The International Urban Symposium (IUS) is a non-profit Association that brings together scholars from various disciplines who share a strong commitment to ethnographic research in urban settings and to empirically-based analysis and non-academics; in particular, professionals who have an interest in the research findings. The IUS encourages topical research among its members; initiates multidisciplinary discussion through round-tables and seminars; trains younger scholars; engenders high-quality publications; establishes links with universities, research institutions and other reputable bodies; and engages in debate and collaboration with non-academics who operate in society and are interested in our empirical knowledge, and in making use of it.