SUSTAINING CULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD: LESSONS FOR GLOBAL POLICY
Agenda
Download a PDF of the agenda here!
DAY ONE Wednesday, April 2, 2008
7:45-8:30 am Registration
8:30 am
SESSION I
SUSTAINING CULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: SETTING THE STAGE
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS (Kaufmann Theater, first floor)
Ellen V. Futter, President, American Museum of Natural History
MP3
SESSION INTRODUCTION
Eleanor Sterling, Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, US
MP3
Luisa Maffi, Director, Terralingua, British Columbia, Canada
MP3
HOW DO BIODIVERSITY AND CULTURE INTERSECT?
Jules Pretty, Head, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, UK
MP3
CONSERVATION REDUX: DIALOGUE AND THE RECONCILIATION OF DIVERSITY
Kenneth Iain MacDonald, Department of Geography, Program in International Development Studies, Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies, University of Toronto, Canada
MP3
LOCAL VOICES IN GLOBAL DISCUSSIONS:
HOW FAR HAVE INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION POLICY AND PRACTICE INTEGRATED INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES?
Ashish Kothari, Member, Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group and Co-Chair, IUCN
Theme on Indigenous/Local Communities, Equity, and Protected Areas, Pune, India
MP3
COFFEE BREAK (9:55-10:25 am)
(Hall of Northwest Coast Indians)
SESSION II
SUSTAINING CULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: ISSUES AND PRIORITIES
10:25 am
TOPIC 1:
CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY AND SUSTAINING CULTURAL DIVERSITY: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
CHAIRS: Alaka Wali, Nuveen Curator in Anthropology and Director, Center for Cultural Understanding and Change, The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois, US, and
Eleanor Sterling, Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, US
PANELISTS:
Avecita Chicchón, Director, Latin America and Caribbean Program Wildlife, Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, US
Micah Loma'omvaya, Archaeology/Ethnohistory Program Manager, Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, Kykotsmovi, Arizona, US
Million Belay, Director, MELCA (Movement for Ecological Living and Community Action) and Coordinator, Cultural Biodiversity Thematic Area, African Biodiversity Network, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
J. Peter Brosius, Professor, Ecological and Environmental Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, US
MP3
TOPIC 2:
MEASURING AND MONITORING STATE AND TRENDS IN BIODIVERSITY AND CULTURE
CHAIRS: Jonathan Loh (Moderator), Research Associate, Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, UK and David Harmon, Executive Director, The George Wright Society, Hancock, Michigan, US
PANELISTS:
David Rapport, Principal, EcoHealth Consulting, Canada
Ashbindu Singh, Regional Coordinator, UNEP Division of Early Warning and Assessment- North America, Washington, D.C., US
Yolanda Terán, Regional Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean, Indicators Group, Ecuador
Stanford Zent, Center for Anthropology, Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research, Caracas, Venezuela
MP3
12:30 pm
LUNCH BREAK
2:15 pm SESSION II (continued)
SESSION INTRODUCTION
Michael J. Novacek, Senior Vice President and Provost of Science, American Museum of Natural History
MP3
TOPIC 3:
BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND THE RESILIENCE OF SOCIO-CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
CO-CHAIRS: Dan Brockington, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, UK; and Bhaskar Vira (Moderator), University Senior Lecturer and Fellow of Fitzwilliam College
, Director of Undergraduate Studies, University of Cambridge, UK
PANELISTS:
Alejandro Argumedo, Founding Member and Co-Chair, Call of the Earth Steering Committee, Cusco, Peru
Crystal Fortwangler, Department of Environmental Science, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, New York, US
Aroha Te Pareake Mead, Senior Lecturer in Maori Business, Victoria University of Wellington, and Senior Research Fellow, Centre of Environmental Law, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Charles Zerner, Cohn Professor of Environmental Studies, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York, US
MP3
COFFEE BREAK (3:25-3:50 pm)
(Hall of Northwest Coast Indians)
3:50 pm
TOPIC 4: THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF SUSTAINING CULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
CO-CHAIRS: Adrian Cerezo, Dana Graef, and Michael Dove, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, New Haven, Connecticut, US
PANELISTS:
Kenneth Iain MacDonald (Moderator) Department of Geography, Program in International Development Studies, Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies, University of Toronto, Canada
Juanita Sundberg, Assistant Professor, Latin American Studies, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Canada
Julie Velasquez Runk, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, US
Paige West, Assistant Professor
, Department of Anthropology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY, US
MP3
Synthesis of the Day’s Topics
SPEAKER: Michel Pimbert, Director, Sustainable Agriculture, Biodiversity and Livelihoods Programme
, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London, UK
MP3
5:30 pm
ADJOURN
DAY TWO Thursday, April 3
8:30 am
SESSION III:
“VOICES FROM AROUND THE WORLD” PRESENTATION
Introduction by Michael J. Foster, Biodiversity Specialist, Enhancing Diversity in Conservation Science Initiative, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History
MP3
SESSION IV:
SUSTAINING CULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: CONCURRENT PANEL DISCUSSIONS
8:45-10:30 am Concurrent Session
ENDANGERED LANGUAGES AND TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE (PART I)
(Kaufmann Theater, first floor)
CHAIR: Margaret Florey, Senior Lecturer, Linguistics Program, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
PANELISTS:
Nigel Crawhall, Director of Secretariat, Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC), Cape Town, South Africa
Murray Garde, Australian Research Council Linkage Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Languages and Linguistics, University of Melbourne, Australia
Yih-Ren Lin, Director of Research Centre for Austronesian Peoples, and Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology, Providence University, Taichung, Taiwan
Peter Whiteley, Curator, Department of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History
Stanford Zent, Center for Anthropology, Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research, Caracas, Venezuela
MP3
8:45-10:30 am Concurrent Session
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND CLIMATE CHANGE (PART I): VOICES FROM THE ARCTIC AND POLAR REGIONS
(Linder Theater, first floor)
CO-CHAIRS: Nora Bynum, Project Director, Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners, and Associate Director for Capacity Development, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, and Elizabeth Johnson, Metropolitan Program Manager, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History
PANELISTS:
Cynthia Rosenzweig, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York, US
Chief Clarence Alexander, Chairman, Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, Fort Yukon, Alaska, US
Violet Ford, Executive Council Member and Vice President, International Affairs, Inuit Circumpolar Council, Canada (invited)
Tero Mustonen, The Snowchange Cooperative, Finland
Chie “Siqiniq” Sakakibara, Lecturer, Native American Studies, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, US
Vyacheslav Shadrin, Head, Yukaghir Elders Council
Jon Waterhouse, Director, Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, Fairbanks, Alaska, US
MP3
8:45-10:15 am Concurrent Session
AGROBIODIVERSITY
(Leonardt People Center, second floor)
CHAIR: Christine Padoch, Matthew Calbraith Perry Curator of Economic Botany, Institute of Economic Botany, International Plant Science Center, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York, US
Steven Brush, Professor, Human and Community Development, University of California at Davis, Davis, California, US
Sophie Caillon, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
Dominique Louette, National Council on the Environment, Ministry of the Environment, Brazil
Gary Paul Nabhan, Founder, Renewing Americas Food Traditions, Southwest Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, US
Miguel Pinedo-Vázquez, Associate Research Scientist, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York, New York, US
MP3
COFFEE BREAK (10:15-11:00 am)
(Powerhouse, second floor)
10:00 am-4:00 pm
OPEN UBUNTU SESSION
Ubuntu sessions will provide a time and place for individuals and groups to come together informally and organically to discuss issues, exchange views, and forge partnerships and alliances.
CONFIRMED UBUNTU TOPICS:
“Conducting multi-disciplinary social science research as a graduate student”
Joshua Drew, Boston University Marine Program
“Institutions in Action: How and what can we learn from an ethnographic approach to conservation organizations?”
Edward Maclin, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, US
“Reviewing Earthwatch's Sustainable Culture Priority Research Area (PAR) Initiatives”
Jeanine Pfeiffer, Program Director for Social Science, Earthwatch Institute, Maynard, Massachusetts, US
“Global Source Book on Biocultural Diversity-Terralingua, A Survey of Biocultural Projects around the World”
Ellen Woodley, Terralingua, Canada
“Implementing the newly ratified ISE Code of Ethics”
Jeanine Pfeiffer, Program Director for Social Science, Earthwatch Institute, Maynard, Massachusetts, US
10:45 am -12:15 pm Concurrent Session
MAPPING BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY
(Leonardt People Center, second floor)
CHAIR: John Richard Stepp, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Latin American Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, US
PANELISTS:
Larry Gorenflo, Conservation International, Washington, DC, US
Philip Hogan, Central Coast Planning Analyst, Ecotrust Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nitin Rai, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore, India
Sheri Tatsch, Native American Studies, UC Davis, Davis, California, US
11:00 am -12:15 pm Concurrent Session
ENDANGERED LANGUAGES AND TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE (PART II)
(Kaufmann Theater, first floor)
CHAIR: Margaret Florey, Senior Lecturer, Linguistics Program, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
PANELISTS:
Nigel Crawhall, Director of Secretariat, Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC), Cape Town, South Africa
Murray Garde, Australian Research Council Linkage Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Languages and Linguistics, University of Melbourne, Australia
Yih-Ren Lin, Director of Research Centre for Austronesian Peoples, and Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology, Providence University, Taichung, Taiwan
Peter Whiteley, Curator, Department of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History
Stanford Zent, Center for Anthropology, Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research, Caracas, Venezuela
11:00 am -12:15 pm Concurrent Session
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND BIODIVERSITY (PART II): FOCUS ON HEALTH AND LIVELIHOODS
(Linder Theater, first floor)
CHAIR: Nora Bynum, Project Director, Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners, and Associate Director for Capacity Development, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, and Elizabeth Johnson, Metropolitan Program Manager, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History
Ursula King, Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Australia
Noel Oettlé Environmental Monitoring Group, Nieuwoudtville, South Africa
Cynthia Rosenzweig, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York, US
Ellen Wiegandt, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland
12:15-2:00 pm
LUNCH BREAK AND OPEN UBUNTU SESSION
Ubuntu sessions will provide a time and place for individuals and groups to come together informally and organically to discuss issues, exchange views, and forge partnerships and alliances.
2:00-3:30 pm Concurrent Session
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL SCIENTISTS IN CRITICAL CIVIC ISSUES (PART I)
(Kaufmann Theater, first floor)
CHAIRS: Alaka Wali (Moderator), Nuveen Curator in Anthropology and Director, Center for Cultural Understanding and Change, The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois, US, and
Eleanor J. Sterling, Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, US
James Igoe, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado at Denver, Denver, Colorado, US
Michael Mascia, Senior Social Scientist, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, US
Dipak Pant, Professor, Interdisciplinary Unit for Sustainable Economy, Universita Carlo Cataneo, Italy
Laura Rival, University Lecturer in Ecological Anthropology and Development, School of Social Anthropology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
Sian Sullivan, Lecturer in Environment and Development, School of Development, University of East Anglia, UK
Rosita Worl, President, Sealaska Heritage Institute, Juneau, Alaska, US
2:00-3:30 pm Concurrent Session
MAINTAINING AND RECOVERING ECO-CULTURAL HEALTH: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES (PART I)
(Linder Theater, first floor)
CHAIR: David Rapport, Principal, EcoHealth Consulting, Canada
PANELISTS:
Glenn Albrecht, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies, Discipline of Geography and Environmental Studies, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Australia
Alphonse Kambu, Director, Ishikawa International Cooperation Research Centre, United Nations University, Kanazawa, Japan
Scott Kekuewa Kikiloi, Cultural Assets Manager, Kamehameha Schools, Honolulu, Hawai'i, US
Victoria Lee, Community Medicine Program, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Luisa Maffi, Director, Terralingua, British Columbia, Canada
Ashbindu Singh, Regional Coordinator, UNEP Division of Early Warning and Assessment- North America, Washington, D.C., US
Amber Nämaka Whitehead, Ecologist, Kamehameha Schools, Honolulu, Hawai'i, US
2:00-3:30 pm Concurrent Session
THE MEANING AND VALUE OF NATURE TO HUMAN CULTURES: ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
(Leonardt People Center, second floor)
PRESENTERS:
Strachan Donnelley, President, Center for Humans and Nature, New York, New York, US
Brendan Mackey, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
PANELISTS organized by chairs
2:00-4:00 pm Concurrent Session
OPEN UBUNTU SESSION
(Powerhouse, second floor)
Ubuntu sessions will provide a time and place for individuals and groups to come together informally and organically to discuss issues, exchange views, and forge partnerships and alliances.
