In the frames of the International Year of Indigenous Languages declared by the United Nations The Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, Russian Academy of Sciences, International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA) and the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North of Sakha Republic with the support of the International Organization of the Northern Regions “Northern Forum” will hold an International Scientific-Practical Conference “The Indigenous Languages as a Factor in the Sustainable Development of the Arctic” June 27-29, 2019 in Yakutsk, Russia.

This International Scientific and Practical Conference is aimed to unite the efforts of researchers of different specialties, public figures, practitioners from indigenous communities and native speakers of indigenous peoples to discuss the issues and possibilities of sustainable development of indigenous peoples living in the North and Arctic. The discussion will include the issues related to learning, development and preservation of indigenous languages and cultures in the frames of the diverse approaches of folklore, literature, anthropologic, ethnographic, historic, politic, social, cultural, legislative and economic practices.

While living in the coldest part of our Planet, Indigenous peoples of the North have developed human environments with unique tangible and intangible cultures based on the exceptional ecological and humanistic relationships between humans and environment. Circumpolar civilization is a true treasury of cultures very little known to the international society. Research and representation of the structure of the Northern model presented in the languages, historic and cultural conditions of the formation of circumpolar civilization, and contemporary specifics of the existence in the globalized world will contribute to the maintenance of the cultural heritage and the languages of Indigenous peoples, as well as influence the development of the contemporary cultural processes.

Conference themes cover diverse areas of socio-economic development of Indigenous peoples of the North and Arctic:

• Indigenous languages: problems of interaction, typology and functioning;
• Indigenous languages in the era of globalization: the effectiveness of modern practices of indigenous communities, the role of innovative technologies in the revival of indigenous languages;
• Folklore and literature as an oral and written type of translation of “cultural languages”;
• Linguistic landscape of the indigenous peoples of the North and the Arctic: ethnological and sociocultural context;
• Current issues of preserving the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples as the basis for their sustainable development.

The program of the conference includes a scientific Symposium, exhibitions and presentations of new publications and projects. As part of the Conference the participants are invited to take part in the traditional Yakut celebration “Ysyakh” (the day of meeting summer).
According to the results of the conference, it is planned to publish an electronic peer-reviewed collection with indexation in the RSCI database.

Scientists, researchers, teachers, graduate students and undergraduates, native speakers, activists of social movements of indigenous peoples are invited to participate in the conference.

Conference working languages: Russian, English.

Conference applications are accepted until March 1, 2019 via E-mail: . fax: 7 (4112) 35-49-96, 36-01-97. In the e-mail subject please put “Conference”. The application should include:

• name of the participant,
• title of the paper,
• organization/place of work,
• position,
• academic title,
• contact phone number,
• contact e-mail

Financial support: accommodation and travel expenses are not provided. There is no registration and publication fee.

Coordinators:

Sharina Sardana
Shadrin Vyacheslav

With regards,
Conference committee