Keynote Speakers

The keynote sessions are free and open to the public
Room 4007, Faculty of Social Sciences Building, University of Ottawa unceded Algonquin territory.

Jennifer Wemigwans (Assistant Professor, Department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto)
and Terhi Nurmikko-Fuller (Associate Professor, POLIS: The Centre for Social Policy and Research, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University)

Opening Keynote | Monday 6 May, 9:30am

Jennifer Wemigwans, "Digital Bundles - Hiding in Plain Sight" 

An account of the meaning, practice and production of digital Indigenous Knowledge offerings on the Internet.

Jennifer Wemigwans (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.  She teaches Indigenous Knowledge Education courses in the Adult Education & Community Development Program.  Dr. Wemigwans is from Wikwemikong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. She is a new media producer, writer and scholar specializing in the convergence between education, Indigenous Knowledge and new media technologies. Her book, A Digital Bundle: Protecting and Promoting Indigenous Knowledge Online (2018) explores the prospects of Indigenous Knowledge education and digital projects in networked world.

Closing Keynote | Tuesday 7 May, 5:00pm

Terhi Nurmikko-Fuller, "Smarter Linked Data in the Age of AI"

Since the blockbuster release of ChatGPT, AI has truly gone mainstream. Yet, as the initial hype begins to cool down, we see that as increasing numbers of practitioners engage with a myriad of tools that fall under the umbrella term of “AI”, the choir of AI critics is becoming louder. In this paper I will argue that what we need is not just more data, but smarter data. What we need is knowledge that has been represented in ways that capture various perspectives. In doing so we can start to look at ways to reduce historical and social bias, and to maximise the power and potential of bringing thoughtfully and CAREfully mapped data and increasingly powerful algorithms together. 

Terhi Nurmikko-Fuller is a Associate Professor at the Australian National University. She focuses on interdisciplinary experimentation into ways digital technologies can support and diversify research in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, and in relation to public culture (including Web Science, and the cultural heritage sector). Terhi's research examines the potential of Linked Open Data to support and diversify scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences.