Conferences
Recent and Past Conferences
Joint Webinars with the Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre
2023
2022
2021
Kala pani Crossings #3: Across the Oceans: Post-Indentureship Trans-Oceanic Transformations
22nd-24th February 2024
This conference follows up on the seminar ‘Kala pani Crossings: India in Conversation’ that was held at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla (Sept 2019), and on the symposium ‘Diaspora and Gender across the Indian and Atlantic Oceans’ that was hosted by the University of Pondicherry (Feb 2020). It also seeks to build on the publications that emerged from these two academic events (Kala Pani Crossings: Revisiting 19th century Migrations from India’s Perspective, Routledge 2021; Kala Pani Crossings, Gender and Diaspora: Indian Perspectives, Routledge, forthcoming 2023). Find out more here.
History, Ancestry and Heritage: The Vincentian Identity and Heritage - From whence we came
19th - 20th July 2022
Presenters would shed light from when we came and the influence on our heritage.
The Early beginnings, from the indigenous peoples through to the influence of the British/Scottish colonizers; the Portuguese and Indians.
Social Change—Migration, Independence, Medicine; the Women’s movement, Trade Unionism, the development of local businesses and the Black Power movement
The lasting impact of La Soufriere on History and Heritage
You can watch this event on YouTube here.
The Saga of Girmitiya Migration: Re-engaging the Homeland, Culture, History and Memory
27th-29th April 2022
The Department of Languages, Manipal University, Jaipur, in collaboration with the Indentured Labour Route Project, Gathari Girmitiya Research Foundation, Antar Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad and Banaras Hindu University is excited to host a three-day International Conference on The Saga of Girmitiya Migration: Re-engaging the Homeland, Culture, History and Memory.
Download the CFP here.
Notes Toward a Prehistory: the allied afterlives of indenture and slavery
11th May 2021
Online via Teams
The YPCCS is proud to announce that the next keynote speaker for the Ameena Gafoor Annual Conference on the Indo-Caribbean Diaspora will be Gaiutra Bahadur. Gaiutra Bahadur will talk on "Notes Toward a Prehistory: the allied afterlives of indenture and slavery."
The lecture will be online on 11th May, 5.30PM (GMT). Please email F.Viala@warwick.ac.uk to sign up.
Perspectives on Guyana-India Relations from 1838-2021: A Virtual Symposium
29th April 2021
Online via Zoom
The University of Guyana in partnership with the High Commission of India in Guyana is pleased to invite you to Perspectives on Guyana-India Relations from 1838-2021: A Virtual Symposium.
Guest Speakers:
H. E. Dr K. J. Srinivasa, High Commissioner of India
Prof Paloma Mohamed Martin, Vice-Chancellor, XI, University of Guyana
Please click here for more information.
Slavery and Indentureship: the Concept of Coolitude
22nd March 2021
Online via Zoom
The Ameena Gafoor Institute for the Study of Indentureship and its Legacies is delighted to invite you to its inaugural seminar on ‘Slavery and Indentureship: the Concept of Coolitude’ on the 22nd of March 2021 at 6pm GMT.
The event is in honour of the memory of Dr Cheddi Jagan, whose birthday falls on the 22nd of March.
Phagwa in the Global Village:
Traditions, Innovations and Future Developments
30th January 2021
Online via Zoom
The National Council of Indian Culture (Trinidad and Tobago) Heritage Center invites you to submit abstract proposals for a virtual international academic conference entitled “Phagwa in the Global Village.”
The Phagwa festival (Holi) has been an integral part of the lives of Diasporic Indians the world over. It originated in India and spread throughout the world where Indians settled either as indentured immigrants or free men. While it has gained in popularity over the years, few efforts have been made to study this festival from an academic standpoint.
Download conference call for papers here.
5th Girmit Charcha Indian Diaspora in Guyana &Guyanese Diaspora
16th January 2020
Online via Zoom
Organised by the Girmit Charcha Forum.
Forum Founder and Chair: Dr. Primnath Gooptar
Convener: Dr. Sarita Nandmehar
Meeting URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85623263048?pwd=N2w0YUh6enc0V04zMzR1RFZ tMnNMZz09
Meeting ID: 856 2326 3048
Passcode: 59552
A Forum to Mark the Abolition of Indentureship
30th December 2020
Online via Zoom
The University of Guyana’s Faculty of Education and Humanities presents: a Forum to Mark the Abolition of Indentureship.
Featuring paper readings from: Al Creighton, Scott King-A-Tee and Dr Mark Tumbridge.
Performances from: Michael Khan and Mody Zhu.
Building Our Future: Love & Solidarity as the Pathway to Justice
20-22nd November 2020
Every year Jahajee Sisters' Indo-Caribbean Women's Empowerment Summit brings together hundreds of community members, partners and allies to build connections, exchange learnings and envision solutions to the social justice challenges we see in our communities. For the first time ever, this year's Summit will be a 3-day virtual conference open to all from across the globe to mobilize toward an end to gender injustice in the Indo-Caribbean community and beyond.
