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Welcome to the 78th Annual WAPOR Conference

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the Conference Committee, I am delighted to welcome you to the 78th Annual Conference of the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR), taking place from May 12–15, 2025, at the historic St. Louis Union Station in Missouri, USA.

This year’s conference is special, as we are joining forces with the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) to host a joint event—an exceptional opportunity for dialogue, collaboration, and learning across our global professional communities.

Our conference theme: “The Evolving Landscape of Election Polls: Challenges, Biases, and Innovations in a Polarized World,” could not be more timely. The recent U.S. election raised important questions about polling accuracy, bias, and the broader challenge of measuring public opinion in increasingly divided societies. With nearly half the world’s population voting in 2024, the global context underlines the need for comparability and methodological clarity. We will explore emerging digital methodologies and the complexities of polling in non-democratic contexts, where fear and misreporting can distort results. We also raise critical methodological concerns, including sampling challenges, measurement errors and various challenges regarding representativeness. WAPOR’s strength has always been its comparative and international perspective—essential for understanding the complex societal and political dynamics of our turbulent times.

We are proud to offer a rich and diverse program:

  • Monday, May 12 opens with four expert-led workshops, free for all registered participants.
  • Tuesday, May 13 features the official conference opening, a keynote by Erik Nisbet, a roundtable on global election challenges, and the annual WAPOR Awards Banquet.
  • Wednesday, May 14 includes a joint plenary session with AAPOR on the performance and impact of the 2024 election polls, followed by a joint AAPOR/WAPOR Welcome Reception—a wonderful opportunity for networking.
  • Thursday, May 15 offers access to joint sessions with AAPOR, covering topics such as AI attitudes and international survey methodology. The conference concludes with a Mississippi River Cruise and live blues concert at 8:30 p.m.—a memorable way to end our gathering.

For those extending their stay or being still active at the AAPOR conference, we warmly invite you to join our optional excursions on May 16 to the St. Louis Art Museum and the Chess Hall of Fame.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the outstanding members of the WAPOR Conference Committee: Timothy Johnson, Olga Kamenchuk, Chase Harrison, Henning Silber, and Jonathan Evans. A special thanks to our Executive Director, Kseniya Kizilova, whose work behind the scenes keep everything running smoothly. I also want to acknowledge our President Christian Haerpfer and Vice-President Colin Irwin, whose support and advice have been invaluable to our committee.

We are excited to welcome you to St. Louis and look forward to meaningful conversations, shared discoveries, and continued collaboration within our global research community.


Warm regards,
Wolfgang Aschauer
Chair, WAPOR Conference Committee
World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR)