UHCL to host 10th annual Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center’s conference
UHCL is partnering with the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center for an annual conference addressing environmental concerns of Texas coastal regions. This day-long event will be free and open to the public.
The official title of the event is UHCL-SQCC Energy and Environmental Stewardship: Oman and the U.S. It will be held Wednesday, Oct. 23, in the Bayou Building Atriums and Bayou Theater from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be four panels featuring guest speakers hailing from the Omani government, Occidental Oil, NASA, UHCL, Exploration Green Conservancy, the City of Houston and more.
While the conference is an all-day event, attendees are welcome to come and go as they please. The introduction and welcome will take place in the Bayou Theater beginning at 9 a.m. and includes a speech from the Omani Ambassador.
Throughout the day, additional panels of speakers will discuss an array of topics including the overlapping histories and concerns in Oman and Texas, environmental and climate challenges in coastal regions and cities, disaster management, and science diplomacy.
Each year, SQCC partners with a different university on a topic of mutual interest for their annual conference.
“UHCL and the surrounding community has much to offer in terms of shared experiences,” said SQCC Executive Director Kathleen Ridolfo. “Both Houston and Oman have a similar environment and topography, and face similar environmental challenges in terms of climate change and natural disasters. In addition, both are oil producing, but looking towards sustainable future solutions.”
Event co-organizers Maria Curtis, associate professor of anthropology and cross-cultural studies, and Kathleen Garland, lecturer of environmental management, have been planning the conference since the spring of 2017.
“Dr. Curtis has been taking study abroad classes to Oman for the past several years, so she has developed interpersonal relationships with SQCC personnel as well as in-country Omani faculty and professionals,” Garland said. “It is her relationship-building over the years that has resulted in SQCC choosing UHCL as this year’s host campus for their annual conference.”
Lisa Lima, graduate student and intern in UHCL’s Office of International Admissions and Programs, has been working closely with Curtis for the past few months.
“When the SQCC expressed interest in holding their 10th annual conference at UHCL, Dr. Curtis graciously volunteered to coordinate the event,” said Lima, sociology major. “It has been a privilege to witness the meticulous amount of coordination she and various UHCL faculty, staff and students have dedicated to the conference.”
The Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center (SQCC) is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2005 and currently resides in Washington, D.C. Their mission is to promote knowledge of Omani culture in America to strengthen understanding between the people of Oman and the U.S. The Arab country, Oman, is located in the Middle East on the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Oman and the U.S. have a 229-year-long relationship that dates back to 1790.
The conference will feature an exhibition of Omani photographs, objects and artifacts on display. In addition, there will be a student research poster exhibit in Atrium II on the morning of the conference created by UHCL students from various majors and disciplines. Some themes will include environmental sustainability, the role of diplomacy in addressing climate-related issues, the social and environmental impacts of Hurricane Harvey, post-oil futures and more.
“We are grateful that Dr. Curtis has introduced us to the campus community and the accomplished faculty and students; we couldn’t ask for a better partner,” Ridolfo said. “We hope that the conference will allow both sides to share experiences and challenges, and provoke meaningful discussion towards addressing some of the conference topics in the future. By bringing faculty and the broader Houston community together with our Omani colleagues, we can find common goals and synergies. The conference can serve as a starting point for exploring future collaborative research projects or partnerships.”
Anyone interested in attending this free event can register online here.
“From a student perspective, everyone with available time should attend at least one panel because the guest speakers are well distinguished in their respective fields,” Lima said. “It is also thrilling to witness the foster of research and exchange of partnerships between interdisciplinary fields.”
