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International Irish Diaspora Congress: Buenos Aires 15-19 June 2011

By Noreen Bowden | September 10, 2010

The call for papers below came through on the Irish Diaspora Listserv. How exciting that the 90th anniversary of the Irish Race Congress in Buenos Aires will be commemorated in this way! That Congress was held in preparation for the International Congress of the Irish Race in Paris, and the Irish government sent envoys to Irish communities in South Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and the US seeking support for a Republic. [See a 1921 New York Times report on the Buenos Aires Congress.]

It  was just one example of Ireland’s political globalisation in the early days of independence. As the originator of the idea of the Congress of the Irish Race, Thomas Hughes Kelly of New York, declared: ‘Ireland’s future is not limited to its geographic boundaries. She gave away to the world her strongest and most trustworthy sons. Now we compensate her with our support, which is the first offspring of that prolific seed’.

But I digress – below is the call for papers. I’ll post up more info when I find out more.

INTERNATIONAL IRISH DIASPORA CONGRESS

Buenos Aires (Argentina) — From 15th to 19th of June 2011.

Official Notification: Presentation of Papers- 1st Call

In June of 2011, the 1st International Irish Diaspora Congress will take
in the City of Buenos Aires, exactly 90 years after a meeting of a
similar nature took place in 1921. The principal objective of next
year’s Congress is to stimulate cultural exchange and share experiences
between Irish Associations and people.

Each participating Institution is asked to give a brief account of
current activities and its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats. Learning how the Irish Community has integrated into each
specific Country-Destination will be of general interest, too.
Participating individuals or Associations are invited to present
speeches and/or lectures on the topic of cultural diversity of emigrants
and their descendents.

The Department of Irish Culture from the Universidad Nacional de La
Plata (UNL) & the Universidad de Ciencias Empresariales y Sociales
(UCES) will provide the academic framework for these expositions. The
papers submitted for consideration must relate to any one of the
following topics:

– The Irish Diaspora
– Literature and the Irish Emigrant (essays, short stories, novels, poetry)
– History of Irish Emigration in each country
– Fundraising for Irish Associations (experiences, tips)
– Irish Education abroad
– Irish Dance & Music (experiences)
– Business and Work opportunities for Irish Descendents Abroad

Those who are interested in participating must submit an abstract before
February 1, 2011, written in English, of no more than 300 words, on any
of the aforementioned topics.

The proposals that are deemed adequate (given general interests and the
length of the Congress) have until May 15, 2011 to send the paper in
full to the Department’s inbox.

The Academic Committee will be comprised of people with great knowledge
on the subjects to be discussed, including professors from the UNL and
the UCES.

For more info: http://www.asociacionirlandesa.com.ar/?lang=en or
asoargirl@yahoo.com.ar

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