For a student-run conference to secure not one, but two high-profile speakers is a coup to say the least, but for the Trent Students’ Association in International Development (SAID), which hosted the seventh annual Community Movements Conference February 7-9, 2013, it is par for the course.

“I wouldn’t say we were hitting above our weight class,” says Nicolas Valverde, a fourth year joint major in International Development Studies (IDS) and Political Economy and one of several conference organizers, “but both our keynote speakers were definitely tops in their fields.”

Headlining this year’s conference were Dr. Ben White, a globally-recognized authority on the issue of child labor in developing countries, and Dr. Roger Keil, one of the premier academics in the field of urbanization.

Over the course of its history, the Community Movements Conference has developed a reputation for excellence that has drawn in top-class speakers and an enthusiastic following from students, the larger Peterborough community, and from a number of Trent alumni who make a point of attending every year.

Past themes have included water and land rights, Canada’s international role, food sovereignty and the changing face of agriculture. This year’s theme "Skyscrapers to Slums: the dynamics of urbanism" brought together speakers and workshops on a wide-ranging variety of related topics from women’s mobility and employment options in an increasingly urbanized China, to the urbanization of First Nations’ Identity as shown through photographic portraiture.

In keeping with the conference’s goal of addressing development issues on a local level, workshops were also offered by local organization Transition Town Peterborough on “resilient adaptation” to urbanization and the role of the Kawartha Loon (a local currency introduced to Peterborough in September of 2013) in the local economy.

Dr. Ben White, professor emeritus at the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, launched the conference Friday night at the Peterborough Public library with his keynote address entitled “Working children, unemployed youth - paradoxes of young urban lives.” A leading international authority in his field, Dr. White’s presence at the conference set the tone for the high-calibre of content throughout.

“Dr. White is one of the most recognized figures on this subject worldwide,” affirmed Dr. A Haroon Akram-Lodhi, chair of the Department of International Development Studies at Trent. “He is quite a catch for the conference.”

Dr. Roger Keil, professor of Environmental Studies at York University and noted writer and speaker on urban governance and political ecology gave Saturday night’s keynote lecture at Traill College’s Bagnani Hall with a talk entitled “Occupy the periphery: Re-making our urban political imagination from the outside in.”

The mood at the Trend Sunday afternoon where the nearly 20 student organizers gathered to celebrate and to reflect on their experience at the close of the conference was one of excitement – and relief.

“We all learned a lot about networking and coordinating with different groups,” said Marika Maksymec, a fourth year IDS and Economics major. “It was just a great way to learn outside the classroom.

“I think a lot of the time when we’re in the classroom we are really stuck in our own little world,” added Michelle Nguyen, second year IDS and History major, “but being a part of this conference helps us to recognize we are part of a much larger community, and that’s what this conference is really about.”

Posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2014.