October 7, 2002

UCSC hosts conference to link researchers and activists

Focus is on indigenous Mexican migrants to the United States

By Jennifer McNulty

Bringing together researchers and community organizers to improve the lives of indigenous Mexican migrants in the United States will be the focus of a two-day conference at UCSC on October 11-12.

Sponsored by the UCSC Latin American and Latino studies department (LALS), the conference is titled, "Indigenous Mexican Migrants in the U.S.: Building Bridges between Researchers and Community Leaders."

It will take place in Spanish with English translation at the UCSC Inn and Conference Center.

The event is being cosponsored by Frente Indígena Oaxaqueño Binacional (FIOB), the UCSC Chicano/Latino Research Center (CLRC), and the UCSC Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community (CJTC).

Friday's morning session will feature a roundtable discussion among transnational indigenous organizers who will discuss "lessons from the past and challenges for the future." Guillermo Delgado, a UCSC lecturer in LALS, will take part in the discussion.

After lunch, UCSC anthropology professor Olga Nájera Ramírez, codirector of the CLRC, will moderate a panel discussion of indigenous migrant civic and social organizations.

Jonathan Fox, a professor and chair of the LALS department, will moderate a third panel discussion on social and economic processes.

Saturday's program continues with panel discussions on comparative perspectives on ethnic and geographic diversity; migrant social and civic participation in communities of origin; and the challenges of coalition-building. UCSC participants include Patricia Zavella, professor of LALS and codirector of the CLRC.

A plenary discussion will examine opportunities for future research and action moderated by Manuel Pastor, professor of LALS and director of the CJTC.
The conference was made possible by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

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