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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Arial;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">Book Launch:
Local Governance in Timor-Leste: Lessons in Postcolonial Statebuilding<br>
<br>
<br>
Deborah Cummins<br>
<br>
Friday, 21 May 2015 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM<br>
<br>
Charles Darwin University Bookstore</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Arial;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">Charles Darwin University, </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Arial;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">Darwin, NT</span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Arial"><br>
<br>
<span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">To be launched by Professor Dennis
Shoesmith, Charles Darwin University</span><br>
<br>
<b><span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">Event Details</span></b><span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"> </span><br>
<br>
<span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">Please join Deborah Cummins for a chat, Q&A
and book signing of her new book, Local Governance in Timor-Leste: Lessons in
Postcolonial Statebuilding. This is a book about local life, law and governance
in the villages of Timor-Leste. It is also a book about what happens when very
Westernised systems of governance are imposed on villagers, without taking into
account their customary governance, culture and local realities.</span><br>
<span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"> </span><br>
<span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">As with many other postcolonial nations around
the world, Timorese communities are characterised by two systems of law and
governance: the law and governance of the state, and customary law and
governance which has served Timorese villages for centuries. It is not a
question of choosing between one or the other: customary governance, known
as <i>lisan</i> or <i>adat</i>, continues to be strong,
particularly in the rural areas, even as democratisation takes hold. This is
everyday reality for Timorese villagers, who cross daily between these two
systems, but is something that organisations engaged in the statebuilding
process have found difficult to understand and engage with. Drawing on
approximately 5 years’ fieldwork, the author examines some of the implications
of this basic reality for those working in communities, and for the
statebuilding and development process more generally.</span><br>
<br>
<span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">Books on sale by the Charles Darwin University
Bookstore.</span><br>
<br>
<i><span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">Handcrafted Timorese door prizes will be
given out. Drink on arrival.<br>
<br>
</span></i><span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"> </span><br>
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<b><span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">About the author:<br>
<br>
</span></b><span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">Dr. Deborah Cummins is the Founder
and Director of Bridging Peoples, an agency focussed on exploring and promoting
community-sensitive approaches to development, based in Timor-Leste. Since she
first arrived in 2008, she has worked for a variety of development organisations
on issues related to local governance and leadership, community development,
women’s empowerment, supporting civil society and more. She has also worked as
a lecturer and researcher on community development, international development,
and public policy at the National University of Timor-Leste and various
Australian universities. She has published on a variety of issues in
Timor-Leste, including the interaction of customary and state-based governance,
community development, democratisation, state- and institution-building,
women's leadership and approaches to addressing domestic violence. She lives
and works in Timor-Leste.</span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Times"></span></p>
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