There are various reasons for the change of location of the conference, including the increasing costs of international air travel, the continuing strain on university travel budgets occasioned by the pandemic, the increasingly stringent health certifications associated with international travel, and the likelihood that Rome would be a more convenient location for most IAUPE members in 2023 than Sydney. The EC did consider the possibility of a “virtual” online conference, but the view was that this would not be appropriate to the particular ambience of this organization. Fortunately, Paul Giles, IAUPE President, now has an association with the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences at Australian Catholic University, based in Melbourne. ACU has a campus in the Trastevere district of Rome, which is willing to host the event.

IAUPE conferences have a number of distinctive features. First, the academic programme is unusually comprehensive, ranging from the early medieval period to the 21st century. Second, the conference builds community among scholars who, while all belonging to “English,” would not ordinarily come together. Owing to the broad international representation and the collegial atmosphere, IAUPE conferences provide opportunities for like-minded colleagues to meet. IAUPE meetings have an excellent record of sowing the seeds of cooperative projects. Third, IAUPE conferences always include special cultural and social events—concerts, excursions, and so on—intended to provide conference participants and their partners with opportunities to become acquainted with the best that the venue can offer.