Centenary of the Abolition of Social Commitment at UNESCO
Maison de l'UNESCO, Paris
In 2020, UNESCO will celebrate the centenary of the abolition of the “coolie” trade though an event named "Memories of easements, centenary of the abolition of commitment ". This event will address discussions and recommendations made at the International Indentured Labour Route Project meeting in 2014. The event will also act in accordance with the Cultural Diversity Charter of UNESCO (September 11, 2002).
1# conference on "The Indenture Legacy"
26-27th November 2020
Université de Nantes, France
The Centre for Research in International History and History of the Atlantic (CRHIA) at the University of Nantes, will be setting up a conference which will address diaspora formation in the wake of indenture.
Indian Indenture: Trauma, resilience, recovery
17th October 2020
Online workshop
BAATN collaborated with The National Archives to present an online workshop on Indian indentured labour and want to continue the dialogue with Legacy information and links.
Unfreedom and Capitalism: Online Workshop on Economic Contributions of Slavery and Indenture
18th September 2020
This workshop will bring together Economists and Historians who work in the area of unfreedom and unfree labour within the context of colonialism. The webinar will feature the three following themes: 1) Political Economy of Unfreedom, 2) Labour Market Realities and Conditions of Work and 3) Contribution of Unfree Labour to Capitalist Development.
World Indian Diaspora Conference: Post Indentureship Movements and Trends
22-23rd August 2020
Held Online via Zoom
The National Council of Indian Culture of Trinidad and Tobago (NCIC) in collaboration with the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the UNESCO Indentured Labour Route Project invites you to join in a virtual conference in commemoration of the formal abolition of the Indian Indentureship system (1920) from August 22-23, 2020.
This conference offers an opportunity for diasporic researchers and scholars to engage in global dialogue. In the context of globalizing similarities and differences, such dialogue is important as it facilitates the development and sharing of knowledge, and the establishment of international collaborative relations. This conference is committed to advancing the achievement of a progressive diasporic world community through collaboration and dialogue on various issues through the exchange of ideas, concerns, solutions, problems, person-to-person contacts and professional relationships.
For more information about this event, please visit the NCIC Heritage Centre’s Facebook page.
World Indian Diaspora Conference 2020
29th May - 1st June 2020
University of the West Indies,
Trinidad and Tobago
This conference will focus on presenting opportunities for diasporic researchers and scholars to engage in global dialogue and advance the achievement of a progressive Indian diasporic world community through collaboration and dialogue on various issues through the exchange of ideas, concerns, solutions, problems, person-to-person contacts and professional relationships.
More information →
Symposium on Kala pani Crossings #2
26th-27th February 2020
Pondicherry University, Puducherry
Co-convened by Professor Kalpana Rao, Dr Ritu Tyagi and Dr Judith Misrahi-Barak, this symposium follows up on the seminar ‘Kala pani Crossings: India in Conversation’ that was held in September 2019. Kala pani Crossings #2: Diaspora and Gender across the Indian and Atlantic Oceans intends to focus more precisely on the gender dimension in the migrations and in the historiography.
International Conference on Kala Pani Crossings #1
23rd-25th September 2019
Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla
To reclaim this forgotten chapter of Indian history, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla, hosted the International Conference on Kala Pani Crossings. This event was co-convened by Ashutosh Bhardwaj, a writer and journalist, and Dr Judith Misrahi-Barak, Associate Professor at University Paul-Valery, EMMA, Montpellier, France.
Gafoor Lecture in Indentureship and its Legacies
29th September 2019
The Classic, London
In collaboration with the Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies at the University of Warwick, Guyana SPEAKS hosted this lecture to explore the lives of indentured labourers in Guyana. The event focused on indentured Indo-Guyanese women, the life of Yesu Persuad and The Evolution of Writing in English by and about East Indians of Guyana 1838-2018 by Ameena Gafoor.
This event was co-convened by Professor David Dabydeen and Dr Juanita Cox. A video of the lecture can be found here.
Indentureship and Forced Labour Conference
15th-17th July 2019
Global Girmit Institute, Fiji
This Fiji conference is inter-disciplinary and inter-ethnic. It focuses on history and the contemporary reality of migration. Some 125 scholars from around the world have submitted abstracts for presentation of papers on a variety of subjects. These include comparative aspects of forced African, Indian, Chinese, and Pacific labor. The scope of presentations includes many countries impacted by slavery, indentureship, and forced migration.
More information can be found from Farzana Gounder’s website and Kaieteur News.
Gafoor Lecture on Indentureship Studies
28th November 2018
Senate House, London
Featuring live music and poetry, the Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies (University of Warwick) and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies presented the second Gafoor Lecture on Indentureship Studies, delivered by Professor Tina K. Ramnarine, Royal Holloway, University of London.
This event was convened by Professor David Dabydeen, and Maria del Pilar Kaladeen. More information →
Descendants
of Indian Indentured Labourers
-
Issues & Opportunities
10th November 2018
Paris, France
This forum precedes the wreath-laying ceremony on 11th November in Paris honouring the over 10,000 Indian soldiers who were killed in World War I fighting to preserve freedom.
Download conference details in PDF format here.
Engagism unite humanities to the International Festival of Coolitude (FIC)
9th June 2018
The Festival of Coolitude brought together artists, activists, academics and researchers from around fifteen countries to take part in the very first global festival linked to indentureship. More information →
Le FIC vient de se terminer en Guadeloupe. Il a mis en présence artistes, activistes, universitaires, chercheurs d’une quinzaine de pays, afin d’acter le tout premier festival mondial lié à l’engagisme. En savoir plus ici →
Women's Advocacy & Empowerment
–
Social, Economic & Political
18th March 2018
Martin Van Buren High School, New York
A timely keynote presentation and panel session on “Women Advocacy & Empowerment – Social, Economic and Political.” Exploring pathways for more equality for women’s rights, equality, safety and justice, highlights empowering women to realize their full potential in all segments of society: Social, economic and political. Sponsored by: International Diaspora Council (IDC) & Event Co-Sponsors
Reflections on State of Indo-Caribbean Diaspora 100 years After Indentureship
2nd September 2017
Columbia University, New York
On occasion of 100th anniversary of abolition of Indenturedship, the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) would like to host a conference on History, Present and Future of Indentured Indian Diaspora. Various experts would present their comments on the diaspora’s struggle, survival of culture and success in building an influential community from historical as well as socio-political-anthropological perspective.
Indenture Abolition Centenary
6th-7th October 2017
Senate House, London
The Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies at the University of Warwick and the Centre for Postcolonial Studies, London University hosted this conference to mark the centenary of the abolition of indentureship in the British Empire.
The event was co-convened by Professor David Dabydeen and Professor David Lambert, representing the Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies; Dr Maria Kaladeen, representing The Institute for Commonwealth Studies, London University; and Professor Tina K. Ramnarine, representing Royal Holloway, University of London.
The Conference was jointly funded by the University of Warwick, The Institute for Commonwealth Studies and the Gafoor Foundation.
Commemoration of Centennial of Abolition of Indian Indentureship (CCAII)
22nd-24th March 2017
Girmit Centre, Fiji
The primary objective of the conference is to facilitate discourse on all aspects related to Girmit, in Girmitya countries and in others where Girmitya descendants have migrated. Any and every aspect of Girmit and its descendants from 1834 onwards is covered.
Cultural presentations, discussions, conference to mark centenary of abolition of Indian indentureship
17th-20th March 2020
An academic conference, cultural presentations and speeches commemorating the 100th anniversary of the official abolition of Indian indentureship were highligts of the Indian Diaspora World Convention 2017 held in Trinidad & Tobago March 17 to 20.
The International Indentured Labour Route Project
2nd October 2014
Maison de l'UNESCO, Paris
As suggested by the World Heritage Committee, one of the objectives of the project is to constitute a corpus of professionals in various fields such as history, anthropology, archaeology, heritage, etc. in order to elaborate an international database on Indentured Labour accessible worldwide which would disseminate information about such a major historical event and build a greater understanding and cooperation among peoples.
Read the full programme and meeting document here →
The Global South Asian diaspora
in the 21
st
century, Antecedents and Prospects
1st-4th June 2011
The University of the West Indies,
Trinidad and Tobago
This event will explore the legacies of the South Asian diaspora, embracing the whole range of the civilizational heritage and its role in shaping the South Asian experience abroad. These concerns include religio-cultural beliefs and practices, popular culture (as expressed in art, music, literature and language) and the ecological and environmental problems of the host societies.
Indo-Caribbean Literature and Culture
1st-2nd July 2010
University of Warwick
YESU PERSAUD CENTRE FOR CARIBBEAN STUDIES
Indo-Caribbean Studies Association-1st Biennial Conference
Indo-Caribbean Literature and Culture
Thursday 1 - Friday 2 July, 2010 (Ramphal Building Room 0.14)
Indo-Caribbean Literature and Culture
26th-27th June 2008
University of Warwick
The conference was organized to commemorate the 170th anniversary of the arrival of East Indians in the Caribbean and had the aim of stimulating intellectual dialogue on Indo-Caribbean literature and culture. It was an international conference which brought together academics and scholars from Belgium, America, Italy, Cyprus, Trinidad and Guyana, all working within the field of postcolonial studies and sharing a particular interest in the rapidly expanding area of Indo-Caribbean studies.
The legacy of 135 years of Indian Immigration in Suriname
5th June 2008
The Hague
A lecture focusing on the legacy of 135 years of Indian immigration to Suriname and the double migration of Surinamese Indians: one from India to Suriname and the other from Suriname to Holland. The lecture notes are available for download below.
Photos sourced from: The Field Museum Library, The National Archives UK and SMU Libraries Digital Collections