Conferences - Present and Past

EABS Meeting 2011: THESSALONIKI

8/8/2011-11/8/2011

The meeting in Tartu - a Summing Up by the President of the EABS

EABS met for the 15th time this year in Tartu, Estonia, jointly with the SBL.

Although Tartu turned out to be not the most frequent destination for international airlines, once we found ourselves there it was obvious that the city was worth the effort of getting there! Tartu turned out to be one of the best conference locations ever. With the neoclassical Main Building of the University of Tartu as our main conference venue, the city centre was just the right size and central enough to be pleasant and convenient.  Within just a few small blocks we had everything we needed - and also space for a stroll in the shade from the beautiful old buildings. The July sun was hotter in Tartu this year than anyone could remember.

The conference opened with a session on biblical and religious studies in Estonia in historical and contemporary perspective. Some of Estonia's most high-profile theological scholars, nationally and internationally, were presented: Uku Masing and Arthur Vööbu. But the topical focus of the session entitled Minorities and Majorities: A Small Nation in the Global Academic Society, was the conditions of a small (national) university in a globalizing (and secularizing) world, using Estonia as a case. The session gave a good insight into the host institution and the context within which it operates; it is likely that this format will be repeated in future years.

The membership of EABS is increasing, and some decisions were made at the business meeting in order to restructure the association slightly. Information about this will be posted shortly on the website, but let me emphasize that the changes are in many ways "growth pains" - which are a blessing after all.

It should also be mentioned that the collaboration with SBL this year was excellent. We are looking forward to further collaboration in future years – whilst holding on to our own conferences and our own identity.

Jorunn Økland

Prevsiou meetings

2010 Tartu

2009 Lincoln

2008 Lisbon

2007 Vienna

2006 Budapest

For remark or questions about this page please contact r.nikolsky@rug.nl

02 September 2010