The event will take place Wednesday, Nov. 7 from 1:30 to 3pm, at 280A 91亚色 Lanes, Keele campus. Everyone is welcome to attend the event.

Alex Latta

Latta, who co-edited the collection with Hannah Wittman, will draw on the contributions to the book, as well as related literature and his own research, to explore the ways nature becomes constituted as a resource, an object of knowledge, a target of governance and a focus for political struggle in Latin America.

He will look at how human political subjectivities are simultaneously implied, activated, contested and reinvented in these constitutive moments, spaces and processes. Beyond a concern for the rights and responsibilities of 鈥渆nvironmental citizens鈥�, the talk will reach for a conception of citizenship that is fundamentally relational across dynamic assemblages of human and non-human elements.

Latta is a professor in the Department of Global Studies and the Balsillie School of International affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University. His research considers the politics of water, energy and environmental justice in Latin America, with a recent focus on conflicts over hydroelectric development in Chile.

For more information, e-mail cerlac@yorku.ca or visit the CERLAC website.

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At the undergraduate level, international studies student Margaret Bancerz won for her essay 鈥�Counter-Hegemony and ALBA: The Answer to the FTAA鈥�, while at the graduate level, Osgoode Hall Law School PhD candidate (IMBA '08)聽won for her paper, 鈥�The Convention on Biological Diversity, Indigenous Peoples and Conservation of Biodiversity鈥�.

Evaluators called Bancerz鈥檚 paper comparing two economic trade pacts in the Americas today 鈥渁n excellent example of counter-hegemony鈥澛爓ith 鈥渆xtensive documentation from a wide variety of sources.鈥� They went on to say, it provides 鈥渂oth an in-depth description (substance, activities and historical narrative) involving the two treaties, drawing on empirical data taken from official sources, as well as a significant critique, based on what seems like a very extensive reading of a wide variety of secondary sources (historical, economic, social and political).鈥�

For Becker鈥檚 paper,聽evaluators聽said it was聽鈥渧ery well argued, very well researched and very thoughtful work on an important issue鈥� and prize-worthy in terms of 鈥渜uality of writing, level of sophistication of the analysis and coherence.鈥�

The essays were nominated by 91亚色 faculty members and each was evaluated by聽a different聽committee comprised of Fellows from the Centre for Research on Latin America & the Caribbean (CERLAC). Both prize-winning papers are available online as part of CERLAC's Baptista Prize-Winning Essays Series.

The other undergraduate student papers nominated for the 2010 prize were: Jan Anderson's 鈥淪earching for Black Canadians: Contestations over Citizenship鈥�; Laura Liberatori's 鈥淗andling Venezuela: The Rise and Success of the Hands off Venezuela Campaign"; Nadine Ramharack's 鈥淥vercoming Adversity: The Life of Jaffroon Ali, 84 Years and Counting鈥�; and Adrian Reyes' "Corporate Social Responsibility and Due Diligence: The Case for Ex Ante Human Rights Impact Assessments".

Paulo Ravecca was the other graduate-level student nominated for his paper "Political Science and the Politics of Science in Latin America".

The Michael Baptista Essay Prize was established by the friends of Michael Baptista and the Royal Bank of Canada. This $500 prize is awarded annually to both a graduate and an undergraduate student at 91亚色 in recognition of an outstanding scholarly essay of relevance to the area of Latin American and Caribbean Studies from the humanities, social science, business or legal perspective.

The Michael Baptista Essay Prize聽& Lecture are named in honour of Michael Baptista in recognition of the areas central to his spirit and success: the importance of his Guyanese/Caribbean roots, his dedication to and outstanding achievement at the Royal Bank of Canada and his continued and unqualified drive and love of learning.

For more information about the essay prize, visit CERLAC鈥檚 Michael Baptista Essay Prize聽& Lecture web page.

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Right: The poem "My Countryman" by Jos茅 Salvador Cavero is written in Quechua in the book Lira Huamanguina, published in Ayacucho (Peru) in 1950

It is his interest in how Quechua has been reinvented throughout history, the country鈥檚 evolving language policy and the current state of bilingualism in Peru 鈥撀燼 concept Canada also struggles with 鈥撀爐hat has earned聽Durston the , worth $25,000 in research funding. The prize is awarded annually to an outstanding new researcher. This is in addition to the three-year standard SSHRC research grant he received last year worth $60,000 for his project, 鈥淭he Social History of Quechua Letters: Modern Peru, 1900-1975鈥�.

Quechua鈥檚 written history dates back to the 16th century, when Spanish conquerors introduced the Roman alphabet and sought to convert the population to Christianity using indigenous language texts. 鈥淗owever, it is not until the start of the 20th century that we find written Quechua being used for a wide range of purposes,鈥� says Durston. Intellectuals started writing plays, poetry, political propaganda, speeches, medical texts and newspaper and journal articles in Quechua to fuel national identity and nation-building by reaching a broader section of the population.

鈥淪uddenly, we have this boom. New kinds of texts that haven鈥檛 appeared before start appearing,鈥� says Durston. As Latin American countries moved away from Western influence, the rising middle class turned toward indigenous cultural traditions and developed an interest in the country鈥檚 indigenous language. 鈥淭his was a high point of Latin American nationalism.鈥� It鈥檚 also a period that has attracted little scholarly attention. 鈥淧eople today aren鈥檛 aware of the diversity and richness of what鈥檚 available.鈥� Much of the material is housed in one library and is mostly forgotten.

Left: Alan Durston

One of the barriers preventing Quechua from becoming a more mainstream written language is its perceived association with the Incas. People think they have to write Quechua the way the Incas would have spoken it, but that鈥檚 absurd, says Durston. 鈥淨uechua is not just this fossil, this relic of the Incas; it鈥檚 a living language. You can write it the way people speak today.鈥�

Quechua continues to be spoken by people not only in Peru, but Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina, and by many who wouldn鈥檛 consider themselves indigenous. In some parts of Peru it is spoken universally. But since the 1950s, production of literary material in Quechua has dropped significantly. Most people writing in Quechua today have little training in it as there is such a dearth of available written material to read, says Durston.

Although Quechua was given official language status in the 1970s, it wasn鈥檛 promoted, he says. Unlike in Canada where all road signs, food items, government forms, documents and the like are in both official languages, Quechua doesn鈥檛 appear next to Spanish anywhere. 鈥淚t hasn鈥檛 really succeeded as a written language in politics or law.鈥�

He hopes his research, however, will increase interest in the current stock of written Quechua material and in producing more. 鈥淚 do think my research has the potential to help Quechua in Peru,鈥� says Durston.

As part of his project, he plans to write a book in both Spanish and English about his research and develop an online archive of written Quechua material that will be available to anyone. He is the author of , which looks at the world of colonial Quechua culture through language.

By Sandra McLean, YFile writer

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The first conference attracted over 70 presenters from Canada, the United States, Europe and Latin America, who presented in 20 themed panels over a two-day period. Expert faculty members helped ensure rich debate and provided timely feedback, and selected papers were published in the CERLAC Working Paper series. CERLAC intends to continue the conversations begun in 2008. It is inviting submissions for its second conference to be held March 11 and 12 at 91亚色.

Recognizing the diversity within the region, creative and critical paper, panel and alternative presentation proposals are welcome on any aspect of study of Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole and/or its constituent parts. This conference represents an outstanding opportunity to recognize and explore emergent innovative research by graduate students in all disciplines. This includes, but is not limited to, the social sciences, humanities, fine arts, environmental studies, law and business. CERLAC is also seeking contributors whose work can open fruitful dialogues and exchanges across traditional disciplinary boundaries.

The individual submission application form is available online. This form includes a request for a list of five carefully chosen keywords and a 250-word (maximum) abstract for papers, panels or alternative presentations.

The application form for panel proposals is also available online. CERLAC encourages applicants to submit themed panel proposals as a way to bring colleagues together to discuss current research and advance a particular field.

The deadline for the submission of abstracts and panel proposals is Nov. 15. Those planning to present in alternative formats, for example, film, dance, visual arts or music, they are encouraged to contact CERLAC earlier.

For more information or to submit completed application forms, contact CERLAC at lacsconf@yorku.ca.

Applicants will receive confirmation of acceptance by mid-January. Presenters will be asked to submit their papers by March 1.

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If you pass a law to prevent discrimination against persons with disabilities, how do you know whether it鈥檚 being enforced, let alone making a difference?

Marcia Rioux (right), director of the 91亚色 Institute for Health Research (YIHR) and professor in the Faculty of Health鈥檚 School of Health Policy & Management, is working internationally, particularly with countries with limited resources, to develop a unique and innovation solution for the reporting requirements set out in the United Nation鈥檚 .

The United Nations requires all governments that have ratified its Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 鈭� as Canada did on , 2010 鈭� to provide information on the measures they have taken to integrate persons with disabilities into their societies. But this reporting is often limited to cataloguing laws, policies, and programs that may have little impact on the day-to-day lives of the people they鈥檙e intended to help.

Disability Rights Promotion International (DRPI), a multi-year international collaborative project, is establishing a global monitoring system to address disability discrimination. The research project, based in YIHR, is led by Rioux and Bengt Lindqvist 鈭� a former Cabinet Minister in Sweden, former UN Special Rapporteur on Disability, and long-time activist on disability rights. The team includes a group of 91亚色 researchers and international colleagues who are creating a roadmap that will allow countries to evaluate their laws, policies and programs to comply with the United Nations鈥� standards.

鈥淐ollecting and reporting on evidence-based data forces governments to acknowledge that the challenges people with disabilities face are not just anecdotal,鈥� says Rioux. 鈥淥ur project allows evaluation to happen within the context of the experiences of people with disabilities to objectively measure where discrimination is now while developing and tracking solid trend data to determine if and how things are getting better.鈥�

In September, the Africa Regional Monitoring Centre opened its doors in Kigali, Rwanda and will act as a focal point for disability monitoring and reporting in the region. Agreements with centres in Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and Latin America are expected in the near future. The (SIDA) awarded the research team over $2 million in 2009 to open the four regional centres.

Each centre will act as a focal point for monitoring disability rights in that region, and will play a key role in empowering local people with disabilities to lead disability rights monitoring projects. 鈥淩egional monitoring is most sustainable when local people are involved since it puts long-term roots into the community,鈥� says Rioux. 鈥淭he vast majority of disabled people around the world face endemic poverty 鈭� many don鈥檛 have jobs or go to school or have basic literacy skills. Engaging people with disabilities to lead this process is a more holistic approach to addressing the challenges they face, both as individuals and a collective.鈥�

When all four centres are operational, Rioux anticipates that hundreds of people with disabilities will be engaged in disability rights monitoring activities. The centres will host training on what disability means as a human right, how to collect data and conduct evidence-based research, and how to write and file human rights reports. Groundwork is also being laid to connect monitors with disabilities to other local rights-seeking groups, such as religious-based, race-based and gender-based, to get them coordinating their efforts together instead of separately.

"The Faculty of Health鈥檚 worldwide research aims to help people live healthier lives while co-creating rejuvenated health systems,鈥� says Harvey Skinner, dean of Health. 鈥淧rofessor Rioux's research is an excellent example of how 91亚色 University is on the front line of our increasingly complex, simultaneously global and local world."

Previous phases of this project focused on developing and piloting tools and methods to monitor disability rights. In 2006, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada ()鈥檚 Community-University Research Alliances program provided Rioux and her team with just under $1 million to fund Monitoring the Human Rights of People with Disabilities in Canada, which is currently in its last of five years.

In 2008, Rioux also received a two-year $40,000 grant from to research disability and social, economic and cultural rights. She has also received funding from the , and been invited to consult with governments and disabled persons associations around the globe to discuss disability rights. Recently, she and her team wrote the chapter on disability rights monitoring for the .

鈥淧rofessor Rioux鈥檚 disability rights research reflects both the value 91亚色 places on social justice and her expertise in leading large-scale collaborative research projects of international significance,鈥� says Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation. 鈥淭his type of knowledge mobilization is a crucial step in making governments more accountable for the social policies they set, and reflects the social input that鈥檚 possible when expertise is globally shared.鈥�

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

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The deadline for nominations for the 2010 Michael Baptista Essay Prize competition is Aug.聽29. Nominations are聽limited to 91亚色 students only.聽Winners receive聽$500聽and essays selected to receive the prize will be considered for publication by the Centre for Research on Latin America聽& the Caribbean (CERLAC) at 91亚色.

The essays may be from a full- or half-course during the 2009-2010 academic year or a summer 2009 course. Major research papers at the graduate level may also be nominated. Submissions should be no longer than 35 pages, including all references, tables, figures and notes.聽Deadline extensions are available in instances where significant rewriting is required to shorten the work to within that limit.

The papers submitted will be reviewed by two to three faculty readers with research interests in Latin America and the Caribbean. Both the prize winners and the nominating faculty members will be advised of the decision by the end of October 2010.

To make a nomination, request a nomination form by sending an e-mail to聽cerlac@yorku.ca. The nominated paper and accompanying form should be submitted to CERLAC,聽8th Floor, 91亚色 Research Tower,聽no later than Aug. 29. Also send an electronic copy of the paper by e-mail to cerlac@yorku.ca.

Only faculty members can nominate a paper. Students cannot be self-nominated. Students who have received outstanding grades on their papers should bring the existence of this prize to the attention of their instructors, so that they might nominate the paper if they so choose.

The prizes are funded by the friends of Michael Baptista and the Royal Bank of Canada, where he was a senior vice-president until his untimely death.

For more information, contact the CERLAC office at 416-736-5237 or e-mail cerlac@yorku.ca.

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Latin American Artists in Toronto: Immigrants and Artists at Work, the second seminar on issues related to immigrants and the arts, will feature three panellists.

The seminar will take place Tuesday, March 23, from 12:30 to 2pm,聽in the fifth floor聽Conference Centre聽of the 91亚色 Research Tower, Keele campus.

91亚色 environmental studies Professor Deborah Barndt, co-ordinator of the Community Arts Practice (CAP) Certificate at 91亚色, will moderate the panel discussion along with 91亚色 sociology Professor Luin Goldring (right), a Centre for Research on Latin America & the Caribbean (CERLAC) Fellow.

Rodrigo Barreda, secretary of the Latin American Canadian Art Projects Board of Directors; 91亚色 fine arts cultural studies Professor Alberto Guevara; and Elia Mayahuel Tecozautla (MA 鈥�09), a 91亚色 dance alumna, will be the panellists who reflect on their work as artists in Canada.

Among the topics they will discuss are:

• challenges faced by Latin American artists working in the arts sector
• how artists negotiate their identities in their artistic production processes
• the role of funding bodies and gallery practices in shaping 鈥渋mmigrant art鈥�
• how artists develop an aesthetic in the context of Canadian multicultural policy
• contrasts between artistic production cultures 鈥渉ere鈥� and 鈥渢here鈥�

The seminar is free and open to everyone. It is presented by CERIS, CAP and 91亚色鈥檚 Centre for Research on Latin America & the Caribbean.

RSVP to ceris.reception@utoronto.ca or call 416-946-3110.

CERIS - The Ontario Metropolis Centre is a research knowledge creation and transfer network that focuses on the resettlement and integration of immigrants and refugees in Ontario. The centre is a collaboration between 91亚色, the University of Toronto and Ryerson University.

The Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC) is an interdisciplinary research unit concerned with the economic development, political and social organization, and cultural contributions of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Centre works to build academic and cultural links between these regions and Canada; to inform researchers, policy advisors, and the public on matters concerning the regions; and to assist in the development of research and teaching institutions that directly benefit the peoples of the regions.

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