The Timor-Leste Studies Association (https://tlstudies.org/) will hold their next conference between the 16th and 18th of July. This year’s conference will feature around 200 papers in Tetum, Portuguese, English and Bahasa Indonesia. AIA-SEAS will be represented by Marisa Gonçalves, Takayasu Goto & Zélia Pereira, who will present the following papers:
Marisa Ramos Gonçalves
Histórias Timorenses do 25 de Abril de 1974: Entre a Liberdade e a Tragédia [Timorese Stories of the 25th April 1974: Between Freedom and Tragedy]
Presentation of the first results of the initial stages of this research, linked to her broader research project “Histórias transnacionais de solidariedades no Sul – ‘outros’ conhecimentos e lutas por direitos no espaço do Oceano Índico” [Transnational stories of solidarity in the South – “other” knowledges and struggles for rights in the Indian Ocean space] (CEECIND/00620/2018/) and a joooint project with the Historical Research & Archives Division of the Centro Nacional Chega! “As vivências Timorenses do 25 de Abril – histórias por contar” [Timorese experiences of the 25th April – stories yet to be told].
Takayasu Goto
Chineseness in Transition: Representation, Practice, and ASEAN Aspirations in Timor-Leste
This research explores how the ethnic Chinese community in Dili, Timor-Leste, is reshaping its cultural identity within the local social context. Despite being a minority, they hold significant economic and social influence. Their evolving practices—such as efforts to reopen Chinese schools—reflect a strategic reorganization of heritage. These shifts highlight how ‘Chineseness’ is not only locally negotiated but also connected to Timor-Leste’s broader regional identity as it seeks integration into ASEAN. This presentation is part of his PhD project A identidade da geração mais jovem de chineses timorenses em relação à identidade nacional de Timor-Leste e à Indonésia’ [The identity of the younger generation of East Timorese Chinese in relation to the national identity of Timor-Leste and Indonesia] (grant PRT/BD/154528/2022).
Zélia Pereira
O Relatório Riscado: Inquérito aos Acontecimentos de Timor de 1974-1975 & The “Riscado Report” and the Testimonies Given in the Inquiry into the Decolonization of Timor
Presentation as part of the project ‘Auditing decolonisation in Timor-Leste, 1974-82: the Riscado Report’ (https://doi.org/10.54499/2023.10636.25ABR) which explores new perspectives on the conduct of the Portuguese military in Timor-Leste in the months before the Indonesian invasion, the in-depth study of the process that led to the setting up of the commission chaired by Brigadier Riscado and the reconstruction of the way in which Portuguese public discussed the aborted decolonisation of Timor-Leste in the first years of democracy.