IARSLCE 2026 New Orleans

The international conference on Service-Learning is the reason why I am in New Orleans at this time.  IARSLCE is International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, which runs a flagship international conference each year, since 2001.  The majority of the annual conferences are in the USA.  In recent years, they have also been held in other countries, including Ireland and South Africa. 

The majority of the participants this year, similar to past conferences held in the USA, are from the USA.  Approximately 15 countries and regions are represented.  A dozen coming from Asia-Pacific, a handful each from Europe, Africa and South America.  The financial and time costs associated with the long distance travel is likely a major reason why there are few international participants.  

Social justice and participatory research have been receiving quite a bit of attention in the IARSLCE community.  Others are continuously working hard to raise the quality of the research, and the participation of science and engineering disciplines. 

In the past several years, significant efforts are being made to internationalise IARSLCE.  To that end, there is now an Asia-Pacific Community of Practice (APCoP) as a group under the umbrella of IARSLCE.  APCoP has been organising its own regional conferences.  The IARSLCE main conference itself will also be in Hong Kong in 2027.