Hi,
Several of us been asked by ADHO to look into putting together a list of
potential keynote speakers for the DH conferences over the next few
years (i.e. beginning with 2014 in Switzerland, but continuing beyond
that as well).
A review of past speakers suggests that our pool, like ADHO's
membership, has tended to come from High Income Economies. In keeping
with our emphasis on expanding our definition of DH to include the
majority of the earth's peoples, we'd also like to make sure that our
list of names for future conferences is more inclusive.
If you have suggestions for names we could put on our list for
consideration for future years, I would greatly appreciate you
contacting me at daniel.odonnell(a)uleth.ca! I believe, out of
consideration to the people proposed, that it is better to supply these
names privately rather than discuss names in public on the list. I
should stress, moreover, that this is a general list that could be used
for several years, and not a request for a specific speaker for a
specific event.
The main requirements for a Keynote Speaker is that they are good
speakers, interesting, and, usually, experienced. Keynote lectures are
usually about 60 minutes long and the best often provide the kind of
synthesis and insight that come with experience and personal success.
As far as I am aware, all keynote lectures at DH thus far have been in
English. Multilingual and multicultural matters are a priority concern
at ADHO at the moment, however, and I could see future organising
committees being encouraged (and wanting) to ensure that facility in
English is not a minimal requirement. And even if they don't (and I
certainly don't speak for them), I think it does no harm to draw
attention to top talent worldwide regardless of language.
Once again, if you do have some suggestions, please email me directly at
daniel.odonnell(a)uleth.ca. It would be very helpful if you could supply
some very brief background information on your suggestions and any
useful websites, etc.
Please feel free to write to me in languages other than English if that
is more comfortable for you: I can read a number of European ones, pick
at others, and, unless your message is very confidential, call on
friends to help me read ones I really can't access.
-dan
--
---
Daniel Paul O'Donnell
Professor of English
University of Lethbridge
Lethbridge AB T1K 3M4
Canada
+1 403 393-2539