Symposium in Australia

Cultural Heritage, Social Justice and Ethical Globalisation - A World Archaeological Congress Symposium

Dates: 28th & 29th September 2007
(immediately after the Sydney meeting of combined archaeological organisations)

Venue: Hetzel Lecture Theatre, Institute Building, State Library of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia.
Convenor: Claire Smith, President, World Archaeological Congress
Department of Archaeology, Flinders University
There is far too little sense that we are all in this together. Failure to establish shared values and ethical standards in national and international decision-making is at the heart of the divides and controversy surrounding globalization. Although global markets, transportation and communication increasingly connect us, we are increasingly divided between rich and poor, North and South, religious and secular, them and us.

(Mary Robinson, UN Human Rights High Commissioner, 31st December, 2003)

This symposium will address the issues raised by Mary Robinson within the context of archaeology, cultural heritage, and related disciplines. This public symposium will consider the shape that might be taken by an archaeology that engages more directly with social justice and ethical globalization issues.

While presentation in this symposium is by invitation only, we encourage members of the general public to attend these important discussions. Drawing on case studies and theoretical developments in countries as diverse as Nigeria, Poland, Ireland, South Africa, Cameroon, Spain, the US, Australia and Argentina, this public symposium will critically examine social justice and ethical globalisation issues, with an eye to the development of World Archaeological Congress policy.

Further information is available at: www.worldarchaeologicalcongress.org/site/symposium_07.php