Climate on Culture 2024 Conference

Project Name

Climate on Culture 2024 Conference

Project Partners

Idaho Museum of International Diaspora

Role of Galway Culture Company

Partner and Funder

Strategic Aim

This project falls under our second strategic aim;

Support and Develop Place-based Programming

Project Description

The Idaho Museum of International Diaspora’s (IMID) annual global conference is their signature educational and professional networking program held in various parts of the world. The 2nd annual global conference – Climate on Culture will take place September 18-21, 2024 in Galway, Ireland. 

The conference is a result of the IMID’s global engagement work, reflecting the vision of the IMID’s Global Leadership Council (GLC) and years of concerted efforts by council members. The GLC serves as a catalyst to expand the reach and impact of the IMID’s mission and vision across the globe. Their mission is to influence positive community transformation by highlighting the lives of diaspora and cultural groups from around the world.Their vision is to inspire an international movement of museums and institutions dedicated to diaspora and cultures. 

The GLC leads the international efforts to build a global network of cross-sector leaders, educators and academics, policymakers, and practitioners to elevate the relevancy of diasporas and cultures in museums, educational and cultural institutions, corporations, and governments. This responsibility resulted in the launch of the IMID’s signature global conference program in collaboration with IMID’s Academics and Research Team. 

The aim of the conference is two-fold: 

• Bring together a network of a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders, partners, and key participants in an immersive and cultural experience to #LearnDiscoverExplore the impact of climate on culture in broad and specific diasporic contexts; and 
• Create a platform for exchanging ideas and igniting conversations and collaboration beyond the conference scope.

While there are varying definitions and usage of the word “climate” in contextual settings and conversations, we define “climate” – particularly its impact on culture or vice versa – from two approaches: 

• External and environmental conditions (e.g., weather) over a period; and
• Prevailing attitudes, opinions, standards, cultures, etc. in the context of geographical (local, national, international), cultural, organizational, industry sector, academics, political, technological environments and more.

Project Outcomes – what we expect from this project

The objectives of the conference are to: 

• Understand the parallels between challenges and opportunities of cultural preservation among climate diasporas.
• Engage participants to learn how culture and diaspora museums can play a critical role in shaping and showcasing the cultures of diasporas impacted by climate.
• Learn from cross-sector leaders and practitioners about the integral and critical role of culture as a resource for mitigation and adaptation of climate change.
• Discover how we are connected to each other and the environment through the lens of climate on culture from different perspectives (sociological, psychological, political, intercultural, educational, etc.) while taking into consideration the past–present–future scenarios and realities.
• Explore creative and sustainable opportunities and partnerships to impact transformational change.

Schedule: 

Day 1 (September 18, Wednesday):  Foundational

Day 1 is dedicated to providing participants with a deep dive immersive experience into the conference topic, providing a shared understanding and grounding of participants. Conference sessions will be held at the University of Galway.

​Day 2 (September 19, Thursday):  Cross-Sector

Day 2 will be held at the Atlantic Technical University with access to arts, media, culinary platform, and additional learning platforms aligned to conference topics. The sessions will draw upon these various sectors/fields to advance interactive and immersive discussions centered on the conference topic.

​Day 3 (September 20, Friday):  Workshops

Day 3 is the last day of the conference. It will be held in the city center and involve various workshops that will run in parallel. Many of the workshops will have both morning and afternoon sessions. The hands-on approach workshop will provide participants with cultural competencies and skills, knowledge, tools and/or models of practice.

​Day 4 (September 21, Saturday):  Taste of Galway

This wrap-up day is open to all conference participants. Participants will enjoy a fun and lively networking experience over a delicious brunch and enjoy opportunities to share their feedback about the conference, exchange ideas and information, and build a network of friends and partners.

How this project is funded

TG4, Univerzita Mateja Bela, Emory University, Legacies of War, North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative, National Museums NI, Donostia Kultura, Mainspring Agency, Galway Culture Company, which is supported by the Government of Ireland under the National Development Plan through the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

Duration

May 2024 through September 2024