COFFEE BREAK (3:30-4:00 pm)
(Powerhouse, second floor)
4:00-5:30 pm Concurrent Session
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL SCIENTISTS IN CRITICAL CIVIC ISSUES (PART II)
(Kaufmann Theater, first floor)
CHAIRS: Alaka Wali (Moderator), Nuveen Curator in Anthropology and Director, Center for Cultural Understanding and Change, The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois, US, and
Eleanor J. Sterling, Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, US
James Igoe, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado at Denver, Denver, Colorado, US
Michael Mascia, Senior Social Scientist, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, US
Dipak Pant, Professor, Interdisciplinary Unit for Sustainable Economy, Universita Carlo Cataneo, Italy
Laura Rival, University Lecturer in Ecological Anthropology and Development, School of Social Anthropology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
Sian Sullivan, Lecturer in Environment and Development, School of Development, University of East Anglia, UK
Rosita Worl, President, Sealaska Heritage Institute, Juneau, Alaska, US
4:00-5:30 pm Concurrent Session
MAINTAINING AND RECOVERING ECO-CULTURAL HEALTH: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES (PART II)
(Linder Theater, first floor)
CHAIR: David Rapport, Principal, EcoHealth Consulting, Canada
PANELISTS:
Glenn Albrecht, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies, Discipline of Geography and Environmental Studies, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Australia
Alphonse Kambu, Director, Ishikawa International Cooperation Research Centre, United Nations University, Kanazawa, Japan
Scott Kekuewa Kikiloi, Cultural Assets Manager, Kamehameha Schools, Honolulu, Hawai'i, US
Victoria Lee, Community Medicine Program, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Luisa Maffi, Director, Terralingua, British Columbia, Canada
Ashbindu Singh, Regional Coordinator, UNEP Division of Early Warning and Assessment- North America, Washington, D.C., US
Amber Nämaka Whitehead, Ecologist, Kamehameha Schools, Honolulu, Hawai'i, US
4:00-5:30 pm Concurrent Session
COMMUNITY-BASED ECOTOURISM AND BIOCULTURAL DIVERSITY
(Leonardt People Center, second floor)
CHAIR: Jeanine Pfeiffer, Program Director for Social Science, Earthwatch Institute, Maynard, Massachusetts, US
PANELISTS organized by chair
5:30-7:00 pm
POSTER SESSION AND RECEPTION
(Powerhouse, second floor)
7:00-8:30 pm
THE CULTURE OF NATURE, THE NATURE OF CHANGE
THE MACK LIPKIN MAN AND NATURE SERIES PANEL DISCUSSION
(LeFrak Theater, first floor)
Kamal S. Bawa, Distinguished Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, US, and Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, India
Julie Burstein (Moderator), Public Radio International and WNYC Radio, New York, New York, US
Kewulay Kamara, Professor, African-American Studies, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, New York, New York, US
Chie “Siqiniq” Sakakibara, Lecturer, Native American Studies, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, US
Luci Tapahonso, Navajo Poet and Professor of American Indian Studies and English, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, US
Sarah Weiss, Assistant Professor, Department of Music, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, US
MP3
DAY THREE Friday, April 4
SESSION V
SUSTAINING CULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: POLICY APPLICATIONS AND OUTPUTS
8:45 am
INTRODUCTION (Kaufmann Theater, first floor)
Eleanor J. Sterling, Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, US
COMPLEX CHALLENGES OF LINKING ACROSS SCALE FROM GLOBAL TO LOCAL AND VICE VERSA
Myanna Lahsen, Research Scientist, University of Colorado’s Center for Science and Technology Policy Research and Science Officer for Social Sciences for the Brazilian Regional Office of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), São Jose dos Campos, Brazil
PANELISTS:
David Boseto, Community Engagement Officer, Solomon Islands Community Conservation Partnership, Solomon Islands
Kenneth Iain MacDonald, Department of Geography, Program in International Development Studies, Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies, University of Toronto, Canada
Paige West, Assistant Professor
, Department of Anthropology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY, US
MP3
PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF CONFERENCDE RECOMMENDATIONS
RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESOLUTIONS FOR THE WORLD CONSERVATION CONGRESS (WCC)
Kenneth Iain MacDonald, Department of Geography, Program in International Development Studies, Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies, University of Toronto, Canada
MP3
LINKAGES TO 2008 UN PERMANENT FORUM FOR INDIGENOUS ISSUES (UNPFII)
Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Onondaga Nation), North American Regional Representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, New York, New York, US
