Upcoming Meetings
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Working Groups & Networks
Last Updated June 14, 2024
Local Contexts’ peer working groups and regional networks are virtual groups to connect people who are interested in or already using the Local Contexts Labels and Notices. We welcome group participants at all stages of experience and familiarity with Local Contexts to join one or multiple groups. If you are new to Local Contexts, we recommend first attending one of our monthly introductory sessions.
To indicate your interest in joining a working group or network, please respond to our interest survey below. We will connect you with the group’s chairpeople or organizers who will add you to the email list and connect you with any shared resources.
Peer Working Groups
Our working groups are communities of practice that meet virtually every 2-3 months. Typical meetings have 20-40 attendees, though meetings are also recorded for sharing within each group.
Indigenous Communities Working Group
Working Group Chair: Currently organized by Dr. Janette Hamilton-Pearce, Corrie Roe, and Emily Santhanam, Local Contexts
About: The Indigenous Communities Working Group (ICWG) brings together Indigenous community members and Indigenous community staff internationally to support communities who are either using or interested in using the Labels. Meetings include members sharing their experiences customizing and using the Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural Labels, group discussions around Local Contexts and the Hub, Local Contexts updates and feedback, and more. There are currently over 120 group members.
Cultural Institution Working Group
Working Group Chair: Dr. Gwen Saul, New York State Museum; supported by Corrie Roe and Emily Santhanam, Local Contexts
About: The Cultural Institution Working Group (CIWG) brings together group members who work at or with cultural organizations around the world, including museums, libraries, archives, and universities, and who are interested in or using the Local Contexts system of Notices and Labels. Meetings include members sharing their experiences using the Local Contexts Notices, group discussions around Local Contexts and the Hub, Local Contexts updates and feedback, and more. There are currently over 175 group members from over 120 organizations.
Technical Implementation Working Group
Working Group Chairs: Dr. Ann Mc Cartney, University of California Santa Cruz, and Ashley Rojas, Local Contexts
About: The Technical Implementation Working Group (TIWG) connects institution and data repository staff, researchers, and others for technical discussions around implementing the Local Contexts Labels and Notices within metadata and databases. Meetings can be informal conversations, working meetings, or feature invited speakers. There are currently over 110 group members.
Library Working Group
Working Group Chairs: Newly established group — currently organized by Corrie Roe and Emily Santhanam, Local Contexts
About: The Library Working Group (LWG) was established to support library-specific discussions and knowledge exchange around Indigenous data sovereignty, cultural authority, and use of the Local Contexts Notices and Labels. There are currently over 50 group members who are library staff and scholars.
Regional Networks
Our regional networks aim to connect community organizations and representatives, institutions and organizations, and others located in or with ties to a particular geographic area to see how we can together support momentum and interest for Local Contexts in the region.
Our regional networks are for participants with established connections within these areas, including Indigenous Peoples with both ancestral and contemporary ties to these regions. While we hope these groups can create introductions and connections, they are not a substitute for relationship building, such as following appropriate protocols to establish contact with a community.
Each group varies in size, and meets every 1-3 months. Meetings are generally recorded for the group’s reference.
We fully recognize that current geopolitical boundaries are arbitrary and have been created by settler-colonial institutions. Additionally, Local Contexts is committed to Indigenous sovereignty and ethical data governance; we believe that naming and addressing the violence of settler-colonialism and its ongoing effects is central to the work that we do. While many of these geopolitical boundaries continue to uphold settler colonialism, we also see the benefit of establishing networks within them to connect around the particular needs and issues of supporting Indigenous data sovereignty.
The active Networks below were started by volunteers to chair the group and by the Local Contexts team to meet expressed interest. We would be excited to see Networks for other regions (including Africa, Alaska, Australia, Oklahoma, and the US Midwest), but have limited team capacity. If you are interested in seeing a Network in another region, you can indicate this in the network survey. If you have capacity and interest in volunteering to chair a Network, please email us and we would be happy to share more about what this would involve and what support we can offer.
Oceania
Aotearoa New Zealand
Network Chair: Newly established group — currently organized by Dr. Janette Hamilton-Pearce, Corrie Roe, and Emily Santhanam, Local Contexts
Hawai’i, United States
Network Chair: Currently organized by Corrie Roe and Emily Santhanam, Local Contexts
Europe
Europe & United Kingdom
Network Chairs: William Wood, King’s College London, and Monica Galassi, University of Technology Sydney
North America
Canada
Network Chair: Newly established group — currently organized by Corrie Roe and Emily Santhanam, Local Contexts
Maine, United States
Network Chair: Heather Moran, Maine State Archives
Southwest
New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and other relevant cultural regions
Network Chair: Currently organized by Corrie Roe and Emily Santhanam, Local Contexts
