Uncensored thoughts on the CEACS conference in Sofia

20 October, 2009. Universitatea de Nord din Baia Mare, Romania.

I just returned yesterday from a five day stay in Sofia, Bulgaria, where I was attending and participating in the annual conference of the Central European Association for Canadian Studies (CEACS). The theme of the conference was "Managing Diversity," and key note speakers included Dr. Keith Banting (Queen's), Dr. Lise Gauvin (U. de Montreal), Dr. Chelva Kanaganayakam (U. of Toronto), and Dr. Thibault Martin (U. du Quebec en Outaouais).

My first impressions of Sofia (aggressive thieving taxi drivers), and the conference itself were unfortunately not positive (and I do keep a very open mind to new places and new experiences, believe me).  In the weeks leading-up to the conference my correspondence with the conference organizers was less than illuminating with regard to accommodation arrangements, and within a week of the conference taking place the "final programme" was shortened from four days to three. My questions with regard to how this would effect conference participants' accommodations for Sunday evening (we were all to be housed in the ritzy Radisson Hotel) went unfortunately unanswered. This was not a big deal, of course, but left me with a sense that the organizers were less than fully organized. I quickly learned upon arrival, however, that the event itself was not poorly organized, per se, but that the manner in which you were treated (questions answered, made to feel welcome, etc.) depended very much on who you were, and how important you were perceived to be in the organizers' eyes. As the conference progressed, this behaviour became more and more apparent, and I heard similar complaints/comments from other participants (seemingly perceived insignificant, like myself). This behaviour was very unfortunate, as it left I, for one, with a rather poor view of the Sofia University organizers (but not the Association itself). Other Bulgarians I met (most of whom were not from Sofia University, but rather New Bulgarian University) were very pleasant.

This was the first time that I have attended a CEACS event, although not the first time I have attended a Canadian Studies conference outside of Canada, and there were some rather illuminating papers from non-Canadians and Canadians alike.  But, I will not go so far as to say all the papers were well done, or illuminating. Without naming names (or nationalities), it is my opinion that key-note speakers aside, perhaps only a quarter of the papers delivered were worthwhile. It was rather obvious that there was no peer-review or selection process involved, and simply everyone who responded to the call for papers was invited to speak. This meant that there were unnecessary concurrent sessions, and a good many papers that were simply very poor.  This was a great shame, really, and I fear this does very little for the public image of the Association. Simply put, there were enough good papers to fill two solid days of conference events, without concurrent sessions. I hope that the Association in the future will focus on quality, not quantity (this despite the organizers and many commentators expressing how "great" the event was in general).

The best part of the conference for me, was not listening to the papers (although I did get a tremendous amount out of Dr. Banting's excellent keynote address, for example), but in meeting the people.  It was great to meet old and new faces alike, including Canada's new ambassador to Romania and Bulgaria, Philippe Beaulne. I have returned to Baia Mare with a great many new contacts in the Canadian Studies world in Central Europe, and I look forward to working with them in the future, whether that be here in Central Europe, or from Canada. Indeed, I am still quite convinced that Canadianist scholars worldwide need to look to working more together in the future.