It’s a wrap! The Idaho Museum of International Diaspora’s (IMID) inaugural signature global conference, Museums: The Future of Diaspora Engagement, this past September 2023 in beautiful Banská Bystrica, Slovakia was a huge success with approximately 300 attendees who participated in person and online. Co-hosted by our partners in Slovakia (Matej Bel University (MBU), City of Banská Bystrica, and MBU Faculty of Arts) and coordinated by our Global Leadership Council, our special educational and professional networking program debut propelled our planning into high gear as we transition conference theme and location from Slovakia in 2023 to Ireland in 2024. The race is on! The theme for 2024 is Climate on Culture (September 18-20). Mark your calendars to join us in Ireland for our 2nd annual signature global conference.
Top photo (left to right): Niall Murray (Athlone, Ireland), Senior Lecturer and Transmixr Project Lead, Technological University of the Shannon; Anna Slatinská (Banská Bystrica, Slovakia), Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Arts, Matej Bel University, Founding Member, Idaho Museum of International Diaspora Global Leadership Council; Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Galway, Ireland, Director of Operations and HR at TG4, Founding Member, Idaho Museum of International Diaspora Global Leadership Council; and Palina Louangketh, Founder and Executive Director, Idaho Museum of International Diaspora, Professor of Multicultural Studies, Boise State University
The 2023 conference sessions and workshops were spread throughout three solid days that were packed with dynamic discussions, interactive participation, guided cultural and historical tours, flavors of Slovakia at various local eateries, community engagement, a reception for a human journey exhibition, Arrivals: What’s Left Behind, What Lies Ahead, and an award ceremony – HEART Awards – to recognize the solid contributions (leadership, time, expertise, resources, and financial) of our partners who have worked diligently to advance IMID’s mission – “influence positive community transformation.”
Photo: A small group of conference participants, partners, and speakers on their way to a networking luncheon.
Based in Galway, Ireland, Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, Director of Operations and HR Director at TG4 and founding member of IMID GLC, serves as our in-country (i.e., Ireland) project lead for this highly anticipated 2024 Climate on Culture conference. As Ó Clochartaigh, partners in Galway, and the IMID’s GLC and Academic and Research Team (ART) build the framework for our 2nd annual global conference in Galway (2024) with layers of cultural learning events and dynamic international speakers from various industry sectors spanning across parts of the world, this is one adventurous cultural opportunity you don’t want to miss.
The first 2024 cohort of fellows in our recently launched Global Leaders Fellowship Program will join us in Ireland to lead their own program aligned to the conference theme – Climate on Culture. The fellows will have access to our wide network of international collaborators and partners as they structure their ‘educational and professional networking program.’ They will have many opportunities to learn from and work alongside our GLC and ART.
Lastly, as the 2024 Climate on Culture conference takes shape, another eBook is in process. Our first eBook – Global Cultures: Engaging Diasporas Around the World in Global Context, in collaboration with Dr. Anna Slatinská – Senior Lecturer and founding member of IMID’s GLC – as the project lead representing MBU Faculty of Arts, our legacy partner, was recently published this month. Its contents include a collection of articles from some of our 2023 conference speakers that are foundational to their presentation’s topic. In preparation for our 2024 conference, MBU Faculty of Arts will again lead the process of recruiting writers and coordinating article topics to align with 2024’s theme, Climate on Culture.
We look forward to seeing you in Ireland!
For inquiries and interest, please contact us at info@idahomid.org.