Sandpit to Seed
The TNQ Drought Hub is excited to be working with James Cook University researchers to help them move their research ideas that could improve agricultural adaption, sustainability and resilience towar...
Bobikíxh in the Chiquitano language is a voluntary cooperative work moved by a spirit of solidarity and reciprocity; this word was chosen as the name of an international online conference on the indigenous languages of the Chiquitania: Bobikíxh - I Encuentro de lenguas originarias de la región chiquitana (‘Bobikíxh - I Meeting on the Indigenous Languages of the Chiquitania Region’).
Located in the lowlands of eastern Bolivia, the Chiquitania Region in the course of history hosted many ethnic groups and languages. In present day, the main indigenous language of the region is Chiquitano (aka Bésɨro), but also other languages such as Ayoreo, Guarayu, Guarasugwe and Paunaka are spoken; the list is much longer if one includes languages spoken in the past (Chané, Chapacura, Covareca, Curuminaca, Napeca, Old Zamuco, Otuque, Quitemoca, Saraveca). Most languages of the region are endangered and deserve more investigation: Paunaka, for instance, is only spoken in a few families. Chiquitano has an impressive geographic variation, which is so far little studied, and its speakers are making many efforts to save their language.
On the 13th-14th November, the conference brought together scholars and students from three continents (the Americas, Europe and Oceania). They discussed the indigenous languages of the Chiquitania from a multidisciplinary perspective spanning not only linguistics, but also anthropology, data analysis, ecology, history, pedagogy, philology and religious studies. Attracting over a thousand people globally, the conference was co-organized by the Language and Culture Research Centre (represented by Dr. Luca Ciucci) along with two Bolivian institutions from the city of Santa Cruz: the History Museum of the Autonomous University Gabriel René Moreno and Voces Indígenas Urbanas (a group of indigenous communicators presenting on the point of view of the indigenous people of their region). The conference was also a multilingual event, with its official languages as Spanish, Portuguese and Chiquitano/Bésɨro.
More information on the conference is available on the Language and Culture Research Centre’s webpage, and the videos of the conference are on the Facebook page of Voces Indígenas Urbanas (also accessible through the LCRC page).
Organizers: José Chuvé, Luca Ciucci, Swintha Danielsen, María Pia Franco, Brittany Hause, Andrey Nikulin, Paula Peña, Ignacio Tomichá, Claudia Vaca.
Organizing Institutions: Language and Culture Research Centre (James Cook University, Australia), Museo de Historia de la Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno (Santa Cruz, Bolivia), Voces Indígenas Urbanas (Santa Cruz, Bolivia).
The TNQ Drought Hub is excited to be working with James Cook University researchers to help them move their research ideas that could improve agricultural adaption, sustainability and resilience towar...
The TNQ Drought Hub recently hosted the National Soils Advocate, the Honourable Penelope Wensley AC for a whirlwind 2-day field trip visiting numerous soils restoration and rehabilitation sites to lea...
On 1 August, The Cairns Institute hosted a small, informal symposium for HDR students working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Far North Queensland. It brought together Indigenous...
The Cairns Institute Fellow Dr Kearrin Sims coordinates the JCU Research Ethical Development Symposium, now in its second year. It will be held 27-29 September at The Cairns Institute. This year will ...
The Developing Northern Australia Conference returned to Darwin this year in 2023. In 2021, the conference converted to an online event an hour before the program was due to begin due to a sudden NT C...
The Cairns Institute will host an informal symposium for HDR students working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Far North Queensland. This symposium will explore if and how post-gr...
TNQ Drought Hub’s Professor Allan Dale, Doctor Jane Oorschot and Ms Kara Worth were invited to speak at the Science to Practice Forum and share their experience on innovative tools and practices...
Congratulations to the TNQ Drought Hub drought resilience scholarship recipients. The hub recently offered scholarship opportunities to JCU students who were interested in undertaking an Honours or Ma...
© 2023 The Cairns Institute | Site Map | Site by OracleStudio | Design by LeoSchoepflin