We are delighted to inform you that The 2nd Annual Kurultai of the Endangered Cultural Heritage – AKECH 2019 will take place on 20-23 June 2019 in Romania as a natural continuation of the first edition, which commemorated the two millennia since the death of exiled poet Ovid here in the ancient city of Tomis.

The conference includes plenary sessions, workshops, round-table discussions, and other events. Much of the program will be self-generated by the seminar organizers and paper submitter, faculty and/or graduate students who will propose seminars and papers via our web pages.

AKECH 2019 will be preceded by The Festival of the Endangered Cultural Heritage – FECH 2019.

Organizer
Anticus Multicultural Association in conjunction with its partners.

Dates of the Conference
The conference will take place between June 20th and June 23th, 2019.

Venue
Ibis Hotel, Constanța.

Theme
This year, we are calling for papers that examine any aspect of “Indigenous People: Stories, Cultures, Languages.”
The year 2019 is UNESCO’s International Year of Indigenous Languages. In today’s interconnected world, languages play a crucial role in the daily lives of people, as a tool for communication, education, social integration and development and as a source for each person’s unique identity, cultural history, traditions, and memory. Our conference will focus on the critical risks confronting indigenous cultures and languages, and their significance for sustainable development, reconciliation, good governance and, peace-building.

Objective
The Kurultai is organized in the spirit of communion, as this is an imperative time for international scholars, independent researchers, artists, and activists to fear the potential disappearance of our individual cultures, languages, traditions, and memories and to engage in shared dialogues towards generating world-changing impact and a better future. We believe we can better understand the different habits of mind when we immerse ourselves into different perspectives and unique approaches. We imagine a rich future rooted in a better understanding of our intricate history and in a multitudinous cultural present.

Disciplines
At AKECH 2019, we agree that many problems affecting cultural heritage require insights and problem-solving skills from many disciplines, perspectives, and practices. We realize that no overall theme can really accommodate the great variety of interests around the issues relating to endangered cultural heritage.
Therefore, we invite contributions which address current cultural heritage issues from a great variety of disciplines in the arts, humanities, and sciences. We encourage adherents of literature, language, anthropology, psychology, history, biology, human geography, film studies, art, computer science, political science, physics, and all other areas of study, to feel welcome in attending this conference and even in submitting a seminar proposal or a paper.

Language
While the plenary sessions will be held in English, panels can be held either in English, Romanian or Tatar (or its related Central Asian languages).

Structure
We welcome proposals for (1) entire panels, (2) individual papers and (3) poster presentations.

1. Organized panels
The Program Committee approves pre-arranged and open panels. Most papers are grouped into twelve-person panels that meet two hours per day for three days of the lecture to foster extended discussion. Some eight-person (or smaller) seminars meet just the first two days of the conference. Depending on space availability, we may also consider accepting a limited number of one-day seminars, especially if they are innovative either in presentation format or in terms of theme. The only restriction is that no panel may have more than 50% graduate students, and none may have more than two participants from the same institution.
Please submit your abstract of no more than 500 on our webpage at: http://www.anticusmulticultural.org/akech/panel-proposal or send it by e-mail to friends@anticusmulticultural.org.
Deadline: 30 September 2018

2. Individual papers
Papers will be allocated 15-20 minutes plus 5-10 minutes for questions. You can propose your paper to the panel which is the best fit for it or to an open panel.
Please submit your abstract of no more than 300 on our webpage at: http://www.anticusmulticultural.org/akech/paper-proposal or send it by e-mail to friends@anticusmulticultural.org.
Deadline: 28 February 2019

3. Poster presentations
The conference provides facilities for poster presentations. Posters will be displayed during the works. Depending on the number of submissions accepted, a few poster-presentation sessions are planned as “guided tours.” Posters must present research projects and results and they should meet academic standards in both content and form. The presentation of the poster should not exceed 10 minutes.
Please submit your abstract of no more than 300 on our webpage at: http://www.anticusmulticultural.org/akech/poster-proposal or send it by e-mail to friends@anticusmulticultural.org.
Deadline: 28 February 2019

Notification Due
All those invited to present will be informed by 1 March 2019.

Conference Proceedings
A condition of presentation at the conference is the submission of the final paper to be published in the conference proceedings. Deadline for submission of final paper is 31 March 2019.

Travel Grants
Anticus Multicultural Association is offering a small number of travel grants (€ 100 each, which will not be issued before arrival) for those needing financial assistance. As a travel grant holder, your conference fee will be waived.
Please note that will have priority:
- disadvantaged background
- distance (EU staff and students are not eligible)
- seminar organizers
- biography and experience
Before applying for the grant please work on your proposal, submit and wait for the notification of acceptance.

Registration
Registration fee is € 135.
There is no registration fee for presenters and accompanying persons (partners & spouses) representing the organizations who are members of Anticus Multicultural Association.

Where is Constanta?
Constanta is the largest city of Dobruja, the southeastern region of Romania that lies between the Danube and the Black Sea. Dobruja is known for its beautiful hills and its vineyards, for its windmills and its Danube Delta, but it is especially famous for being a multi-ethnic and multicultural region.
Constanta was founded around 600 BC as the ancient city of Tomis. It is situated on the Black Sea coast and it is Romania’s most important touristic destination. Constanta is appreciated for its beaches with fine sand, for its mosques and its seaport. It is particularly known as a city of literature and of the Tatar culture. It is the universal epicenter of exile in literature. Here, in the ancient city of Tomis, is where Ovid was exiled by Emperor Augustus and where the poet honored the local culture by writing his verse in the vernacular.

Practical
Constanta is an affordable destination when it comes to air travel, accommodation and cost of living.

Flying to Constanta
Constanta is served by the International Airport Mihail Kogalniceanu Constanta and Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport, which has a great number of low-cost and flag carrier airlines, resulting in highly competitive prices. The best air ticket prices are offered by low-cost airlines WIZZAIR and EASYJET and the ultra-low-cost RYANAIR. However, all major flag carrier airlines, too, offer good rates if you book well in advance. We suggest you should book early to take advantage of this fact. Starting from 20 euro every hour coach and minibus transfers from Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport to Constanta will take two hours and a half. We recommend you should book at ALT TRANSPORT PERSOANE, KIRVAD TOUR, DIRECT AIRPORT or GSM TRANS.

Accommodation
We are unable to provide travel and accommodation. Delegates are advised to make their own accommodation arrangements. Affordable accommodation at and near the venue is easy to come by in all categories. We strongly recommend Booking.com and Airbnb as good, reliable alternatives when reservations are made early but it works well even in the very last minute, too.

Cost of living
Constanta is a good place to wine and dine even when on a budget.
Your conference bag will include information on where to eat cheap or buy your groceries if you are planning a self-catering.

Contact
friends@anticusmulticultural.org

We can't wait to meet you in Constanta by the end of June 2019!