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Storytelling: Trauma, Resistance, and Remembering
2nd Global Inclusive Interdisciplinary Conference

 

Saturday 9th July 2022 - Sunday 10th July 2022
Athens, Greece

This conference has been merged with Testimony: Memory, Trauma, Truth, Engagement, and Shame: An Inclusive Interdisciplinary Conference

Storytelling is inextricably linked to the history of human beings in a bewildering variety of oral and visual formats. Storytelling is a fundamental tool in communicating and recording personal, familial, communal, and national narratives. But it can also be linked to a process of expressing resistance, of remembering and working through trauma, of breaking silence, of standing up to regimes of power and cultures of erasure. These forms of resistance and remembering can be witnessed in the growth of “communal digital storytelling” embodied, for example, in the rise of shared storytellings of resistance, acknowledgement and trauma such as #NiUnaMás/#NiUnaMenos [#NotOneMore/#NotOneLess], #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo and #TimesUp. Forms of storytelling, resistance and remembering also materialize through protests—from the symbolic gesture of taking the knee in football and soccer, to the Indian farmers’ protest—and growing public interventions, such as the removal of statutes of problematic historical figures (eg. slave owners and perpetrators of genocide) and the renaming of streets and schools across the globe. The ability to re-collect, re-tell, re-write, and share stories from and within the margins brings into focus the uses of storytelling as acknowledging/remembering experiences from childhood to adulthood, of personal stories that can also represent the shared experiences of a broader collective.

This conference seeks to explore Storytelling and Trauma, Storytelling and Resistance and Storytelling and Remembering with particular focus on the inter-relatedness of the four. Stories and images of resistance and remembering surround us all the time, documenting and making visible personal, communal, cultural, social, and historical stories of trauma, resistance and remembering. Storytelling resistance and remembering forces us to face, confront the dominant discourses of power, cultures of erasure and forgetting, suffering and pain of others—a process that involves the acknowledging of the trauma/traumatic event, bearing witness and a working through the trauma and the disruption caused to and in their lives. But these forms of storytelling also encourage us to rethink concepts such as commemoration and ‘cancel culture’, a resistance to remembering. Thus, the response to Storytelling, Trauma, Resistance, and Remembering engages all levels of human living and thinking, individually and collectively, locally, and globally.

Bringing the four together implies an interdisciplinary engagement with a spectrum of disciplines, art forms, geographical and historical contexts as well as multi-lingual and multi-cultural perspectives. Our global gathering aims to examine the dynamics of Storytelling, Trauma, Resistance and Remembering in all its permutations. We welcome and encourage interdisciplinary proposals from all disciplines, professions, NGOs, voluntary sector, artists, scholars, workers, professionals, musicians, to name a few. It is the aim of the conference meeting to provide an interdisciplinary nexus which binds all these layers of theories and practices together in a safe and respectful sharing space.

Unlike other conferences or gatherings, our Event proposes to step outside the traditional conference setting and offer opportunities for artists, photographers, practitioners, theorists, independent scholars, academics, performers, writers, and others to intermingle, providing platforms for interdisciplinary interactions that are fruitful and conducive to broadening horizons and sparking future projects, collaborations, and connections. We are excited to accept proposals for presentations, displays, exhibits, round tables, panels, interactive workshops and more. Below is an indicative but not exhaustive list of possible approaches, all of them residing at the point of connection between Storytelling and Trauma and Resistance and Remembering.

Key Topics

If you don’t see something here that you think belongs, please tell us! We are happy to entertain other ideas that examine the rich, generative, and exciting space that these fields create.

Key topics, themes and issues for discussion may include, but are definitely not limited to:

  • Oral / written / visual narratives of identity, belonging, im/migrations
  • Storytelling cultures: indigenous belief systems, as memorialization, moralistic, life lessons
  • Literary, artistic, and filmic storytelling
  • Life writing genres (autobiography, memoirs, letters, ethnography, etc.)
  • Storytelling resistance: fiction vs. non-fiction, official history vs. reality, humor, statues and monuments
  • Inconvenient histories, cancel culture
  • Public, political, religious, activist storytelling
  • Social media: Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, SnapChat, TikTok, vlogs, blogs
  • Trauma and memory
  • Writing stories: healing and transformation, self-affirmation, documenting the truth
  • Healing: survival and resilience; forgiveness and reconciliation
  • Acknowledgment: indigenous stories, reclaiming identities, giving voice, avoiding a culture of erasure/forgetting
  • Marginalized/silenced/censored voices/stories
  • Therapy
  • Crime, gendered violence, injustices
  • Abuse, gaslighting; bullying; the workplace
  • Dis/abilities
  • Sex and sexuality; rape, sex crimes, gender crimes
  • Empathy, allyship, solidarity, activism
  • Popular culture, media
  • Social justice and human rights: war, civil war, conflict
  • Violence, torture, genocide, and atrocity
  • Pedagogy, education, and social awareness
  • Digital spaces
  • Comics, graphic novels, animation
  • Young adult literature; children’s stories
  • Power, resistance, rebellion, revolution
  • Shame, taboo, and suffering
  • Wounding, loss, death, grief, and mourning
  • Spectral spaces, haunted geographies, memorialization
  • Fake news

What To Send

This interdisciplinary conference and collaborative networking event aim to bring together academics, professionals, practitioners, NGOs, voluntary sector workers, etc., in the context of a variety of formats: presentations, seminars, workshops, panels, performances, etc.

300-word reviews of your proposed contribution (paper abstracts, proposals for workshops, collaborative works or round tables, overviews of artistic projects, or any other relevant forms of participation you are interested in) should be submitted by Friday 11th February 2022

All submissions will be minimally double reviewed, under anonymous (blind) conditions, by an international panel drawn from the Project Advisory Team and the Advisory Board. In practice, our procedures usually entail that by the time a proposal is accepted, it will have been triple and quadruple reviewed.

You will be notified of the panel’s decision by Friday 25th February 2022

If your submission is accepted for the conference, a complete draft of your contribution should be submitted by Friday 20th May 2022

Proposals may be in Word, PDF, RTF, or Notepad formats with the following information and in this order:
a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in the programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of the proposal, f) up to 10 keywords.

Emails should be entitled:  Trauma Submission

Where To Send

Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to the Organising Chair and the Project Administrator:

Cristina Santos (Organising Chair): cristina@progressiveconnexions.net 
Len Capuli (Project Administrator): athenstrauma@progressiveconnexions.net

Details and Information

 
Fees
Key Dates
Venue & Accommodation
Outcomes
Payment

Registration Fees

The Registration Fee is £285 and includes:

~ conference registration fee
~ online registration
~ online abstract and programme submissions
~ Book of Abstracts
~ Delegate Pack (online and physical)
~ Saturday coffee/tea on arrival
~ Saturday morning coffee and biscuits
~ Saturday lunch
~ Saturday afternoon tea and biscuits
~ Saturday evening wine and drinks reception
~ drinks in the conference room
~ Sunday morning coffee and biscuits
~ Sunday lunch
~ Sunday afternoon tea and biscuits
~ drinks in the conference room
~ participation in project output discussion session
~ discounted rates for any outputs emerging from the event
~ discounted rate for attendance at further Progressive Connexions activities and events

Calendar of time-lines and deadlines

Friday 11th February 2022
Abstract/Presentation submission

Friday 25th February 2022
Acceptance/Rejection notification

Friday 18th March 2022
Booking Form Submissions

by Friday 1st April 2022
Circulation of Draft Programme
Invoices issued

Friday 29th April 2022
Final date for payment

Friday 13th May 2022
Circulation of Revised Programme
Full draft of presentation to be submitted

Friday 3rd June 2022
Final programme to printing

The conference is being held at the Novotel Athenes

4 Michail Voda Str, 104 39 ATHENS, GREECE
Tel: +30 21 0820 0700  |  Fax +30 21 0820 0777

We have reserved rooms for delegates at the conference hotel on favourable terms and conditions. On having a proposal accepted for presentation at the conference, and on the completion and submission of a booking form, a special booking form will be sent to you along with instructions on how to use it in order to access these terms.

Standard Room - Single Occupancy €124 per night including breakfast and all taxes
Standard Room - Double/Twin Person Occupancy €134 per night including breakfast and all taxes

Details will be sent to delegates on how to access these rates once receipt of the booking form has been confirmed.
Accommodation bookings are made directly with the hotel, not Progressive Connexions. All payments for accommodation are made directly to the hotel as well. A credit card will be required on booking.
You are free to find alternative accommodation. We are offering these arrangements as a convenience to folks who would like to be at the conference venue.

The conference is being held at the Titania Hotel Athens

Situated in the centre of Athens, between Syntagma & Omonia squares and METRO stations, Panepistimio & Omonia

52, Panepistimiou 10678, Athens -Greece
Tel: +30.210-33.26.000 Fax: +30.210-33.00.700

We have reserved rooms for delegates at the conference hotel on favourable terms and conditions. On having a proposal accepted for presentation at the conference, and on the completion and submission of a booking form, a special booking form will be sent to you along with instructions on how to use it in order to access these terms.

