Registration open for international conference on integration

Today marks the opening of registration for the international conference on integration entitled ‘Communication in a Diverse Society: Listening to One Another Despite Our Differences’ that will be taking place in Tallinn on 12 & 13 November. It will bring together internationally recognised experts from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Spain, the United Kingdom and of course Estonia. Should restrictions be in place at the time of the conference due to the health risks posed by coronavirus, the event will take place online.

The two-day conference will feature discussion panels and workshops in which experts, researchers, policy-shapers and participants will debate a range of topics, including cross-cultural communication, media use and shared information space.

To view the programme and register for the conference, go to the event’s website. Attendance is free of charge but requires advance registration.

The guest speakers at the event will include:

  • Autonomous University of Barcelona Department of Translation, Interpreting and East Asian Studies ‘Serra Hunter’ programme lecturer Gema Rubio Carbonero, who will be focussing in her presentation on the promotion of integration and the shaping of attitudes touching on diversity through public debate;
  • Uppsala University Department of Business Studies PhD candidate and University of Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law ‘Organising Integration’ research programme associated researcher Sarah Glännefors, whose presentation will examine communication and integration in the workplace, focussing on the role of language and discourse in recruiting talent for organisations;
  • Tampere University Professor of Media and Communication Research Kaarina Nikunen, who will be discussing ways in which the media can promote social solidarity in the context of immigration;
  • Charles University Faculty of Arts Assistant Director of International Programmes Sasha Hlozek, who will be showcasing experiences of organising communication with different groups in international higher education;
  • Charles University Faculty of Arts Operations Manager Martina Provázková, who will be talking about the management of information exchange at her university during the coronavirus crisis in spring;
  • University of Oxford political scientist Dr William Allen, who will be discussing information exchange in the West during the coronavirus crisis and examining initial studies from the perspective of the United Kingdom; and
  • University of Copenhagen Saxo Department ethnology postdoc and Advanced Migration Studies research centre member Nina Grønlykke Mollerup, who will be looking at the changing meaning and overall issue of national borders through the eyes of travellers who are residing in a country without a legal basis to do so.
     

In addition to the foreign speakers, representatives of the University of Tartu, Tallinn University and the Government Office of Estonia will also be making presentations at the conference. More information about all of the speakers can be found on the conference website.

Some of the presentations are planned to be given virtually. Should the health risks associated with coronavirus lead to restrictions on gatherings being imposed that affect the conference, the event in its entirety will take place online. Information in this regard will be sent to registered attendees at least one week in advance.

This year’s event is scheduled to take place on 12 & 13 November at the conference centre at Tallinn’s Song Festival Grounds. It is the seventh conference in the series.

The working language of the conference will be Estonian, with simultaneous interpreting into English and Russian.

The event is being run by the Integration Foundation in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture.