Thank yous and welcomes

After five years of stewardship, I would like to thank Avni Chag and Karen O’Brien-Kop for all their service to the Spalding Symposium Committee. The pair signed on in 2020, at what would become an extremely tumultuous time. Avni and Karen managed to keep the Spalding Symposium alive during the coronavirus pandemic by moving it online for two years. This became a blessing in disguise as the Spalding Symposium gained from an international audience, something that continued into the Symposiums at King’s College, Cardiff, and Oxford, which were thankfully held in person. Avni and Karen have brought dynamism, fresh approaches and new communities to the Spalding Symposium, and I hope the new committee can continue in that same direction, with the same energy. I wish Avni and Karen all the best, and I hope that we can still enjoy their experience and insights at future symposia.

I am also delighted to welcome Hershini Soneji (Cambridge) and Ruth Westoby (OCHS) into the organising committee as co-convenors, alongside myself. I look forward to seeing how we can take what many have started, and Avni and Karen have nurtured, into the future.

Kush Depala