ initiatives. For example, various types of national or regional conferences are very much welcome, as well as occasional exhibitions devoted to the history and achievements of CISH (we intend to encourage important libraries and archival institutions to organize such exhibitions).

Conferences and exhibitions should be supplemented with various publications, such as collections of sources or anthologies of texts (memoirs, publications on CISH and its congresses). The first initiative of this kind has already been taken by our treasurer Sacha Zala, who will publish a collection of documents dealing with CISH (more information forthcoming). Biographical publications, for example, on the subsequent CISH presidents, would also be interesting. Moreover, we would like to encourage our members (national committees and affiliated commissions) to write their own histories.

Last but not least, we should make sure that in 2026 the anniversary publications appear in leading historical journals and newspapers in different countries. We hope to interest other media, especially social media.

The entire celebration will be coordinated by a Centennial Committee, appointed by the Board, composed of five members: President Catherine Horel, Vice-President Krzysztof A. Makowski (organizer of the last CISH congress in Poznań 2022), Matthias Middell (organizer of the Centennial Conference in Leipzig 2026), Secretary General Edoardo Tortarolo, Treasurer Sacha Zala.

Please send your proposals for planned anniversary events to: office@cish.org. Proposals that receive the Board’s approval will be entered into the official anniversary calendar. Their authors will have the right to use the CISH logo and – to the extent of our possibilities – count on our substantive support.