MP3
RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESOLUTIONS FOR THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (CBD)
Preston Hardison, Tulalip Tribes, Washington State, US
MP3
COFFEE BREAK (10:40-11:10 am)
(Powerhouse, second floor)
11:10 am
FORGING ALLIANCES
CHAIR: Terence S. Turner, Professor of Anthropology (Retired), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, US
Sulemana Abudulai, Anthropologist/Land Economists, Advisor, African Biodiversity Network, Ghana
Mary Allegretti, Anthropologist and Independent Consultant/Researcher, Curitiba, Brazil
Robert Bino, Ph.D. Candidate, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Nigel Crawhall, Director of Secretariat, Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC), Cape Town, South Africa
12:15 pm
LUNCH BREAK
2:00 pm
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINING BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY
CHAIR: Ken Wilson, Executive Director, The Christensen Fund
Evelyn Arce-White, Executive Director, International Funders for Indigenous Peoples, Akwesasne, New York, US
Jeffrey Campbell, Senior Program Officer, Environment & Development, Ford Foundation, New York, New York, US
Terry Garcia, Executive Vice President, Missions Programs, National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, US (invited)
Brent Haglund, President, Sand County Foundation, Monona, Wisconsin, US
Terence Hay-Edie, Program Officer, Small Grants Programme, UNDP-GEF
Anne Henshaw, Marine Program Officer for North America, Oak Foundation, Portland, Maine, US
Anna Kerttula, Program Director, Arctic Social Sciences, Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, Washington, DC, US
Dana Lanza, Executive Director, Environmental Grantmakers Association, New York, New York, US
Josh Mailman, Founder, Mailman Foundation, New York, New York, US
James Stauch, Programme Manager, Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, Toronto, Canada
Rhea Suh, Program Officer, Conservation & Science, David & Lucile Packard Foundation, Los Altos, California, US
COFFEE BREAK (3:30-4:00 pm)
(Powerhouse, second floor)
4:00 pm
SUMMARY PANEL DISCUSSION
CHAIR: Kent Redford, Director, Wildlife Conservation Society Institute
and Vice President, Conservation Strategy, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, US
PANELISTS:
Eve Crowley, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy
Gustavo Fonseca, Head, Natural Resources Section, Global Environment Facility, Washington, DC, US
Aroha Te Pareake Mead, Senior Lecturer in Maori Business, Victoria University of Wellington, and Senior Research Fellow, Centre of Environmental Law, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Rochelle Roca Hachem, Programme Specialist for Culture, UNESCO, New York, New York, US
5:30 pm
CLOSING REMARKS
DAY FOUR Saturday, April 5
11:30-5:00 pm
CULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Kaufmann and Linder Theaters, first floor
Leonhardt People Center, second floor
http://www.amnh.org/biocultural.
Experience the vital link between humanity and the natural world through verbal arts, live music and dance, a drum workshop, and films. Informal conversations follow each event.
Free to all Conference Attendees (Your conference badge will admit you at no charge.)
Free to the Public with Museum admission
1:00 pm
Performance: MANSA MILI MILI: MEMORIES OF A SACRED GROVE (Sierra Leone)
Kaufmann Theater, first floor
Poet Kewulay Kamara and Mande jali musicians present Mansa Mili Mili, illustrating a sustainable balance among the plant, animal, and human worlds in the Kuranko village of Dankawali, Sierra Leone. With narration in English and Kuranko, accompanied by traditional music.
2:15 pm
Performance: THREADS OF LANGUAGE (Chile)
Linder Theater, first floor
Cecilia Vicuña weaves indigenous poetic traditions of South America with Spanish and English, highlighting connections among language, the Earth, and water through playful improvisations and chants.
3:00 p.m.
Performance: RISING SUN: A VODOU DRAMA OF REBIRTH (Haiti)
Kaufmann Theater, first floor
Vodou, the Haitian version of an African-based religion with Catholic elements, serves several spirits of nature, including Azaka Mede, who represents Earth, and Lasirèn, Lady of the Sea. Through drumming, song, and dance, La Troupe Makandal dramatizes the tale of the trickster who can turn death into life, reversing Haiti’s environmental losses.
4:15 p.m.
Film: SACRED LANDS OF THE ALTAI (Altai Republic)
Linder Theater, first floor
Documentary short: The Golden Mountains of Altai
Producer: Sacred Land Film Project; Director: Christopher McLeod, 10 minutes, 2008.
Following a short documentary on the sacred sites and peoples of the Altai region in Russia, Chagat Almashev, Director of the Foundation for Sustainable Development of Altai, shares stories about environmental conservation and cultural preservation.
5:00 pm
Programming ends.
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