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The European Social Simulation Association (ESSA) is a professional association dedicated to promoting the development of Social simulation research, education, and application in Europe. It was founded in 1993 based on a manifesto signed by numerous social simulation researchers and has currently about 350 members. One of ESSA’s main activities is the organization of the annual Social Simulation Conference. The primary stakeholders and target audience for ESSA's work include researchers, educators, and practitioners interested in social simulation and computational social science.

Objectives
The objectives of ESSA are:
 * Encouraging the development of social simulation in Europe and more widely.
 * Promoting international cooperation and developing the distinctiveness of European social simulation research.
 * Growing a new generation of social simulation researchers capable of improving traditional fields and disciplines.
 * Promoting educational initiatives and supporting the development of European post-graduate courses and qualifications in social simulation.
 * Favouring applied social simulation research that responds to important stakeholders' needs.
 * Supporting and organising regular regional and international conferences and workshops.

History
The European Social Simulation Association was founded in 2003 on the basis of a manifesto signed by many social simulation researchers. These founding members also drafted a constitution which forms the basis of ESSA's constitution.

The ESSA initial community is active since at least 1992, when the first of a series of symposia on Simulating Societies (SimSoc) was organized by Nigel Gilbert at the University of Surrey, in Surrey, UK. The same community also gave rise to other initiatives including the SimSoc mailing list.

In 1998, some of the later ESSA founders joined in a consortium, the main purpose of which at was the editing of the scientific Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (JASSS). JASSS is now the main forum for scientific publications in the field of agent-based social simulation.

The following events – two Conferences on Computer Simulation and the Social Sciences (ICCS&SS I and II) held in 1997 and 2000 – were also organized from within the European community and rose up to an international level. They set the ground for the series of World Congress on Social Simulation (WCSS), which started in Tokyo in 2001.

At the same time, a series of workshops on Multi Agent Based Simulation (MABS), was launched at the 3rd ICMAS conference in 1998, bridging the social simulation to the MAS community. This and the Special Interest Group on Agent Based Social Simulation , which was active during the European Network of Excellence AgentLink within the fourth and fifth frameworks of the European projects, greatly contributed to consolidate both the interdisciplinary and the international dimension of the field.

Conferences
ESSA organizes annual conferences, continuing a series that goes back to 1992 when the first SimSoc conference was held in Guildford, UK, and the first international conference on computer simulation and the social sciences (ICSS&SS) was held in Cortona, Italy, in 1997. Starting in 2014, this conference series was renamed "Social Simulation Conference".

In addition to physical conferences, ESSA has also hosted online events, including the Social Simulation Week in 2020 and the Social Simulation Festival in 2021-2023.

Summer Schools
ESSA summer schools. provide an introduction to agent-based modeling and simulation. Over the course of one week, participants learn about the research process, methods, and tools. Learning formats include lectures, practical tutorials, and discussions.

The ESSA summer schools build on the experience of the ZUMA Social Simulation Workshops organized by Nigel Gilbert and Klaus G. Troitzsch (1999-2009). These summer schools aim to increase the understanding of agent-based simulations and aid in tackling specific challenges faced by researchers. The summer school is intended for postgraduate students, doctoral and post-doctoral researchers, and professionals.

Past Presidents
ESSA elects their President and the Management Committee members every two years.


 * Harko Verhagen (2022-present)
 * Petra Ahrweiler (2020-2022)
 * Gary Polhill (2016-2020)
 * Flaminio Squazzoni (2012-2016)
 * Andreas Ernst (2010-2012)
 * Wander Jager (2008-2010)
 * Rosaria Conte (2006-2008)
 * Nigel Gilbert (2004-2006)
 * Scott Moss (2003-2004)

Awards
Since 2016, ESSA biannually awards the Rosaria Conte Outstanding Contribution to Social Simulation Award.


 * Klaus G. Troitzsch (2022)
 * Joshua M. Epstein (2020)
 * Uri Wilensky (2018)
 * Nigel Gilbert (2016)