The Annual Queer Studies Easter Symposium in Mexico

A number of roundtable discussions on a wide variety of topics relating to Queer Studies, various human rights related issues, and community activism will be organised by Enkidu Magazine in the week before the conference. These roundtable discussions have been organised by Enkidu Magazine on a regular basis since 2003 and have developed into an exiting independent forum for dialogue, reflection and exchange between academics, activists and government agencies. The roundtable discussions usually have 3 - 5 invited speakers, representing different institutions and organisations, followed by an open debate with the audience. Each roundtable discussion will be recorded and transcribed, and result in a chapter in the Conference Proceedings, in which all the voices and different perspectives that formed part of the discussions will be reflected.

The Roundtable discussions organised by Enkidu Magazine throughout the year, are community events, open to students, activists and the general public at no cost. In the week before the official Opening of the Queer Studies Symposium, the following roundtable discussions have been scheduled:

Tuesday 18. March, 2008: Trabajadores y Trabajadoras sexuales, derechos humanos y derechos laborales en Mexico/ Male and Female Sexual Workers, Human Rights and Laboral Rights in Mexico. The point of departure of this discussion will be a new law proposal to protect the rights of sexual workers in the Federal District (Ley de Protección al Sexo-Servicio) proposed by the local conservative party (PAN) and we will explore the spatialistation and regulation of sex work in Mexico City.

Tuesday 18. March, 2008: Los Martes de Enkidu: Presentación de las conclusiones del Ciclo de Estudios Queer de LME 2006 y 2007 /Presentation of the conclusions from the Queer Studies Circle in the Diversity Think Tank 2006 and 2007. Enkidu Magazine organizes a monthly session dedicated to "Queer Studies", with presentations of new research and dissertations in progress as part of the activities in the "The Diversity Think Tank". In this discussion, we will evaluate the first 2 years of this Queer Studies Circle. 

Wednesday 19. March, 2008: La ley de Sociedades de Convivencia un año después / The Mexico City Domestic Partnership Law. On 9. November, 2006, the local Assambly of Mexico City approved a domestic partnership law which also applies to same sex couples. In this discussion we will evaluate this law and its effects for local culture and society. 

In continuation, we will discuss the place of Lesbians and Transgender persons in the Mexican Leather and Fetish Community, which traditionally has been dominantly male and closed for these groups. 

In the week before the conference, we will organise a number of cultural and social activities for conference delegates who would like to explore the past and present of Central Mexico and we hope that many of our international delegates will consider arriving in Mexico City some days before the conference and participate in these activities, which will include guided tours to Teotihuacan, Tenayuca, Malinalco and Chalma, city walks through colonial and Aztec Mexico City and Coyoacan, the worlds of Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky and an exploration of the floating gardens of Xochimilco. On 19. March, 2008, we will organise a special introductory session in Xochimilco in the southern part of this immense city with a very traditional Mexican Cocktail... 

The tours have been designed and will be conducted by the Academic staff of the The International Society for Cultural History and Cultural Studies. Due to the international composition of the delegates, the tours will generally be conducted in English. The tours focus on specific archaeological sites, local fiestas, customs, rituals, beliefs, arts and traditions in villages and communities throughout Central Mexico. The guides are local academics and activists with specific knowledge about the site or community, often individuals with local roots with a desire to give you an insider view of their reality. 

By participating in the pre-conference program, you will be taken to the most remarkable places, and we will open doors for you that remain closed for most regular tourists. With the exception of Teotihuacan (that you should have seen once in your lifetime) and perhaps Tlatelolco, the twin city of the imperial capital of Tenochtitlan, the other archaeological sites we will visit are less known by outsiders and often not even mentioned in guidebooks. 

The social and cultural activities for conference delegates, will start on Monday 17. March. In addition to the official pre-conference program, conference delegates will also have discounts in various theater plays and film screenings in the days before, during and after the conference. 

The final program for the cultural and social pre-conference activities can be consulted below and will be announced also in our biweekly newsletter for conference delegates. The final program for theater, cinema and similar activities with discounts for conference participants before and during the conference, will be announced in the conference newsletter. 

The tours fill up quickly, and if you haven't already registered for one of the following activities, we recommend that you sign up as early as possible by filling in the form here. Participation in these activities is in most cases included in the registration fee for conference delegates and observer participants with name badge, but the tours to Malinalco, Chalma, Tenayuca, Xochimilco and Teotihuacan that include transport from specific meeting points that will be announced in the conference newsletter, have an additional cost.

If you would like to participate in the pre-conference program, a separate registration is neccesary. Reservation for the tours is on a first come first served basis. Sightseeing tours that include transport (Malinalco, Chalma, Tenayuca and Teotihuacan) will only take place if the minimum number of registrations is reached. We therefore recommend you to sign up for these tours as early as possible. After submitting the registration form you will receive within 48 hours an e-mail from the Committee with payment information. If a tour fills up early and a sufficient number of delegates still indicate interest in participating, we will consider organizing additional tours. Participants interested in any of the activities listed below should sign up by filling in the form here. 

Remember that in order to get a reduced delegate price for the tours you sign up for, you must first have paid the regular conference registration fee for your participant category.

If there are seats available, Non delegates who are not registered as Conference Delegates, Observer Participants, Accompanying Persons or Media Representatives, are welcome to sign up for the tours and the rest of the pre-conference program.