1st International Conference on Sama Dilaut, December 1-3, Tawi-Tawi
The first Sama Dilaut International Conference will be held December 1-3 in Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. Among the invited scholars are Prof. Harry Arlo Nimmo, who made extensive fieldworks among Sama Dilaut in Tawi-Tawi in the 60’s. He has written the book Magosaha: An Ethnography of the Tawi-Tawi Sama Dilau and the memoir The Songs of Salanda and Other Stories of Sulu.
The conference is organized by Sama Studies Center and aims to open a dialouge between scholars, scientists, statesmen and development actors with the Sama Dilaut themselves. The meeting will be “an opportunity to look back to what has always been held by the Sama Dilaut as their life-ways since time immemorial and as traditional, and to commit to give them renewed winds to sail and to secure abundant seas that may facilitate their journey to reclaim their space and reorder their present realities”.
Objectives of the conference:
- To strengthen research and encourage academic interest on the plight and situation of the Sama Dilaut (Badjao) by highlighting their roles in the social and cultural development of the Sama society, and their contributions to the dynamics of maritime and sea-based economy in Tawi-Tawi and the Philippine waters, and the impact and consequences of geopolitics in Southeast Asian region in this roles and contributions;
- To discuss development models and survey affirmative actions, and evaluate empowerment programs and interventions for this most marginalized of Sama ethnic communities; and
- To provide venue and spaces for the Sama Dilaut to tell their narratives and as well as for listening to alternative voices speaking as interlocutors for Sama Dilaut issues.
More information about the conference can be found here: Sama Dilaut International Conference
The Aquatic Ape 