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Bolivian Monday Talks (BMT)

Since 2020 Network of Bolivian Adoptees organises virtual meetings for all members of our community, each time discussing a topic related to adoption and/or Bolivia. These meetings are called "Bolivian Monday Talks" and take place every month/every two months. Below you can find an overview of all past Bolivian Monday Talks.

Overview of past Bolivian Monday Talks 

2024

BMT #32 (February): What happened to NOBA?

In this next BMT we are also looking forward to hear which topics you like to see covered for our virtual meetings, as well as possible resolutions related to adoption or Bolivia in 2024. As we have gained also a lot of new members over the past months, we will end this BMT with a small back to basics of adoption and Bolivia, reflecting and sharing our experiences of being a Bolivian adoptee inside and outside this community.

2023

BMT #31 (November): Reunion

This time we will talk about reunion and invite Sandra Mahé to share with us about her reunion experience. Sandra was born in Santa Cruz and adopted to France. In 2020 she was able to virtually reunite with her Bolivian family, and this summer 2023 she visited her Bolivian family in Argentina. She will give a presentation/talk about her reunion experience and will be followed with a Q&A.

 

​BMT #30 (June): DNA and international DNA databases

DNA and the DNA databases have grown popularity in the last years, with many Bolivian adoptees present there. However, for some DNA might still be new and unexplored. In this Bolivian Tuesday Talk, we open up the space to talk about DNA. We provide a brief introduction, and open up the floor for sharing experiences, raising questions, and how DNA can serve us as an adoptee community.

BMT #29 (May): Gratitude

This time we will discuss the topic of “gratitude”, with some guiding questions: How do discourses of gratitude or being grateful impact our lives as adoptees? Gratitude is also related to giving something back. Do we as adoptees feel obliged to give back, and if so, what do we want to give back?

 

BMT #28 (February): Language 

This time we will discuss Language. We will give the floor to two Bolivian adoptees who will give a small presentation on language and then we open up the space to have a more in-depth conversation on what languages means to us, what impact learning/ losing language has had, do you speak any language spoken in Bolivia? And can we help each other learning? (A future language learning club?)

​ BMT #27 (January): The sibling hood between Peru and Bolivia

This time we will discuss the siblinghood and/or relatedness between Peru and Bolivia. The history of Alto Peru, the parallels between the two countries, how we relate to Peru in various ways, and the current political situation going on in Peru 

 

2022

 

​BMT #26: The missing Bolivian Monday Talk 

 

BMT #25 (December): The past and the future of NOBA

This time we will celebrate the 5 year anniversary of the NBA. We will celebrate and reminisce about its creation and milestones as well as look to the future and talk about the next five years. We hope you’ll come with us to share your favourite NOBA memory or share your ideas for the future of the group.

BMT #24 (September): Adoptees meeting adoptees

This time we will talk about adoptees meeting other adoptees. A natural topic as the gathering is getting close but also an opportunity to reflect about who we are in relation to each other as people with the same background. How was your first meeting with another adoptee? When was your last meeting with another adoptee? Did that affect your own journey and perspective? Difficulties and challenges of these meetings?

BMT #23 (July): The next international gathering

We thought it would be an opportunity to discuss the previous editions in Brussels and Stockholm, share some experiences, take some feedback into account and talk about the next gathering. We will elaborate a bit on the program and the city Bergamo. We would love to hear your opinions and voice so please join us even if the notice is short.

 

BMT #22 (June): Pride and community 

June is Pride month in various countries worldwide, also in Bolivia. We thought it would be interesting to have an open conversation about how we gain pride as Bolivian adoptees. What activities do we do to generate pride, or in what communities do we circle to feel some sense of pride who we are.

​BMT #21 (May): What assistance do we need?

We are currently in talks with an organisation in Bolivia that might be able to help us as adoptees with problems related to our documents/legal help and searching for our families based on the information we have. (from our documents?) The question we want to adress in this Monday talk is ideally, what help do we as adoptees need from a local organisation/initative? (what are our problems that it would be nice to get help with?)

 

BMT #20 (April): Bolivias relation to the outside world

With the current war between Ukraine and Russia it once again became clear that Bolivias relation to the outside world is a complicated one. In this Bolivian Monday Talk we would like to highlight and better understand Bolivias relation to the outside world. Which countries are Bolivias allies or enemies? Currently and historically. What and from where does Bolivia import and export?

BMT #19 (March): The book is finally there! 

After over a year in the making the printed copy of our book: Communal Histories of Displacement and Adoption is finally here! The book is made up entirely of contributions from the group itself and reflects many different experiences of being adopted from Bolivia. In this meeting we will tell you how you can buy the book, about the project itself and of course give you a nice preview. 

 

BMT #18 (January):  A phase or a lifelong relationship?

As we all are adopted from Bolivia it's natural that we sometime in life go through a phase where the interest in our country of birth is extra present. Perhaps in connection with a return journey. There is no right or wrong, for some the “bolivian phase” never occurs and some might even be offended by the word phase because  Bolivia is such a big part of one's identity. Let’s talk about this!

