Behind the scenes a lot of things are happing again in our association, and of course, we would like to share the most important issues with you before the Christmas Holiday. Firstly, we are proud to announce that we have filled most of the positions in our committee of recommendation with renowned dignitaries in the field of historical demography who will support and promote our association. We are happy that they have accepted to take on this responsibility as it will increase our influence and impact on the international scientific community.

Secondly, we have been asking ourselves what kind of information young historical demographers might need when trying to find their way in the field. Next to the information we provide about relevant conferences and training opportunities on our website, we have decided to gather information on all the organizations, networks, and institutes which are involved in historical demographic research and education. This page is still under construction, so if you know of any information that is missing, please let us know. In the future we are planning to make available a list of journals in which historical demographers frequently publish. In doing so, we hope that alongside being a platform for exchanging information, we can also offer direction to young historical demographers who find themselves lost in the vast amount of information on the web.

Thirdly, after an enjoyable informal event with 13 participants at the IUSSP International Population Conference in Cape Town, some important conferences are scheduled for the first half of 2018. Many of our members will be present at the following conferences and we will endevour to organize (in)formal meet-ups: the Ninth Demographic Conference of ’Young Demographers’ in Prague (February 15-16 2018), the European Social Science History Conference (ESSHC) in Belfast (April 4-7 2018), and the European Population Conference (EAPS) in Brussels (June 6-9 2018). Keep an eye on our Facebook page and website for details.

Lastly, just as with populations, associations also change as the result of ’migration’. On the one hand, our secretary Christa Matthys has decided to leave academia, and therefore also resigns from her function on the AYHD board. We would like to thank Christa for everything: she was an enthusiastic and constructive contributor from the start, and was the driving force behind the collection of useful education materials now available on our website. This is still work in progress and something that she will still be involved with going forward. On the other hand, we are happy to welcome Yuliya Hilevych as the new ambassador for Western Europe, which you can read more about in this newsletter.

All that remains now is to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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