This issue of TEA looks back on a successful EAA 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting – the first time we met exclusively online. It was a new and not entirely voluntary experience for many of us, and whilst some found it inspiring, others found it tiring. We certainly hope that our in-person meetings will resume soon. We are fortunate that we will not have to miss out on Budapest, and look forward to gathering there in 2022! This issue includes information about the 2020 event in the EAA Annual Meeting Report and the EAA Virtual Annual Meeting evaluation survey.
The EAA general elections took place in tandem with the conference, and we welcome Eszter Bánffy as Incoming President, who will shadow our current President Felipe Criado-Boado until the end of his term in the summer 2021. Sally Mary Foster is our new Secretary, and Amanda Chadburn and Maria Taloni will serve the coming years as ordinary executive board members. The Nomination Committee Early Career Professional position went to Marta Rakvin. The election statements of all candidates were published in the previous issue of TEA.
Cornelius Holtorf gave the keynote lecture ‘Post-Corona Archaeology: Creating a New Normal?’ and made it available to read in this issue.
Our debate piece focusses on the nature of the conference contribution – please join us in discussing if you consider a talk to be similar to a publication, a personal comment or something else entirely – and what this means for moving towards online formats.
Long-standing board member Alessandro Vanzetti looks back at his years of service for the EAA in this issue, raising important points about the administration of our organisation. It is an interesting read for everyone, especially those considering running for a position in the EAA Executive Board or wishing to get more involved in EAA policy.
Meanwhile, preparations for the 2021 Annual Meeting in Kiel are in full swing. It will be a hybrid event, allowing both in-person and remote participation. This format incurs additional costs, which are explained in more detail in this issue. The call for sessions and registration is open!
TEA is a newsletter service from members to members – take advantage and use it to disseminate what is important in your life as an archaeologist. You will find the report ‘The early medieval town of Dzhankent (Kazahkstan): from initial hypothesis to new model’ by Heinrich Härke and Irina A. Arzhantseva in this issue. We are happy to publish short research reports, but be aware that they are not peer-reviewed journal articles.
The TEA winter issue has a deadline of 15 January 2021. We are looking forward to a new, pandemic-free year! As usual, please send all items you wish to see published in the newsletter to tea@e-a-a.org. We look forward to hearing from you.
Roderick B. Salisbury and Katharina Rebay-Salisbury