Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, November 2001

Conferences

PAST

UPCOMING

PAST

Protection of cultural identity and indigenous knowledge
Utrecht (the Netherlands)
16 November 2001

To mark its 15th anniversary, the Centre for Intellectual Property Law (CIER) is holding an international conference on the legal protection of cultural identity (e.g. folklore) and indigenous knowledge (e.g. knowledge concerning plant material). The conference will be at the Academiegebouw (Utrecht University), Domplein 1, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

The main topic will be how expressions of traditional culture and innovations derived from traditional knowledge can be assigned a value when they are being exploited for economic benefit, and whether legal protection can and should be provided using intellectual property law or other means.

The conference is meant to be a forum for discussion among academics, practitioners, entrepreneurs, politicians, and all those working in the field of intellectual property law and related fields. It is of note here that, since each nation has valuable and cherished traditions of cultural expression and scientific innovation, the central theme of the conference is not intended to pertain only to the South-North issue.

For more information, please see the website, or contact:
F.W. Grosheide, Molengraaff Instituut voor Privaatrecht, Centrum voor Intellectueel Eigendom (CIER), Nobelstraat 2A, 3512 EN Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Tel.: +31-30-253 7188
Fax: +31-30-253 7203
E-mail: Molengraaff@law.uu.nl
http://www.law.uu.nl/priv/cier/Inhoudeng/ProvisionalAnnouncement.asp

UPCOMING

19th Annual Southeast Asia Conference
Local knowledges and global forces in Southeast Asia
8-9 February 2002
Berkeley (USA)
This international conference is being organized by the Center for Southeast Asia Studies of the University of California. The theme is the interface of global forces and local processes. The conference will focus on the role of indigenous and other sub-national cultures and knowledges, and on the position and agency of the nation state in the context of global forces. Emphasis will be on contemporary developments.

For more information, please contact:
Dr William Collins, Center for Southeast Asia Studies, University of California, 2223 Fulton Street, Mail Code 2318, Berkeley, CA 94720-2318, USA
Tel.: +1-510- 642-3609.
Fax: +1-510-643-7062.
E-mail: cseas@uclink.berkeley.edu
http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~cseas/events.html

4th Brazilian Symposium of Ethnobiology & Ethnoecology (SBEE)
Recife, Pernambuco (Brazil)
25 February- 1 March 2002
This symposium is being promoted and organized by the Brazilian Society of Ethnobiology & Ethnoecology (SBEE), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), and Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE).

The main theme is People in ecosystems: linkages between traditional wisdom and biodiversity conservation. Contributions will be in the fields of Ethnobotany, Ethnozoology, Ethnoecology, Human Ecology, Agroecology, Ethnomedicine and Ethnopharmacology, and Environmental Education.

Speakers include Professor Simone Maldonado, Professor José Geraldo W. Marques and Professor Antonio Carlos Diegues. Ethnoscientists from Brazil and other countries are invited and expected to participate.

This will be a great opportunity for celebrating the memory of the late Darrell Addison Posey. His research and ethical attitude encouraged and inspired most young Brazilian ethnoscientists.

The conference language is Portuguese.

For more information, please contact:
FACTOS - Promoção, Marketing e Eventos
Rua Álvaro Teixeira de Mesquita, 258, Cidade Universitária - Recife - PE , 50.730-660, Brazil.
Tel.: +55-81-3454-0207 / 9968-1915.
Fax: +55-81-3453-3238.
E-mail: factos@netpe.com.br
http://www.ufpe.br/ivsbee

From Africa to the world:
The globalisation of indigenous knowledge systems
Johannesburg (South Africa)
17-20 April 2002
The Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) is hosting this biennial Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African Librarians (SCECSAL) in Johannesburg.

As the global village expands to even the remotest rural communities, the international sciences (also known as scientific knowledge systems) need to acknowledge the role of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) in sustainable resource management. IKSs generate important information which should be recorded, documented and made accessible to local communities, the wider African community, and the global information community.

The participants in this four-day conference are expected to include library and information professionals from other parts of the African continent. The speakers will include: Alan Emery, President and CEO, KIVU Nature, Inc., Canada; Odora Hoppers, HSRC, University of Pretoria; Gloria Emeagwali, History Department, Central Connecticut State University, USA; Andrew Kaniki, Information Studies, School of Human and Social Studies, University of Natal

For more information, please contact:
SCECSAL Conference Secretariat
P.O. Box 1598, Pretoria 0001, Republic of South Africa
Tel.: +27-12-481-4872.
Fax: +27-12-481-2873.
E-mail: scecsal@liasa.org.za
http://www.imaginet.co.za/liasa/scecsal/invitation.html

Third MMSEA Conference
Mountain IK, sustainable livelihoods, and creative means of resource governance
Ljiang, Yunnan (PR China)
19-32 August 2002
At MMSEA II in July 2000 in Chiang Mai, it was decided that MMSEA III would be held in Yunnan, China. MMSEA stands for Montane Mainland South-East Asia. The full title of this third conference is Mountain indigenous knowledge, sustainable livelihoods and creative means of resource governance. Concepts, strategies and action on mountain cultures and biodiversity in montane mainland South-East Asia.

The purpose of the conference is to provide an opportunity for researchers, decision-makers and local actors (indigenous specialists and leaders) from mountain areas to present and exchange their findings and ideas. It will be an action-oriented conference which encourages academic exchange and learning from each other and from field experiences. The aim is, through joint effort, to develop and design an action plan for MMSEA.

MMSEA III will have three main themes:

• Indigenous knowledge and scientific knowledge systems
• Globalization and localization
• Methodology of Research and Development: the challenge of bridging systems, worldviews and cultures through participation and dialogue.

For more information, please contact:
Xy Jianchu and Timmi Tillmann (CBIK), Floor 3 Building A Zhonghuandasha, Yanjiadi, Kunming 50034, PR China.
Tel.: +86-871-4123519.
E-mail: cbik03@public.km.yn.cn
http://cbik.org/list.asp?id=1

Farming practices and knowledge of pharmacopoeia
Bukavu, South- Kivu (DR Congo)
June 2002

This regional fair will take place on the premises of the Research Centre for Natural Sciences (CRSN/Lwiro), near Bukavu in South Kivu, DR Congo.

The purpose of the fair will be to validate local knowledge and practices related to farming and to the science of medicines and their uses. The results expected from the fair are:

• discovery of practical improvements that have occurred over the last ten years;
• identification of local knowledge and practices and their impact on the social life of people living in the sub-region of the great lakes;
• discovery of new knowledge and practices for survival;
• networking that results in exchanges and new links between persons working in the same fields and areas;
• start of a directory of indigenous knowledge and practices that will grow steadily through interaction among members of the Diobass Platform and other persons in the sub-region.

The deadline for registration is 20 February 2002.

For more information, please contact:
Sylvain Mapatano, Organizing committee / Diobass Platform of Kivu
C/° P.O. Box 274, Cyangugu, Rwanda.
Tel.: +250-8528187.
E-mail: doreemedia@eikmail.com or msylvain@wanadoo.be

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