INEA Informs invites you to: “Families of Origin Searching for Social Justice in Intercountry Adoption”. This event discloses the necessary strategies and ethics to engage with the stories of biological families, which have largely been ignored by adoption policy and scholarship. In intercountry adoption, most of the time, we only get an insight into the lives of families in the countries of origin when adoptees are searching for them. This afternoon, INEA invites Dr. Atamhi Cawayu and Dr. Hari Prasad Sacré to turn the perspective inside out and unlock the stories of family members in the countries of origin searching for their adopted children for various reasons. Through academic research and storytelling, Cawayu and Sacré will share stories from Latin America and South Asia on how biological families have been searching for visibility, their children and social justice in intercountry adoption.
The program explores the following questions:
- What if the adoptee is not searching, but instead is being sought?
- What are reasons for families of origin to search for adoptees?
- What are they specifically searching for?
- How do we in the Global North deal with what they are searching?
- How is it possible that these families have been speaking but we were unable to hear it?
INEA Informs is an event format in which INEA, in collaboration with the field, shares knowledge and engages in discussion. Developments and theories from the field are made available and accessible in this way. This event, organized by INEA, sheds light on overlooked perspectives by providing a platform for the journeys and stories of families of origin in intercountry adoption. While intuitively we expect families of origin to be present at this event, the researchers will explain that such well-intended attempt might further silence them. Therefore the scholars, adoptees themselves, will call you into a circle of perspectives, stories and journeys of first families they have been working with.
Program
This event is organised by INEA. The program will be interactive and led by Erben Oosting. This meeting might be relevant for anyone with an interest in the topic of adoption and getting to know multiple-perspectives. The program starts with a presentation of turning the perspective of the wishes of the Global North to the needs of the Global South. Afterwards we discuss the academic article ‘Can first parents speak’, co-authored by Dr. Cawayu & Dr. Sacré, reporting about a fieldwork with fourteen families of origin carried out by Atamhi Cawayu in Bolivia.
Following this academic part, a live immersive storytelling session will disclose a family archive of the families Sacré, Poudel, Shreshta & Adhikari containing hundreds of letters written by families of origin from Nepal. Each writer in the family archive contemplates the pursuit of global social justice and dialogue with their adopted son/sibling/cousin/relative. The letters will be read live by participants affiliated with intercountry adoption and invites the audience to practice the art of listening.
Speakers
Dr. Atamhi Cawayu
Dr. Atamhi Cawayu is trained as a social scientist and is based in La Paz, Bolivia. He works as a researcher at the Universidad Católica Boliviana “San Pablo”, where he investigates child protection issues. In 2023 he completed his Ph.D. in Gender and Diversity Studies at Ghent University. His doctoral dissertation entitled, Searching for Restoration: An Ethnographic study of Intercountry adoption from Bolivia, discusses the adoption and child protection system in Bolivia, with specific attention to the perspectives of the families of origin. Cawayu is also a co-editor of the recently published book (2023), ‘Voorbij transnationale adoptie. Een kritische en meerstemmige dialoog (Beyond Intercountry adoption. A critical and multi voiced dialogue)’.
Dr. Hari Prasad Sacré
Dr. Hari Prasad Sacré is based in Brussels and works as an educator at Odisee University College and is affiliated as a postdoctoral researcher with Ghent University. He obtained a doctoral degree in educational sciences from Ghent University with his dissertation entitled Reading Illiteracy. His doctoral research observed new forms of illiteracy and fractured multilingualism arising in displaced identities, such as transnational adoptees. Overall, his academic work explores cultural translation as a pedagogical project for dialogue, solidarity and emancipation. Hari has published in international journals including ‘Critical Arts: South-North cultural and media studies’, ‘European journal for cultural studies’, ‘Journal for Adolescent and Adult Literacies’ and ‘Philosophies’. In addition, Hari works as a curator and storyteller. He curated the Art & Reflection program Travelling Sources featuring Prof. Dr. Ariella Aïsha Azoulay (Brown University, USA) about unlearning imperialism for Kaaitheater and Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 2023. His work has been broadcasted on the Flemish radio 1 program Zandman, on the Flemish queer podcast series Scheef bekeken and as part of the storytelling program ‘Unacknowledged loss’ directed by Barbara Raes at the International Arts centre De Singel in Antwerp.
Call for volunteers: storytellers
We are looking for five people who would like to read, in person, a letter from a family of origin member to the audience. This will take 5 minutes per person. Preferably, you have experience with public speaking. We would like the volunteers who will help with the storytelling to be present on location. This is important for radiating quality and conveying the story. Please take into consideration that the content can be sensitive and emotional. Does this sound like something you would like to contribute to? Let us know and we will contact you and provide more detailed information (events@inea.nl).
Practical information
The event can be attended online; however, we advise the audience interested in the storytelling session to join us physically for a more immersive experience.
Date: Saturday June 15, 2024
Time: 14:00 – 17:00 (CEST)
Costs: Free
Language: English | This event will be in English since we want to give the international audience the opportunity to engage with this important and overlooked perspective.
Location: De Molen 65, Houten or online (the link will be shared in your mailbox)
Registration
Everyone is welcome and we like to ensure a full house together. Therefore, it is useful to know if you are coming and registration is mandatory. You can register by filling in the form below per person. You will receive a confirmation e-mail within 5 working days. First come first serve a spot.
In the unlikely event that you cannot come? Please unsubscribe by sending an e-mail to events@inea.nl. That way we can give your spot to somebody else.
