The 2019 conference of the Australasian Animal Studies Association.
The conference, entitled Decolonizing Animals, was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from July 1-4, 2019.
The conference was hosted by the New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies. All sessions took place at The Piano, a new meeting space located in the centre of the regenerating Christchurch City.
Colonial politics and histories have shaped, and continue to shape, the contemporary worlds of humans and other animals. Languages, societies, cultures, species, landforms, ecosystems, waterways and climates all bear the marks of human imperialism, settlement, invasion, migration, translocation, globalization, colonialism and neocolonialism. What would it mean for humans to decolonize their relationships with each other and with other species ? Could we ever become decolonizing animals ?
New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies.’ conference organizers succeeded in creating an atmosphere in which people from around the globe came together to support each other in their work, research, advocacy and activism.
Their aim to create an inclusive meeting space emphasizing collaboration, support and advocacy, compassion, empathy and love and care with respect to each other and all animal species was achieved. I was an honor for the FRA to have been participated in this conference.
