Conference: Northern Europe's Indigenous minorities - pointers for Australia? UNSW, 19-22 July 2007

Invitation and Call for Papers

The struggle for Indigenous rights is a worldwide one: from Australia to Canada, from Indonesia to South Africa, from Central America to - Europe. Yes, Europe: the Sami people of Northern Europe, divided between (and colonised by) the four states of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, have played a major part in the international Indigenous rights movement of recent decades, particularly at United Nations level. At home, they have resisted cultural and linguistic assimilation, the loss of their traditional lands and resources, the denial of equal rights, and the destruction of their traditional economy and way of life. Much of their story will be familiar to Indigenous Australians. Yet theirs is also a success story, at least in some respects. Today, they have their own elected parliaments in three of the four states, and there has been an impressive Sami cultural revival. For more information on the Sami, go to http://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/ces/links.html

The Sami experience will be the subject of a conference taking place at the Centre for European Studies at UNSW, Sydney, 19-22 July 2007.
Among the speakers will be many leading activists of the Sami movement, Sami academics, and researchers on Sami history and culture, covering topics as diverse as Sami music, literature, history, local and regional case studies, political activism and representation, involvement in the global Indigenous movement, legal status, and much more. There will also be Australian speakers, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to compare and contrast the Sami experience with that of Aboriginal Australia. For a
(provisional) list of speakers and papers, see http://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/ces/overview.html

There will be plenty of opportunity for discussion, formal and informal, during the conference. Proposals for papers are invited on topics relevant to the theme of the conference (including the international Indigenous movement, or topics specific to Australia or New Zealand which lend themselves to comparison with the Sami experience), and should be sent to g.minnerup@unsw.edu.au with a title and brief synopsis of no more than 100 words (it is anticipated that a selection of the conference papers will be published in book form).

You are also welcome to the conference if you do not wish to give a paper, however, particularly if you are in some way involved in Indigenous affairs or Indigenous studies: this is a unique opportunity to meet representatives of the Indigenous people of Northern Europe in Australia in a setting that will encourage the exchange of ideas and experiences across the globe. Registration forms can be found at http://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/ces/registration.html

There will be a limited number of free conference registrations for Indigenous Australians without access to institutional funds. For details, please email g.minnerup@unsw.edu.au

Please feel free to distribute this invitation and call for papers around your own colleagues, networks, email lists and so on.

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Günter Minnerup
Director, Centre for European Studies
School of History and Philosophy
University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052
Tel.(+61 2) 9385 3051
Fax (+61 2) 9385 1492
Email: g.minnerup@unsw.edu.au
Web: www.arts.unsw.edu.au/CES/