The Voices of Ethnobiology - The 2019 SoE Conference, Vancouver, BC

Our conference theme “Voices” recognizes the many ways ethnobiological knowledge is communicated and promoted through stories, songs, language, and activism.  At this year’s meeting, we hope to create spaces where people can comfortably add their voice to the many possible ethnobiological conversations.  We welcome submissions on all ethnobiological topics.  

#SoEthnobio19    #SoE2019Voices

OVERVIEW SCHEDULE 

Here’s a glimpse at some conference highlights 

Conference activities start during the day Wed, 8 May with a host of workshops, field excursions, and round tables, and continue through Saturday, 11 May with our field trips.  In addition to the usual high-calibre delivered paper and poster sessions, we will have: 

• A welcome reception with music, at the Museum of Anthropology
• Sessions with longer time slots dedicated to story-telling
• A space where Elders can gather and share knowledge
• Workshops on topics such as Salish weaving, Indigenous mapping projects, and archaeobotanical identifications
• A banquet at Musqueam First Nation, including tours of the Nation’s cultural center and surrounding reserve
• Three field trips highlighting the ways in which the deep history of the people of the Northwest is written on the landscape
• A film screening and a discussion with the producer 
• Lunch time ethnobotany walks
• Special student events
• Local Indigenous foods peppered throughout (feel free to bring foods to share! - contact the organizers).
   

Statement on waste-reduction

In these crazy-world times, we are all increasingly aware of the negative impacts each of us has on the planet. As conference organizers, we are painfully aware that encouraging people to fly contributes significantly to greenhouse gasses and thus to the many social and environmental ills we are battling to counteract. Nevertheless, we also recognize that meeting with our community face-to-face means being (re)energized and educated, and enables us to go forward to create social change in our small corners of the world.

In planning the 2019 SoE conference, we have undertaken a variety of small actions that will hopefully raise awareness and reduce the impacts of our gathering.

• We are re-using the conference badge-holders from the 2018 conference (we went around and collected them after the banquet last year!).
• We encourage you to bring your own badge-holder. Some of us have a drawer-full.
• We encourage you to bring your own travel mug.
• We will have a travel-mug swap. So, if you have extras, bring them along to contribute.
• We will have on-site recycling, composting, and will minimize waste whenever possible.
• We are seeking locally sourced, bulk, organic foods for snacks at the conference.
• We are offering a paperless (on-line) conference program option.
• No plastic conference swag from us! Only local foods.
   

Statement on inclusivity and diversity

In our conference planning, we are also conscious of creating ways to encourage a range of respectful voices at our conference.  For us, this means making the conference space welcoming to diverse communities and not allowing discrimination of any kind.  To this end we have done the following; we welcome other suggestions:

• Made sure there is a gender-inclusive (single-stall) bathroom in the conference venue.
• Confirmed that there is wheelchair access to the conference venues.
• Organized day-care options.
• Set aside space for Indigenous Elders.
• Created non-traditional sessions for knowledge sharing (story-telling)
• We require all conference presenters to abide by the code of ethics adopted by our organization (https://ethnobiology.org/about-society-ethnobiology/ethics)
• We encourage attendance by caregivers; no registration fee is required.
   

A Note about social media ethics

To encourage this conference being a safe and inviting space for diverse voices and perspectives, we offer the following guidelines for respectful social media conversations:

• Only post content that represents your own thoughts.
• Act in a professional and constructive manner, especially regarding sensitive or meaningful topics.
• Show respect for others’ opinions, and their rights to choose to participate or refrain from commenting in online discussions.
• Do not post presenters’ ideas or data without the expressed permission of the presenter. In our conference, a presenter’s permission to share ideas and data will be indicated by our “thumbs up” icon, or through direct permission from the author(s).

Our “Thumbs Up” icon:

If you see this Icon on the title page or poster of a presentation, it means the author(s) have given permission to post images of their presentation online. If you do not see this icon, approach the author and ask permission about posting any information or images associated with the author before you share any information.

If you have any questions or ideas to share, contact:

• General inquires:  conference@ethnobiology.org, dlepofsk@sfu.ca
• Workshops: madi.donald@gmail.com
• Childcare: conference@ethnobiology.org
• Posters: julie_nielsen@sfu.ca
• Contributing traditional food to share: leighjennyjoseph@gmail.com
• Travel visas: conference@ethnobiology.org

We look forward to gathering with you in Vancouver, and celebrating the many voices of Ethnobiology.

- Daisy Rosenblum, Sarah Walshaw, Dana Lepofsky