Nazarbayev University, Astana
Let’s rethink what counts as knowledge.
Let’s center the margins.
Across disciplines, scholars are questioning dominant knowledge systems — yet Eurocentric frameworks still define what is valid theory, whose labor counts, and whose stories are heard. Voices at the Margins invites us to reimagine these hierarchies and bring forward the wisdom of communities, movements, and thinkers often left out of mainstream narratives.
From post-socialist transitions to matrilineal traditions, from resistance economies to care collectives, new ways of knowing and belonging are emerging — often from the margins.
This conference brings together global and local scholars, artists, and practitioners to share grounded insights and open space for epistemic justice and feminist solidarity.
- To question inherited hierarchies of gender, knowledge, and labor.
- To connect feminist, decolonial, and indigenous scholarship.
- To amplify voices from Central Asia and the Global South.
- To explore how knowledge rooted in land, memory, and spirituality challenges dominant paradigms.
BRONWYN WOOD
BETTINA BASTIAN
Join the editorial team of Gender, Work & Organization, one of the leading journals in feminist and critical organizational scholarship, for an open and engaging discussion on the journal's evolving vision. This session will explore how GWO continues to expand the boundaries of what counts as knowledge in
organization studies, particularly by centering marginalized voices, decolonial thought, and feminist praxis.
Editors will offer practical guidance on preparing your work for submission, including what makes a strong manuscript, how to navigate peer review, and strategies.
This session features a thought-provoking conversation with Professor Beigi whose work challenges dominant paradigms in career studies by centering care, gender, belonging, and marginality. Professor Beigi will reflect on her academic journey, research contributions, and editorial insights, offering attendees a candid look at what it means to pursue feminist scholarship in mainstream academic spaces.
Kazakh nomadic traditions-rooted in movement, adaptability, and moral interdependence-offer a rich cultural logic shaped by the steppe.
Despite historic disruptions, values such as hospitality, dignity, and collective responsibility continue to shape identity and resilience today. This talk explores how nomadic memory provides not only survival strategies but also alternative visions for justice, empathy, and flourishing.
Professor Özbilgin explores how marginalised
individuals can shift from participants in co-design processes to co-owners of knowledge, practice, and policy. Drawing on research in migration, precarious labour, and equality initiatives, he critiques institutional tokenism and introduces the concept of recognition-based accountability as a pathway toward genuine inclusion. The talk offers practical strategies for transforming participation into shared authorship and shaping institutional futures with, not just for, those at the margins.
PATRIARCHY: GENDER ENTANGLEMENTS IN EDUCATION AND
- 3
Days3 days of concentrated experience and new knowledge - 400
guestsThe conference will bring together participants from all over the world - 10+
expertsExperts from different countries are invited to the conference
This conference forms part of Nazarbayev University’s 15th Anniversary Initiatives, with generous support from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan — reflecting a commitment to inclusive, globally engaged scholarship across Central Asia and beyond.
53, Kabanbay batyr Ave., Astana, 010000, Republic of Kazakhstan