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Authored by:
Silke Blohm
Annual Meeting Co-chair
SOAS University of London

I am truly excited to have the pleasure this year to be one of the SRAI’s Annual Meeting co-chairs, together with Marcia Landen and Ellen Zavala. As a Board Ad Hoc member and President of the International Section, being co-chair is a new challenge to add to my volunteer responsibilities for SRAI.

The 51st SRAI Annual Meeting is taking place this year in Orlando, Florida October 27-31 at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. Together with Marcia and Ellen, we visited the hotel at the beginning of April to finalize the education program for the meeting and plan further for the conference. We are excited about the amount of great proposals this year and the quality of the content. We are working hard with headquarters to post the program online at the beginning of May. Don’t forget to be on the look for the announcements and to check the website.

We are happy to welcome the SRAI membership in the heart of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. The Dolphin hotel (where the conference will be held) is conveniently located in between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios, and nearby many other popular Orlando attractions so you can stay close to the action. You can take a leisurely water taxi from the hotel and explore the boardwalk and the surroundings. As guest of the Dolphin hotel, don’t forget that you are entitled to many special Disney benefits to help you make the most of your time, such as the all new MyMagic+ benefit, complimentary scheduled transportation to the Disney theme parks and attractions, on-site Disney ticket and information desks, the Extra Magic Hours benefit in the theme parks, on-site character dining, and advance tee times on championship Disney golf courses.

With a fantastic line-up of speakers and our 2018 theme — "Resilience" — this year's SRAI Annual Meeting is not-to-be-missed! We are looking forward to introducing to you the theme of Resiliency to acknowledge the hardship that our colleagues are enduring in areas impacted by the hurricanes in 2017. SRAI members in Puerto Rico, Houston and Florida are still on road of recovery. And we want to show them our support and that we stand with them!

Resilience is defined by the International Standards Organization (ISO) as the “ability to absorb and adapt in a changing environment.” Whether describing the resilience of an individual, an organization, or a community of any size, this definition provides us guidance. Most often discussions about resilience focus on the ability of the individual, organization, or community to resist being impacted in a negative manner when something “bad” happens. On the positive side, individuals, organizations and communities that can adapt and manage change are considered to be more resilient than those that don’t or can’t adapt and change.

As Research Administrators we are put through challenges every day and we have to adapt to a quickly changing environment, both internally and externally. This affects the external funding landscape, nationally as much as internationally, the Higher Education policy environment and restructures in our own organizations. The 2018 SRAI Annual Meeting will focus on the Research Administrators’ Resilience for organizational and individual longevity, and create a platform for Research Administrators to come together, engage and collaborate with peers from around the world.

I much look forward to seeing you there.