Speaking words and sharing stories.
That’s the theme of this year’s B.C. Museums Association (BCMA) conference, which is coming back to Prince George in the Fall for the fourth time in its 62-year history.
While it's a chance for local museums and businesses to connect with colleagues from across the province, the centre focus of the conference will be about language revitalization among Indigenous communities.
In fact, 2019 has been dubbed the International Year of Indigenous Language, as per the United Nations, to raise awareness of them and how they enrich diversity.
According to the BCMA, museums play a key role in connecting residents and their neighbourhoods with language and story, which is something Dr. Lorna Williams will be discussing when she shares her experiences from that particular field.
She has been invited to the three-day event as the keynote speaker to explain how she’s documented and revitalized Indigenous languages in B.C., Canada, and elsewhere, as a language speaker, advocate, and academic.
The Association says the topic is fitting with it being on the Lheidli T’enneh’s traditional territory and how they’ve been able to document the Dakelh language in several ways.
The Spoken Words, Shared Stories gathering takes place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, 2019 at three locations; the Courtyard Marriott, Two Rivers Gallery, and Exploration Place.
You can find a registration form and more information on the BCMA website.
Students looking to get into a museum-related career are also welcome to attend.
The last conference held in B.C.’s northern capital was in 2006; 1975 and 1997 were the other two occasions.
