Invitation to Attend: FEL V: Endangered Languages and the Media

[Nicholas Ostler]

The Fifth FEL Conference
ENDANGERED LANGUAGES AND THE MEDIA
Agadir, Morocco: 20-23 September 2001

Among the most powerful instruments of the process we have come to
know as globalization are the mass media. Through the written and
spoken word, the worldÕs mass media, their ownership increasingly
concentrated, exercise a strong influence on all but the very
remotest of the worldÕs languages. And the pattern of use and control
of the worldÕs press and broadcasting has shifted even faster than
the shrinking of the worldÕs minority languages.

The venue for this yearÕs conference, our first outside the
English-speaking world, is the coastal city of Agadir, Morocco. Our
conference programme gives an opportunity to exchange ideas and
experience on this challenging topic with people of  diverse cultures
and backgrounds, as well as to explore the city, the beaches
(swimming possible until late autumn) and the hinterland. Situated on
the Atlantic Ocean, within reach of the Sahara, Agadir and its
surroundings are fascinating in terms of history, culture and nature
(with unique bird reserves).

This conference welcomes everyone with an interest in and concern for
the use of endangered and minority languages in the printed,
broadcast and electronic media. We are inviting not only academic
researchers in the fields of endangered languages and media studies,
but also media professionals and  practising journalists, and of
course native speakers of endangered languages. With that in mind we
are offering a 25% discount on the registration fee for journalists
from any country who can produce proof of their status (journalistsÕ
union card, press card &c.) when registering for the conference.

CONFERENCE SCOPE AND AIMS
What exactly is the relationship between the globalization of the
media and increased pressure on minority languages? Is there a
hopeful side, as the cost and technology bases of the media are
revolutionized?

The fifth international conference of the Foundation for Endangered
Languages aims to pinpoint the processes and seek new tactics for
coping with them: hoping, at the very least, to channel some of the
power of the media for the good of small languages, and put forward
tentative answers to many pending questions.

ORGANIZERS
Hassan Ouzzate (Conference Chairman, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir,
Morocco), Christopher Moseley (Conference Programme Chair), Nicholas
Ostler (President, FEL), Nigel Birch (Secretary, FEL)

Programme committee:
Hassan Ouzzate, Nicholas Ostler, Christopher Moseley, Nigel Birch,
Karen Johnson-Weiner, Davyth Hicks, Mahendra Verma, Alasdair
MacCaluim, Louanna Furbee, Karl Teeter, Eugene McKendry, Paul Baker,
Patrick Williamson

VENUE AND PROGRAMME
The venue for the conference and the accommodation is Hotel Aferni,
Avenue General Kettani, Agadir, Morocco (tel. +212 48 84 07 30)

The programme includes presentations by over 25 speakers, drawn from
every continent in the world.
A particular feature of FEL conferences is that there are no
concurrent sessions, so that a common spirit is built up among all
the participants.  As a result, our conferences usually develop into
rather touching occasions.

Thursday 20/9
Arrival & Registration 		Welcome dinner

Friday 21/9
Opening Session, Setting the Scene, including Keynote Address:
Power of the media for the good of small languages: an Indian
experience of enriching diversity
Lachman Kubchandani, Centre for Communication Studies, Pune, India
Session Two:  How the State Caters for Language Minorities
Session Three: Self-help: Grass-roots solutions for small languages

Saturday 22/9
Session  Four: New Media: a place for small languages in Cyberspace
Open Forum: short presentations by other attendees
Foundation for Endangered Languages - Annual General Meeting
Video session: presented by attendees

Sunday 23/9
Session Five: Cementing the Community: Media as Carriers of Minority Traditions
Session  Six: Language in the Ether: Across Political Boundaries
Closing session

The language of the conference will be English, but presentations and
questions in French will be accepted. For other
translation/interpretation requirements, please consult the
Conference Chairman, Hassan Ouzzate <hasouzz at casanet.net.ma>.


In additional to the scheduled programme, the Foundation will be
running an art exhibition and a book display; publishers are
supplying books for sale.


A great variety of local excursions are available, and can be booked
on arrival at hotel desk. Specifically, in the period September
24-27, a programme of visits centering on Marrakech (a medieval
walled city with an astonishing blend of old and new, and its
surrounding wild High Atlas mountains, citadel of the
Amazigh-speaking Berbers, may be organized for FEL members,
travelling in hired mini-bus or cars. The extra cost for the 3 days
(all inclusive) would be in the region of US $200 per person.


Options for access to Agadir from MoroccoÕs airports:

By order of priority:

1 - Agadir-Massira Airport:
About 40 kms from Agadir; best means of transfer to town : blue taxi,
costs 200 Dhs (roughly $1=11 Dh; £1=16 Dh) whether single or shared.
No booking; coming out of airport, hail next in the line. Just give
hotel name to driver and sit back. Drive takes about 30 mns. Most
planes, apart from charters, arrive in the evening; the latest from
many European destinations via Casablanca arrives around 11 pm.

