"More than ever, human survival depends on successful communication on a global level. The fate of the human race has become literally dependent on our ability to cope with problems of international communication." wrote Jef Verschuren when he inaugurated the IPrA in 1986. As I read this, I thought this is an organization where my aspirations with regard to my scholarship can be realized.

The fact that I, a non-American, non-European scholar, was chosen as the new IPrA president could be an indication that the time has come for new directions in the study of pragmatics. One such change would be a change in the direction of the academic debate from unidirectional (from the West to all others) to multidirectional (from every part of this globe to every other). Even though the many contributions from the West are acknowledged, it might be time for all of us to learn from previously overlooked areas of the world in order to attain a better understanding of the complexity of the linguistic practices of the human race.

It is my hope that this website will encourage the development of a forum where members of IPrA can come and express and discuss their opinions, ideas and suggestions. This blog is for you and I hope it will become an exciting place to visit. The goal is that it will contribute to the expansion of the horizon of the study of pragmatics.

Sachiko Ide