GELYDA Update Letter - March 2025

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Dear Members, Colleagues and Friends of GELYDA,

I hope this email finds you well in your part of the world. The work of GELYDA continues to grow and today we want to share some exciting updates and timely announcements, please review and react according to your plans and priorities. We always love to hear from you and will try to accommodate your requests.

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• National Afterschool Association (NAA) Presentation: Drs. Dale Blyth and I of GELYDA hosted a session during the NAA conference in March, International Issues in Extended Learning and Afterschool. The session focused on how afterschool and extended learning professionals in the U.S. and around the world face both unique and shared challenges. While much innovation in policy, research, and practice exists globally, there is a need for greater dialogue and collaboration to enhance creativity and problem-solving across borders. Further, we also discussed how successful approaches developed in the U.S. can be adapted and expanded to other contexts and how fostering international exchange, we can strengthen partnerships and collective impact - especially in a time when many nations are turning inward. I want to thank Gina Warner and Heidi Ham, CEO and COO of NAA for their invitation. 

 

• Iceland Conference Registration: Registration for the The Science and Practice of Extended Learning, Youth Development, and Wellbeing conference in Reykjavik Iceland from June 11–13, 2025 is open, with early bird registration running until April 1st, 2025 and final registration by May 15th, 2025 . Please visit https://gelyda2025.hi.is to learn more about the event and to explore information for travel and accommodations. Interested in learning and shaping the evolving worldwide advancement of young peoples' development, learning and resilience? Please join us in beautiful Iceland and take advantage of this wonderful location to explore scenic area attractions and sightseeing. Please note that we will have in-person business meetings for the membership and the editorial board of the Journal for Research in Extended Education, led by our Steering Committee member Professor SangHoon Bae.

 

• GELYDA Resiliency Webinar: To facilitate ongoing learning and engagement, on March 3rd GELYDA hosted an online webinar, Developmental Resilience: An Approach to Extended Education during a Global Youth Mental Health Crisis presented by co-founder and Chair of GELYDA, Professor Dr. Gil G. Noam of Harvard and the Institute for the Study of Resilience in Youth (ISRY).  Over 80 people registered from around the globe and a recording of the webinar has been shared with all participants. The GELYDA Team is in the process of planning the next webinar session for late spring/start of summer, more information to come soon.  

 

• Blog Contributions: GELYDA continues to bring a range of expert voices to the table through our blog series, offering a global perspective on cutting-edge research, policies, and practices in the field. Please visit https://www.gelyda.org/blog to read our contributions for January (Education and Rewilding United to Reverse Species Extinction by Margarita González Balcarce), February (Rethinking Education: A Call for Holistic Learning Ecosystems by Jan Morrison) and March (The Growing Role of Outdoor Education in the Development of Resilience by Arthur Pearson) as well as earlier contributions. Be on the lookout for our monthly installments overseen by GELYDA Steering Committee member Marlene Gras. We are always looking to lift up global perspectives so if you would like to contribute a blog in the coming months please email gelyda..association@outlook.com and learn more on the site about guidelines. 

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Please become active in our Association. Together we can build Extended Learning and Youth Development across the world, by informing each other and creating an international movement to better the lives of children, adolescents and the adults that surround them! Go Learning and Inventing, Go Collaboration and Play, Go Wellness and Resilience!!! In every schoolhouse, youth center, university, NGO,  parliament and ministry, etc.

 

Warm regards,

 

Gil G. Noam, GELYDA Chair

 

and members of the  Steering Committee of GELYDA

 

SangHoon Bae, Professor at the Department of Education and Provost in the Sungkyunkwan University

 

Dale Blyth, Professor Emeritus and former Howland Endowed Chair in Youth Development Leadership

 

Kylie Brannelly, Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Children’s Activities Network (QCAN) and Chairperson of the National Outside School Hours Services Alliance (NOSHSA)

 

Marlene Gras, Founder and Director of TierraED, Mexico City

 

Fuyuko Kanefuji, Professor at the Department of Human Sciences and Director of the Institute of Living Sciences, Bunkyo University

 

Linda Khanyi, Manager and Content Advisor at the Parliament of South Africa (National Council of Provinces)

 

Kolbrún Þorbjörg Pálsdóttir, Dean of the School of Education at the University of Iceland, Reykjavik

Ludwig Stecher, Professor at the University of Giessen