The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) was founded in Nagoya, Japan, in 2009 as a research organisation, conference organiser and publisher dedicated to encouraging interdisciplinary discussion, facilitating intercultural awareness and promoting international exchange, principally through educational interaction and academic research. By creating opportunities for dialogue between academics and thought leaders, IAFOR has become a pioneer in providing the research avenues and visionary development solutions that are necessary in our rapidly emerging globalised world.

This information exchange takes place through IAFOR’s academic events in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East. IAFOR’s interdisciplinary conferences are diverse and inclusive network hubs, where academics come from all over the world to generate, share and nurture new knowledge and ideas. IAFOR makes much of the content generated freely available to the world through its Open Access publications and audiovisual media repositories.

IAFOR is a confederation of leaders and opinion formers around the globe who have one thing in common: a desire to make a difference.

Since 2009 IAFOR has provided new perspectives to the thought leaders and decision-makers of today and tomorrow by offering constructive environments for dialogue and interchange at the intersections of nation, culture and discipline.

The organisation was founded by a small group of concerned Asian, European and North American academics and business professionals as a mission-driven politically independent organisation dedicated to providing and promoting meaningful dialogue irrespective of international borders. With the Asia-Pacific region emerging as a new and powerful centre of world events to rival the traditional European-American hegemonic axis, and with different and conflicting nationalistic fears and domestic political interests often dictating negative foreign policies, the stakes for ensuring cooperation between the Asian states and the Western world have never been higher, and IAFOR's mission is more relevant than ever.

Since its founding IAFOR has been committed to ensuring that Asian leaders and opinion formers in both the public and private sectors, in education, the media and business, have had the chance to meet their colleagues in other countries, and discuss issues of national and international relevance and importance.

Through its international, intercultural and interdisciplinary conferences, research and publications, IAFOR has become the network hub for information exchange across Asia and beyond, connecting individuals and institutions across the globe, and the thought leaders of today with those of tomorrow.

The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) supports original research by facilitating and encouraging research partnerships on an individual and institutional level. Through the IAFOR Research Institute, the IAFOR Global Partnership Programme and IAFOR grants and scholarships, IAFOR engages with global and event partners as well as an extensive network of individuals to both generate research and provide appropriate event and publication platforms for its evaluation, presentation and dissemination.

Since 2009, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) has welcomed over 16,000 academics to its conferences held in Kobe (Japan), Brighton (UK), Barcelona (Spain), Hawaii (USA) and Dubai (UAE). Approximately 40 interdisciplinary conferences are held each year, covering a broad range of subject matter. Each event is assigned an Organising Committee made up of distinguished experts in relevant fields who take charge of developing rich programmes of speakers.

Over the years hundreds of leading figures from a diverse range of fields and industries have spoken at IAFOR events, where both established and up-and-coming academics present their research, receive feedback, start conversations and forge new connections in a stimulating, inclusive and nurturing environment. Following IAFOR events, presenters are encouraged to deposit their research in the Conference Proceedings, which are Open Access research repositories.