[Air-l] AOIR in Toronto

[Bram Dov Abramson]

>Remember first and foremost the conferences have been AoIR  
>conferences, and not 'locality' conferences, that is a confusion that  
>often causes misunderstandings.   As we attempt to further our  
>internationalization, we will bring more people into AoIR and we'll  
>expand as appropriate, but in my minds the pragmatics of the  
>organization such as not going bankrupt come first

I can see that this is a touchy subject, so I don't want to stir the pot
-- but do want to suggest that (1) whether or not panels are held in
non-English languages, and (2) whether or not translation is provided
for those panels, might be two separate questions.

To wit: in Toronto I recall attending a panel in French.  All attending
that panel understood French.  A number of us later met up for drinks,
if I recall correctly (disclaimer: I left pretty early).  It was nice to
hear about research going on in other places.  That was one of the
things I enjoyed about Toronto.  The translation was, to be frank, not
particularly useful at the French-language panels if I recall correctly
-- I think barely anyone actually used the headphones.  (I'm not talking
about the keynote.)

Conferences are partly about exchange and dialogue with colleagues who
are otherwise remote.  Where scholarship takes place internationally in
a non-English language, and the conference is held in a place associated
with that language, the conference has the potential of becoming an
international hub for researchers with common interests and a common
language.  That can be rewarding for the international community of
researchers which interacts in that language -- even where there is no
translation service provided.  Ultimately there are many parallel panels
going on anyway!  

cheers
Bram