AABS Conference Outtakes Highlight CEEC relevance

Recently, I participated in the 30th Biennial Conference of AABS, the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, held May 28-30 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. It was the ninth AABS conference I’ve attended.

Many Estonian scholars from various disciplines were there, along with those from Latvia, Lithuania, the United States, and around the globe. One was Dr Olavi Arens, who has very likely participated in more AABS conferences than anyone. Dr Arens is a longtime history professor at Georgia Southern University in Savan-nah (formerly Armstrong State University), where he has extensively researched 20th-century Estonian political history and American foreign policy toward the Baltic states.

The title of this year’s AABS conference was “Diasporas: Building Bridges Across Nations.” There, I spoke at one of the two featured lunchtime discussions on the challenges and opportunities for diaspora organizations. Other speakers were Mārtiņš Andersons, President of the American Latvian Association (ALA) and a JBANC board member, and Aarne Elias, who, on April 2, became Estonia’s newest Honorary Consul in the United States. Elias, who is also President of the Estonian Hou-se in Chicago, gave an overview of the history and status of the remaining Esto-nian Houses in the country, which, in addition to Chicago, include New York City, Lakewood, and Los Angeles.