Thank you all for a wonderful conference. We have received a number of requests for Jesper Simonsen, Executive Director of the Norwegian Research Council’s presentation and he has been kind enough to make it available. You will find the powerpoint file here:
NFU-konferanse – Jesper W. Simonsen-uten animasjon
The annual conference of Norwegian Association for Development Research (NFU) is the main arena for debates, updates and academic interchange among development researchers in Norway. The 2014 NFU Conference will be held in Tromsø on the 1st and 2nd of October.
NFU 2014 Keynote Plenary Program: On Whose Terms?
Communication, Collaboration and Power in Development Research
Note: All Keynote Plenary sessions will take place in Auditorium 2, Teorifagsbygget.
This year’s plenary program aims to discuss and reflect on cross-cultural communication in development research and practice. It strives at comparing development researchers’ and practitioners’ experiences with communication in different cultural and social contexts, and in the relations of power that (de)legitimize knowledge. Relevant questions here include: how do cultural differences impact knowledge production and organisation? What are fruitful ways of dealing with power asymmetries in research relations? What impacts do gender, ethnicity and class have on knowledge production and power asymmetries? What are the most effective parameters for collaborative research?
The conference program offers four plenary sessions dealing with these communicative and epistemological questions:
Wednesday October 1st
11:00 – 12:30
Keynote Plenary 1) Working in Both the North and the South: Comparative Experiences
– Professor Peter Geschiere, University of Amsterdam
– Professor Emerita Randi Rønning Balsvik, University of Tromsø
– Moderator: Dr. Christine Smith-Simonsen, Centre for Peace Studies, University of Tromsø
15:30 – 17:00
Keynote Plenary 2) Cross-Cultural Research Collaboration: Negotiating Codes and Dissonant Expectations
Part 1, dialogues:
– Professor Anne Britt Flemmen, University of Tromsø & Dr. Mulumebet Zenebe, Addis Ababa University
– Dr. Natalie Kukarenko, Pomor State University & Professor Anne Britt Flemmen, University of Tromsø
– Dr. Torjer Olsen, University of Tromsø & Rachel Issa Djesa, Assistant Fellow, University of Tromsø
– Moderator: Professor Siri Gerrard, University of Tromsø
17:15 – 18:30
Part 2:
– Dr. Jens Dahl, University of Copenhagen
– Gunnar Sørbø, Senior Researcher, Christan Michelsen Institute
– Moderator: Dr. Torjer Olsen, Center for Sami Studies, University of Tromsø
Thursday October 2nd
11:00 – 12:30
Keynote Plenary 3) Power, Communication and Development: Epistemological Output of Cross-Cultural Collaboration
– Professor Lisbet Holtedahl, University of Tromsø,
– Moderator: Dr. Trond Waage, Visual Cultural Studies, University of Tromsø
15:00 – 17:00
Keynote Plenary 4) Policymakers’ Reflections: Major Challenges and Future Goals
– Director Jesper Simonsen, Norwegian Research Council: Presenting the NORGLOBAL II program
– Sverre Jervell, former diplomat, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
– Director Paul Richard Fife, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)
– Moderator: Håkon Fottland, Senior Counselor, University of Tromsø
