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19th Annual
Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies Conference
27th-30th August 2012 ~ Oslo, Norway



Dear ,


With great pleasure, we would like to officially welcome you to our 19th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies, 27th-30th August 2012. You will find all the latest details on the conference page: http://www.humiliationstudies.org/whoweare/annualmeeting19.php

 

This Year's Theme: A Remembrance    

WDU Globe

 

In commemoration of the tragic events that took place in Norway last year, the conference is entitled, "In the Aftermath of the 22nd July: How to Sustain a Global Culture of Equality in Dignity or likeverd." The conference will advocate the notion of dignity, not just locally, but globally. The conference will also include activities for our new World Dignity University initiative. 

 

We are very thankful to Jorunn ØklandDirector of the Centre for Gender Research, and the University of Oslo for their generous hospitality in hosting this conference! 

 

Our "Unconference" Conference

This is a unique, co-created conference! Rather than organizing time around keynote presentations, we organize around human-to-human conversations, taking a highly collaborative approach to planning our time together.

 

Specifically, we use a format of  "Open Space Sessions." These are conversations on topics proposed by participants. On the first day of the conference, those participants who would like to propose a topic will describe it. Then, as a group, we will combine and prioritize these ideas as needed to finalize the schedule for the rest of the conference.

 

We invite you to offer a topic and be open to other proposals. Also, if you make a proposal, please kindly be prepared to be a dialogue facilitator/leader for the session. The Open Space process encourages all of us to meet in a spirit of mutual support, equal dignity, and flexibility, which enriches the conversations throughout our "unconference" conference!

 

A New Activity!   

 

As a special feature this year, we will invite volunteers to videotape "Dignity Dialogues" for the World Dignity University Initiative following each Open Space Session! These dialogues will briefly summarize the key points from the Open Space discussions, providing documentation of the group's conversation. For an example of a video dialogue, please see: http://www.worlddignityuniversity.org/joo/  

 

Our Public Event Is Open to All

 

In addition to the three-day closed conference for HumanDHS members and friends, we will be hosting a Public Event entitled "From Humiliation to Dignity," August 30th, 2012, 13.00 - 16.00, in Auditorium 2 of the University Library of the Blindern Campus. Please invite all interested colleagues and friends to this wonderful event!

 

Many Ways to Connect!

 

This year, we are offering multiple ways to connect to this special conference! In addition to our face-to-face meeting in Oslo, Lasse Moer will be facilitating a live video broadcast using Adobe Connect. We will post the URL on our conference page as soon as we have it. This video link will be available to all who wish to watch the unedited, real-time proceedings of the meeting as it unfolds (Oslo time).

 

For those of you who cannot travel to Oslo or join the live broadcast, Linda Hartling, in Oregon, on the West Coast of the United States, invites you to join her for an online Pacific Rim Edition of the Annual HumanDHS Conference! This will be a condensed version of the larger conference (9:30 AM-12:30 PM, Pacific Daylight Time). If you would like to sign-up for the Pacific Rim Edition, please email Linda Hartling directly at: Lhartling@humiliationstudies.org. She will send you the instructions for joining in the dialogue!

 

No Registration Fee

 

There is no charge for the HumanDHS Conference or our online sessions. In the spirit of shared responsibility, we will assess whether there any unmet expenses during the Oslo part of the conference and, if necessary, invite participants to contribute according to their ability. We also gladly welcome electronic contributions in support of our work! 

 

Even though everybody is fully responsible for their own travel, transportation, and accommodation arrangements, we would like to kindly ask participants who reside in Oslo to give a helping hand to those traveling to Oslo from outside. We greatly appreciate everyone's efforts to keep this event collaborative and affordable for all!

  

In preparation for the conference, we invite you to kindly download and fill out an "Appreciative Introduction" form (PDF or Word document) and bring it with you to the conference--Thank you!  


Our Warmest Welcome to YOU!

 

Again, we warmly welcome you to our conference. We appreciate your willingness to be an essential part of this special gathering. Your participation is of great importance. We are certain that your contribution will have helpful reverberations not only for your work, but also for our network of scholars and practitioners working throughout the world.

 

With the highest regards and the warmest wishes!


Evelin Lindner, Linda Hartling, Jorunn Økland,  Uli Spalthoff, & Michael Britton 

 

 

P.S. If you are not able to attend, we look forward to having you with us in spirit!  You are warmly invited to send us a message that we can share with everyone who attends this special conference!! 

A world without humiliation dignifies us all!