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University of Queensland, 3 and 4 December 2001. The APQ2 conference on the theme of 'Media, Technology and Queer Cultures' took place at Emmanuel College on the St Lucia campus of the University of Queensland on 3 and 4 December 2001. The conference featured eight different panels where a total of eighteen presenters touched on the multiple ways in which recent advances in technology and mass communications are impacting upon queer identities and communities in the region. The organisers were particularly delighted to be able to welcome members of Brisbane's own Aboriginal queer group Gar' ban'djee'lum 'Us Mob'. Colin Ross, one of Us Mob's convenors introduced a video about the problems faced by Aboriginal 'sister girls' and led a discussion on issues relating to marginalisation of queer-identified Aboriginal people both within their own communities and within the wider Australian queer world. Another highlight of the event was the participation of film directors Tony Ayres (Australia) and Richard Fung (Canada). The Sunday-night screening of Tony and Richard's films at the State Library was very well attended and the audience really appreciated the chance to discuss themes from the films with the directors in the Q & A session after the screening. Both Richard and Tony also attended the morning session of the conference where they discussed their past and current projects in more detail. Many people commented that APQ provided both a rich and relaxed environment for discussing issues of both academic and community concern. There was an impressive graduate student turn out both among presenters and attendees and this underlies the importance of one of APQ's underlying mission statements: to provide a stimulating and supportive environment for the development of queer studies among graduates and early career researchers. APQ2 co-organiser and postgraduate representative Olivia Khoo explains below why research colloquia such as APQ are so important for early career researchers. I attended both APQI and APQ2 this year - as a presenter at the first conference and as a conference co-organisor and postgraduate representative in the second. From the perspective of a postgraduate student, both conferences provided extremely interesting and rewarding experiences. The diverse range of papers presented, utilising various theoretical and methodological approaches gave attendees researching gender and sexual difference in the Asia-Pacific useful points of comparison and divergence. Two significant things that I took from the conference were the importance of a close relationship between researchers of sexuality with the communities they are working with, as well as the importance of keeping theory and practice intimately connected. The presence of 'Us Mob,' the indigenous group from the Brisbane area, who opened the conference, was significant, in terms of the insight they provided on a rarely discussed subject - the presence of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered indigenous individuals. Their presence at the conference was also an important reminder of the continued collaborations that need to be forged not just between indigenous communities and white Australia, but also with groups from other Asian and Pacific diasporic communities and countries. In order to further consolidate APQ's links with various queer communities, the Outreach Officer of the Sydney 2003 Gay Games, Suganthi Chandramohan, discussed the difficulties involved in outreaching target groups such as women and those from the Asia Pacific. This was a chance for Suganthi to make contacts with researchers and activists working in or on the area, as well as for researchers themselves to be made aware of the multiple difficulties involved in making visible the presence of marginalised members of the queer community. As mentioned, the participation of filmmakers Richard Fung and Tony Ayres at the conference was a highlight. A chaired dialogue between Richard and Tony on the first day of APQ2 engaged conference delegates with the important requirements of the intersections between theory and practice. Richard Fung was extremely generous in his participation at the conference, attending all of the sessions and providing delegates outside of North America with useful points of comparison and departure. From a postgraduate perspective, it was extremely heartening to see someone as accomplished and respected as Richard Fung (as both a theorist/critic and a practitioner) learn from, and share with, all at the conference, regardless of the stage of their career. Indeed, postgraduate presenters had much to offer the conference - providing papers on lesbian fandom of yuri (lesbian-themed) manga, to reading the significance of hairstyles (in particular the 'long queue') in Jackie Chan's Shanghai Noon. A Cultural Studies Association of Australia (CSAA) Small Grant provided assistance to some postgraduate students presenting papers at APQ2. In particular, it aided Wendy Pearson and Susan Knabe (University of Wollongong) who gave a joint presentation on 'slash' (homoerotic fan fiction) in the Australian context. As conference co-organisor and postgraduate representative, I was also aided by the CSAA Small Grant. I presented a paper on behalf of Greg Leong on internalised racism and the work of Chinese Australian artists such as William Yang. Reading Greg's highly personal (and personalised) paper was a truly queer experience! APQ2 provided an extremely congenial environment where postgraduate students were able to mix with academics, filmmakers and artists working on gender and same-sex issues in or on the Asia-Pacific region. The network of scholars now involved in APQ is growing, and creating an invaluable and supportive community for those working on areas that have been traditionally marginalised in other academic arenas. The importance of being part of this growing network and the kind of support it brings, is extremely useful and necessary to early career researchers who are newly entering such a rich and diverse field of study. Finally, the APQ organisers would like to thank all who contributed to the success of the conference. The Cultural Studies Association of Australia provided a small grant that offset the travel costs of several graduate-student presenters. The Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies at the University of Queensland and the Research School for Pacific and Asian Studies at ANU offered small grants to offset venue hire and catering costs. The State Library of Queensland provided the venue for the screening of Tony and Richard's films for free. The conference on 'Transforming Cultures/Shifting Boundaries' held immediately before APQ2 offered funds to help bring Richard Fung to Australia, as did the Canadian Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand and the Canadian High Commission. Tony Ayres' attendance was funded by the Australian Studies Centre at the University of Queensland. We are also very grateful to the Intersections editors Carolyn Brewer and Anne-Marie Medcalf for once again offering to produce a special APQ2 edition of the journal that will enable the papers from the conference to reach the wider audience that they deserve. Mark McLelland and Olivia Khoo |
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The construction of this AsiaPacifiQueer website has been funded by the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Cultural Development Fund.
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