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News Release

Contact: Tom Parisi, NIU Office of Public Affairs
(815) 753-3635

May 3, 2005

Northern Illinois University will host
First International Conference on Lao Studies

DeKalb, Ill.— The Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University is preparing to host the first-ever International Conference on Lao Studies, a three-day event that will coincide with a night of cultural performances in northwest suburban Elgin, home to one of the state's largest Lao communities.

The May 20-22 conference is expected to draw more than 300 participants to campus, including more than 100 scholars from across the world.

“Laos is a relatively small country in Southeast Asia in terms of population, but it has a fascinating history and rich ethnic diversity,” said Sue Russell, professor of anthropology and director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies. “The Lao diaspora here in the United States is very large. And we hope this conference will stimulate increased intellectual exchanges between Northern Illinois University and the National University of Laos.”

The high interest in the first International Conference on Lao Studies reflects the growing interest in Lao studies among a new generation of scholars, according to John Hartmann, professor in the NIU Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and one of the conference organizers.

“Not only will the meeting bring scholars together from all over the world, but it will also unite the peoples of Laos in this country and abroad who want to revive their sense of cultural and linguistic identity,” Hartmann said. “In that same spirit, we thought it was natural to do something in cooperation with the Elgin community, which has a large and vibrant Lao-American population.”

Sponsored by the City of Elgin Human Relations Commission, Lao Culture Night will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at Elgin High School, 1200 Maroon Drive, Elgin. The event is open to the public and will feature costume displays, craft displays and traditional music and dance performances. Typical Lao food will be served, including sticky rice, grilled chicken, minced herbed chicken, coriander-seasoned beef jerky and fresh green papaya salad.

Participants in the NIU Lao Studies Conference will be bussed to the Elgin event, where some of the scholars are scheduled to perform. Demonstrations of the “khaen,” the emblematic Lao mouth organ, will be performed by conference participants from Thailand, France and Kent State University. In addition, Lao Prince Tiao Somsanith, who now lives in France, will demonstrate the vanishing art of gold-thread embroidery, a tradition from the royal court in Laos.

“We have a group of young Lao professionals in Elgin who are volunteering their efforts to make this celebration of our culture a huge success,” said Aloun Khotisene, who is among the culture night organizers. “We hope to make this an annual event.”

Tickets for the Lao Culture Night can be purchased for $20 at the door or $15 in advance by contacting Phet Lay Haverkos at culturenight@phet.org. (Children younger than 10 are free with paying adults.)

NIU faculty members who are organizing the International Conference on Lao Studies have received strong support from a large number of scholars, businesses and other organizations who work with the dynamic Lao-American communities in the United States. These groups have been actively publicizing the NIU event, which is expected to draw visitors from Laos, Thailand, Japan, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Austria, Australia, Canada and Sweden. Presenters will include the Venerable Pra Ajan Maha Bounkhong, president of Lao-American Buddhist Monks of America.

The Henry Luce Foundation is providing a $25,000 grant to defray the travel expenses of foreign scholars. Other contributors include The Asia Foundation, the U.S. Embassy in Laos, and a variety of individual, business and organization sponsorships.

Founded in 1963, the NIU Center for Southeast Asian Studies is the second oldest of its kind nationwide and one of seven National Resource Centers for Southeast Asian studies. For more information on the Lao Studies Conference, see www.seasite.niu.edu/lao/LaoStudies/FICLS2.htm . More information on the Lao Culture Night is available at laoculturenight.laostudents.org.

Contacts for further questions from the media:

International Conference on Lao Studies
NIU Professor John Hartmann
(815) 753-6462; jhartman@niu.edu

Elgin Culture Night
Aloun Khotisene
(847) 877-8224; la_vie73@yahoo.com

Phet Lay Haverkos
culturenight@phet.org

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