In July 2024, I presented at the Alter conference in Leuven in Belgium. Leuven is a medieval town which was badly damaged in both World Wars. Sadly, nine-hundred-year-old books were burnt.
Images from the town of Leuven
Alter is a small friendly conference limited to under 150 people. The conference registration fees are low. Next year it will be in Innsbruck. This conference is in French and English. Fortunately, attendees spoke good English. Indeed, one presenter phoned my friend and I up after the conference and presented her talk in English, because we did not attend the version that she presented in French. There were presentations by disabled activists, and others about inclusion. More than once, we waited 20 minutes for a session to start. I went because I felt it was important to fly the flag for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) in a conference setting. Scarily, I was asked to present in the main tiered auditorium, and my colleagues who work in Leuven had told me that the building has problem with mice. Lunch was served in boxes. I spoke about my research with people with PMLD, what it means to live with PMLD, my positionality, methodology, and early findings.
Catherine de Haas during her presentation at the conference
Conferences are a great place to discuss research ideas and meet people. I always get more out of a conference if I present. The social times feel richer. Once my presentation was done the people who had listened to me already knew something about my work before we started to converse. Indeed, some people approached me because they wanted to learn more about my work. I had a fascinating and long conversation with one of my research heroes. Last time I went to a conference I was more easily star struck by names that had come across in my reading. This time I just wanted to know more about their research.
