The IASYM biannual International Conference 2026 academic committee calls for paper submissions on the theme of Resilient Hope in a Global Context. Considering the immense stressors across the globe: ecological devastation, political violence and turmoil, global pandemics, economic crises, mental health crises, and other challenges we would like to invite you do reflect on the following questions:

• How do we assist young people in youth ministry to be resilient in the face of all these challenges?
• How do we teach skills that enable young people not only to survive but to flourish in a troubled world?
• How do we nurture resilient communities and churches that can support young people?
• How does Youth ministry create spaces and opportunities where this kind of hope could be experienced and shared with the world.

Resilient hope is a complex, open-ended concept that is hard to define and not to be confused with optimism. Youth Ministry aims to offer hope for churches, communities, families, and young people. Theologically, hope is resilient within people involved with youth ministry; hope exists in embodied relationship with pain, desire and lament.

Acknowledging both rootedness and fluidity in concepts like resilient hope within youth ministry, the academic committee invite proposals for papers that:

• Explore how youth ministry embodies resilient hope in various viewpoints, styles and contexts.
• How does the character of resilient hope differ between contexts and demands placed upon it by churches, communities, families, and young people? 
• What does resilient hope mean theologically? How is this theological hope prefigurative to engaging in youth ministry within varied contexts?
• Reflect on how resilient hope is a performative action for youth ministry. 
• How and what resources does youth ministry contribute to a resilient hope for justice, perhaps within movements; socio-economic, anti-racist, climate justice or other similar movements?
• What is the interplay between resilient hope with mission, discipleship, human flourishing, and the common good?

We also invite papers on other themes that meet the IASYM’s stated aim to further the academic study and research of youth and youth ministry to raise the profile of youth ministry as a calling, career and/or professional enterprise and to encourage the reflection on youth ministry and academic discipline that will support the practice of youth ministry.

TYPES OF PRESENTATION  

Proposals are invited for research papers, a dialogue, workshop, roundtable discussion, or an emerging research paper:

1. Research Papers present new research ready to be presented and critically engaged by a formal respondent and group discussion. Research Papers will be chosen by the academic committee to be presented as a keynote address or in an elective session.
2. Dialogue, workshop, or roundtable discussions present a topic that will benefit from interaction from diverse perspectives. These sessions are often presented by a team of scholars working together to frame the dialogue. The academic committee may choose dialogue, workshop, or roundtable discussions to be presented as a keynote or elective session.
3. Emerging Research sessions provide an opportunity to share works in progress, develop thoughts, and test ideas yet to be established in a formal paper. These sessions allow new or emerging researchers (whether engaged in formal study or as thoughtful practitioners) to receive feedback in a constructive environment or for seasoned researchers to road-test preliminary project ideas. Emerging research will be presented in elective sessions.  

Papers will only be presented through an in-person format.

IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES

• Abstracts for Papers should be submitted via the web form https://forms.gle/JY9vNaZSRH73FGb56 no later than 7 April 2025.
• The academic committee will provide notification of paper acceptance 2 June 2025.
• Full-text papers that were accepted need to be submitted no later than 5 November 2025.

We encourage presenters to consider submitting their papers to the Journal of Youth and Theology. Please make sure that you follow the author’s instructions that is available at: Author_Instructions_JYT.pdf

The full academic committee for the IASYM International Conference 2026 comprises

• Prof. Anita Cloete - Stellenbosch University (chair),
• Prof. Jaques Beukes - University of South Africa
• Dr. Elizabeth Corrie - Emory University 
• Dr Kevin Muriithi Ndereba - St. Paul's University 
• Rev. Dr. Gretchen Schoon-Tanis - NLA University College
• Dr. Scott Paget