Standard Room - Single Occupancy €120 per night including breakfast and all taxes
Standard Room - Double/Twin Person Occupancy €130 per night including breakfast and all taxes

Details will be sent to delegates on how to access these rates once receipt of the booking form has been confirmed.
Accommodation bookings are made directly with the hotel, not Progressive Connexions. All payments for accommodation are made directly to the hotel as well. A credit card will be required on booking.
You are free to find alternative accommodation. We are offering these arrangements as a convenience to folks who would like to be at the conference venue.

Payment Process
Participants must complete the online booking form by  Friday 18th March 2022 at the latest.
After the deadline has expired, an invoice will be drawn up and sent to you; the invoice will contain all the necessary information for you to pay by bank transfer, cheque, Paypal or credit card.
The invoice must be settled by Friday 29th April 2022

It is the responsibility of delegates to ensure that payment is made by this date. Failure to receive payment will result in your booking being cancelled.

Payment Methods
There are a number of ways payment can be made.

Cheque
Payment can be made by cheque, in GBP (£ sterling) only and must be drawn against a bank with headquarters in the United Kingdom. Cheques should be made payable to ‘Progressive Connexions’ and sent, with a copy of the booking form, to:

Dr Rob Fisher
Progressive Connexions
Priory House
149b Wroslyn Road
Freeland
Oxfordshire. OX29 8HR
United Kingdom

We regret we cannot and will not accept cheques made payable in currencies other than GBP Sterling.

Bank Transfer Payment may be made using bank transfer. There will be an option to pay in either GBP (£ Sterling) or Euro (€). Full details to enable a bank transfer are made available on your conference invoice. If paying by this method, you must agree to pay all charges at the sending and receiving banks.

By Invoice
You may request that an invoice be sent to you which you may forward to your institution. It is your responsibility to ensure that the invoice is paid before the payment deadline.

Online
Your invoice will include a link to pay through a secure and encrypted online payment system. Please click the link to use this method.

Credit Card
Payment may also be made using credit card. We cannot accept American Express or Discovery as a form of payment.

Paypal
Payment may also be made using Paypal. If paying by this method please send us the email account connected with your Paypal account and we will forward you a request for payment.

IMPORTANT
We strongly recommend that all delegates take out some form of travel or other insurance in relation to any and all travel arrangements or accommodation booked in regard to the conference. This should include cancellation insurance in the event of unforeseen or unexpected circumstances.

All fees are payable in advance. No delegate will be permitted entry to the conference if an invoice is still unpaid.

What’s so Special?

A fresh, friendly, dynamic format – at Progressive Connexions we are dedicated to breaking away from the stuffy, old-fashion conference formats, where endless presentations are read aloud off PowerPoints. We work to bring you an interactive format, where exchange of experience and information is alternated with captivating workshops, engaging debates and round tables, time set aside for getting to know each other and for discussing common future projects and initiatives, all in a warm, relaxed, egalitarian atmosphere.

 

A chance to network with international professionals – the beauty of our interdisciplinary events is that they bring together professionals from all over the world and from various fields of activity, all joined together by a shared passion. Not only will the exchange of experience, knowledge and stories be extremely valuable in itself, but we seek to create lasting, ever-growing communities around our projects, which will become a valuable resource for those belonging to them.

 

A chance to be part of constructing change – There is only one thing we love as much as promoting knowledge: promoting real, lasting social change by encouraging our participants to take collective action, under whichever form is most suited to their needs and expertise (policy proposals, measuring instruments, research projects, educational materials, etc.) We will support all such actions in the aftermath of the event as well, providing a platform for further discussions, advice from the experts on our Project Advisory Team and various other tools and intellectual resources, as needed.

 

An opportunity to discuss things that matter to you – Our events are not only about discussing how things work in the respective field, but also about how people work in that field – what are the struggles, problems and solutions professionals have found in their line of work, what are the areas where better communication among specialists is needed and how the interdisciplinary approach can help bridge those gaps and help provide answers to questions from specific areas of activity.

 

An unforgettable experience – When participating in a Progressive Connexions event, there is a good chance you will make some long-time friends. Our group sizes are intimate, our venues are comfortable and relaxing and our event locations are suited to the history and culture of the event.

Ethos

Progressive Connexions believes it is a mark of personal courtesy and professional respect to your colleagues that all delegates should attend for the full duration of the meeting. If you are unable to make this commitment, please do not submit an abstract or proposal for presentation.

 

Please note: Progressive Connexions is a not-for-profit network and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence, nor can we offer discounts off published rates and fees.

Progressive Connexions is a not-for-profit network inspiring inclusive interdisciplinary research, publishing and collaboration