 

 

2021

 

​BMT #17 (December): Holiday edition

2021 has been another challenging year so we wanted to use the last BMT for a get-together, to sum up our year, sharing whatever you feel like. Maybe you got married? Maybe you got a child or a pet? Or maybe something else important happened in your life? In addition to thinking about this year, do you have any resolutions perhaps? 

​BMT #16 (December): Back to basics

As we have noticed the influx of new member of the group, we decided to dedicate this BMT to talk about adoption and being an adoptee in general. Some guiding questions to spark the conversations are following: How does it feel to be an adoptee? How does being an adoptee impacts your life? How to deal with adoption questions from strangers? What have been the advantages and disadvantages of being an adoptee? Do we search for some sense of belonging with Bolivia /other adoptees?

 

BMT #15 (November): The Next Gathering

We thought it would be an opportunity to discuss the previous editions in Brussels and Stockholm, share some experiences, take some feedback into account and talk about the next gathering.

 

​BMT #14 (August): I want to know what you did last summer

For our BMT#14 we will do a casual summer check-in, how are you spending your summer this year or in general? Also Bolivian independence day is coming up on the 6th of august, are you planning to celebrate? This will be a casual conversation and an opportunity for anyone if they got something to share or ask the group.

BMT #13 (June): International DNA databanks

For our BMT#13 we will touch upon the topic of DNA and the usage of international databanks. Over the years some people in the group have shared their DNA results, or have asked some questions regarding the working of the DNA databanks. Following questions will be discussed: What are international DNA databanks? What DNA databanks are recommended? How to order a DNA-kit? How to use a DNA-kit? How to interpret my DNA results? Ethnicity estimation through DNA? 

 

BMT #12 (May): Bolivian beauty

This time we will talk about how to deal with a Bolivia body as a Bolivian adoptee. We will talk about how we emphasis (or not) our Bolivianness, and what are the different standards of being beautiful in Bolivia. Some guiding questions to spark the conversations are following: Do we feel comfortable with our bodies? Did that change over time? Do we have specific treatment for our hair or skin? Do we have tattoos representing something Bolivian? Do we like to emphasis our Bolivian characteristics or not? What are beauty standards in Bolivia? Did we notice something about this when returning? How is beauty negotiated in Bolivia society?

​BMT #11 (April): Holidays

Are you enjoying easter? And what other holidays do you celebrate? Are there specific ones for your country or region? And what holidays are celebrated in Bolivia and do you celebrate any of them? We hope you’re all healthy and well.

 

​BMT #10 (February): Relations

What kind of relations and relationships do we construct with our friends, our adoptive family, our children, our partners and with our fellow adoptees? How are these relations built and how do they develop and change? Are there aspects to our relations that are specific because of our adoption background? What do we search for? What about love or community?

 

BMT #9 (January): Being indigenous 

In this first Bolivian Monday Talk of 2021, we will talk about being indigenous as a Bolivian adoptee. We will ask question such as: who identifies as indigenous and why? Have you always identified as indigenous? What does ‘being indigenous’ mean to you? Do you honour your indigenous ancestry? Do we have to identify as indigenous? Etc.

 

2020

 

​BMT #6 (October): To be or not to be Bolivian 

Similar to Shakespeare we ask existential questions.Sometimes Bolivian adoptees reach a point in their lives and ask themselves "What does it mean to be Bolivian?", "am I Bolivian, or am I not?”.”do I have to be?”. In this Bolivian Monday Talk we will discuss more in-depth about these questions, share experiences and talk about our identities as Bolivian adoptees. 

​BMT #5 (September) Food

This time we will talk about food! How important is Bolivian food to you? What memories does Bolivian food recall? What do yo want to learn about Bolivia's cuisine? We take the recent Netflix documentary 'Street Food: La Paz' as a starting point for discussion. If you have a chance to watch it before the talk that would be great but even if you are not able to watch it, we would still like you to join the conversation!

 

BMT #4 (July): Searching in Bolivia

This time we will talk about searching for Bolivian relatives in Bolivia. We will draw on our own experiences of searching as well as open the space for anyone who has experiences with searching.

 

​BMT #3 (May): Parenting as a Bolivian adoptee 

It will be an open panel discussion between parents responding to questions we have prepared. If you want to add some questions of your own, please let us know. If you are a Bolivian adoptee parent yourself feel free to join the panel. At the time of writing this we have four confirmed Bolivian parent adoptees who would like to join. Non-parents are very welcome to join as well but mainly as listeners and contributing with questions.

 

​BMT #2 (April): Online Quiz

Upcoming Monday were planning a online quiz with questions about Bolivia. Let us know if you want to participate by attending this event, more information will be provided.

 

BMT #1 (March): COVID-19 in Bolivia

We’re thinking about doing some (digital) events in this group in-between the yearly gatherings and hopefully you will all be interested in joining. To keep the group a place to gather and to share. Solino de Baay already initiated a video meeting to talk about the global situation due to the COVID-19, and we thought this was a great initiative so we would follow up with a Q&A with the same topic.

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