2 - Marrakech-Menara Airport
About 250 kms from Agadir. Best means of transfer to Agadir, or at
any rate, the least complicated: cream or blue Taxi. Cost : 400 - 500
Dhs  (roughly $1=11 Dh; £1=16 Dh) whether single or shared.  No
booking; coming out of airport, hail next in the line. Drive takes
about 4 hrs over the Atlas range.

3 - Casablanca Airport.
Over 500 kms away from Agadir -: air transit to Agadir is in practice
necessary.


ACCOMMODATION BOOKING DEADLINE

We request booking by 5 AUGUST 2001, to guarantee accommodation under
the low-cost conditions that we have negotiated.  If you wish to
arrange your own accommodation, please indicate this when
registering, but please note that your advance REGISTRATION FEE IS
NON-REFUNDABLE.


Booking options & conditions:

Our venue, Hotel Aferni, is a 3-star hotel with swimming  pool,
central location, with meeting and dining facilities. Bookings to
attend the conference, including accommodation at this hotel, can be
made through FEL; the negotiated price per person per night is US $33
in single or US $23 in double room. The total amount for the duration
of the conference is therefore $99 in single room  and $69 in double
room of which $90 or $60 is to be paid directly to the hotel in
Agadir, and $9 flat fee is included in the $50 paid up for
registration. If you wish to arrange for accommodation yourself,
please feel free to do so. But the advance registration fee remains
$50 ($37.50 for concessions) Ñ respectively UK 36 or 27 pounds.).
Should you wish to stay on under the negotiated conditions after the
conference, please book at reception desk as soon as possible during
the conference.

The accommodation package includes:
	Half-board (breakfast + lunch or dinner)
	Breakfast: tea/coffee, bakeries, jam, butter, orange juice,
egg  (extras available).
	Lunch: three courses
	Drinks with meal: soft drinks/water
	Tea / coffee breaks + pastries

Registration entitles you to attend the conference, to receive a copy
of its published Proceedings. Unless you attend as a journalist,  you
will need to be a current member of the Foundation when you attend
the conference.  Facilities for joining will be provided at the
registration desk, or you can add $30 (concessions $20) to your
registration for Virtual Membership in the current year.  (These
correspond to sterling payments of 20 or 12.50 pounds.) Otherwise see
the FEL web page at www.ogmios.org for various membership options.
Membership is free for citizens of countries with non-convertible
currencies.


CONCESSIONS
Journalists are entitled to a 25% discount on the REGISTRATION FEE
only. Full-time students and those receiving unemployment benefits
are also entitled to the same discount, which brings their
registration fee to $37.50 instead of the full $50.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  REGISTRATION FORM
Fifth FEL Conference, Endangered Languages and the Media:
Agadir, Morocco 20-23 September 2001

Name:

Address for correspondence:

Telephone number:
Facsimile number:
E-mail:

If you are not attending as a speaker, would you wish to participate
in the Open Forum?  YES / NO
If YES, what would be the title of your presentation and would you
require video or other equipment?
................................................................................
................................................................................

BOOKING DETAILS:

Hotel accommodation required: YES
                               NO
If YES, type of package :     SINGLE ROOM
                               DOUBLE ROOM.
Foundation Membership added:  YES
                               NO

Total enclosed:
[ ]  Standard: 				$50 (36 pounds sterling)
[ ]  Standard + Virtual Membership: 	$80 (46 pounds sterling)
[ ]  Concession: 			$37.50 (27 pounds sterling)
[ ]  Concession + Virtual membership: 	$57.50 (39.50 pounds sterling)


Payment Details

Please return this form to me Christopher Moseley, Treasurer,
Foundation for Endangered Languages by  5 AUGUST 2001 along with
proof of payment of your deposit to cover your registration for the
conference. This includes a flat deposit of $9 on your room.


Payment options:

Credit cards (NOT American Express please) : details of

number ...................................................

ownerÕs name..............................................


expiry date...............................................


Bank transfer to the FEL bank account:
Account number 50073456,  sorting code 08-90-02
16 St StephenÕs Street, Bristol BS1 1JR, England

Cheque, in UK sterling (@ £1 = $1.40) made out to "Foundation for
Endangered Languages" or (if drawn on a US bank) in US dollars made
out to "Nicholas Ostler", sent to:

FEL Conference Treasurer, Christopher Moseley,
2 Wanbourne Lane, Nettlebed, Oxfordshire, England RG9 5AH,
facsimile (+44 (or 0) 1491-641922), e-mail
Chris_Moseley at mon.bbc.co.uk.

If you do make a direct bank transfer, donÕt forget to notify
Christopher Moseley at the above contact address that you are doing
so when registering.