As we prepare for our joint meeting, I wanted to share both immediate and longer-term plans related to submitting for and presenting at the Annual Meeting.
For this year's meeting, members of the AIC Equity and Inclusion Committee (EIC) and the CAC-ACCR Reconciliation Working Group (RWG) drafted and shared guidance with presenters that encourages engagement with existing frameworks on Indigenous data governance, consent, and responsible knowledge sharing. Presenters have been asked to reflect on key considerations in advance of their talks, including permissions, authority to share knowledge, community consultation, authorship and credit, and the potential impacts of presenting culturally sensitive material. We also highlighted to presenters the importance of transparency in cases where consultation did not take place, and of clearly communicating the context and limitations of their research.
Following the 2026 meeting, both groups will continue to collaborate on developing more formal tools and resources to support presenters, abstract reviewers, and others involved in the conference process for both AIC and CAC-ACCR. Our work will be rooted in a common commitment to enhancing ethical, responsible, and community-informed methods for research and knowledge sharing. It will address the need for clearer guidance on presenting Indigenous and contested cultural heritage, including technical details, and cultural materials such as objects, knowledge, and histories linked to communities influenced by colonialism, conflict, or displacement. This guidance will also extend to the abstract submission and evaluation process. Topics to be addressed include permissions, authority, community consultation, authorship, and credit. We will also emphasize thoughtful strategies for presenting sensitive content, particularly human remains, funerary objects, and related ephemera.
We hope this initiative will foster a more compassionate, responsible, and accountable environment that respects knowledge systems and lived experience, and establish an Annual Meeting practice grounded in consent, care, and community-centered research. If you are interested in this work, please do not hesitate to contact us.
I look forward to seeing you all in Montreal,
Abed
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Abed Haddad
AIC Vice President (2025-2027)
Assistant Conservation Scientist
The Museum of Modern Art
New York, NY
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