Call for Contributions, Abstract Submission & Registration
The call for contributions is closed now. We are looking forward to 60 contributions from 100 participants, representing all continents.
Registration is open until Jan 31, 2025 (for further information see below)
Contact: lesd.25@uni-muenster.de
Organisers: Dr. Ricardo Römhild & Prof. Dr. Frauke Matz
Education for sustainable development (ESD) is a cross-cutting task for all subjects taught at schools (primary, secondary, tertiary). Thus, it also poses questions for language education and its contribution to the project of sustainable living and global citizenship.
In light of such initiatives as the UN's Agenda 2030, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as well as UNESCO's ESD program, and strongly influenced by such concepts, theories, and perspectives as literary ecocriticism or ecolinguistics, there has been a growing body of work – both scholarly and in schools – dedicated to teaching and learning about, through, and for sustainability in the context of language education in recent years.
Against this background and considering the inevitable launch of an Agenda 2050 with new opportunities for the framing of educational goals and foci, this conference aims at providing spaces for scholars and practitioners to discuss the unique contributions that language education, with its focus on literatures, cultures, and languages, can make towards the aspirational project of sustainability in all its dimensions. This includes the exploration of sustainability education from inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives with regards to theories, research, and practice in language education.
The conference will be of interest to (foreign/second/additional) language education researchers and practitioners on all levels of education (primary/secondary/tertiary/...) as well as to applied linguists, socio-cultural researchers, literary scholars, policy makers, and many more with an interest in education for sustainable development, global citizenship, social justice, decolonial futures, human and children's rights and language education.
Please find the Call for Contributions here.
Submission is now closed.
Each individual may submit a maximum of two proposals in total (e.g., 1 research paper + 1 symposium). For more information, see the Call for Contributions and below.
There are four different proposal types:
The presentation is based on completed or ongoing research related to the main theme and sub-themes of the conference.
The spotlight is based on completed or ongoing research related to the main theme and sub-themes of the conference conducted by early-career researchers (up to 6 years after completion of PhD). Early-career spotlights provide an excellent opportunity to tackle roadblocks with the combined expertise present at an international conference.
Out now! spotlights provide an opportunity to feature the latest publications in the field of language education for sustainable development and related areas (up to 1 year old starting in March 2024).
A symposium is a 90-minute session entirely organized by the session proposer(s). The conference organisers will allocate the time slot and room for the session. A symposium is dedicated to a specific sub-topic or theme relating to the conference's main theme. The purpose of the symposium is to explore the proposed topic from different perspectives and to provide as much space for discussion as possible.
Registration is open and will close on Friday, January 31st, 2025 (11.59pm, CET).
Access the registration form via this website.
Please refer to the tab below "Navigating indico" should you experience any difficulty with logging in.
The registration fees for this conference are as follows:
All conference participants (presenting and non-presenting) are required to register for the event.
Registration fees are the same for presenting and non-presenting participants.
The conference can offer no subsidies or waiver for the registration fees. There is also no funding for travel or accommodation available.
The registration fee includes admission to all scientific events of the conference, conference materials, free Wi-Fi, and coffee/tea during breaks listed in the programme.
The registration fee does not include the conference warming on Monday, March 24th, or the conference dinner on Tuesday, March 25th, which will be subject to separate fees (60€ each).
When visiting indico for abstract submission, abstract revision, registration, etc., please choose "indico" as an authentification method if you are not an employee of the University of Münster. This will switch methods from 'internal authentification' to 'external', allowing you to use your login details (username and password set the very first time you logged onto indico).
If you have forgotten your password, this switch will also cause a "Forgot password" link to appear, which will guide you through the process of setting up a new one.
We are delighted and grateful that these experts have agreed to enrich the conference with their perspectives:
| 10.00 am – 3.30 pm | Registration* |
| 3.30 pm – 4.00 pm | Welcome Address |
| 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm | Keyonte Presentation by Greg Misiaszek |
| 7.00 pm | Conference Warming (optional); Café 1648 |
| 8.30 am – 10.30 am | Keynote Presentation by Maria Hantzopoulos |
| 10.30 am – 11.00 am | Coffee Break |
| 11.00 am – 12.30 pm | Parallel Sections I |
| 12.30 pm – 2.00 pm | Lunch Break |
| 2.00 pm – 3.30 pm | Keynote Presentation by Antonio López & Jeff Share |
| 3.30 pm – 4.00 pm | Coffee Break |
| 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm | Keynote Café |
| 7.00 pm | Conference Dinner (optional); Schlossgartencafé |
| 8.30 am – 10.00 am | Parallel Sections II |
| 10.00 am – 10.30 am | Coffee Break |
| 10.30 am – 12.00 pm | Keynote Presentation by Christiane Lütge & Kip Cates |
| 12.00 pm – 1.30 pm | Lunch Break |
| 1.30 pm – 3.00 pm | Parallel Sections III |
| 3.00 pm – 3.30 pm | Coffee Break |
| 3.30 pm – 5.00 pm | Parallel Section IV |
| 5.00 pm – 5.30 pm | Conference Closing & Auf Wiedersehen |
*Registration will be open on Monday, 24th March, 10 am and close on Wednesday, 26th March, 12 pm.
Conference Warming
Following the opening keynote presentation on Monday, 24th March, we will have the chance to get to know each other over some food and drinks at the conference warming.
Venue: Café 1648
Fee: 60€
Time: 7 pm
Conference Dinner
The conference dinner takes place on Tuesday, 25th March.
Venue: Schlossgartencafé
Fee: 60€
Time: 7 pm
Please note
Participation in both events is optional. Both the conference warming and the conference dinner will be subject to separate fees. Registration for the events is possible via the general registration for the conference.
By train: The train station "Münster (Westf.) Hbf." can be reached via regional trains and long-distance trains (IC, ICE).
>>More information on the DB Event Ticket will be published in late 2024.<<
From the train station, you can reach the English Department by bus within 10 minutes (bus stop: "Aegidiimarkt"):
Please note that there may be updates on the day of arrival / departure.
By car: You can reach the English Department by car, however, since it is located in the city center, there might be high volume of traffic. Please pay special attention to bicycles in and around Münster!
Coming from the highway (Autobahn A1 or A43), you may follow the directions towards the city center, Prinzipalmarkt, Domplatz or Schloss.
Parking:
Each of these options allows parking for a fee. Free parking areas are very limited within the city of Münster – try your luck in the Aasee area, Bismarckallee and Adenauerallee for free parking. From there, the English Department is within a 10min walking distance.
By plane: For visitors from afar, there are options to arrive by plane and then take transit transportation to Münster:
We are looking forward to welcoming you to Münster! To faciliate your planning process, we have reserved limited contingents at a number of hotels in the city center.
>> A list of participating hotels is published here. <<
The English Department is located right at the heart of Münster. As such, there is a great variety of dining options available to you within a 10min walking radius. Vegetarian and vegan options are available at almost every restaurant.
Here's a (not at all exhaustive) list of tried and tested options:
BioToGo
Dean&David
F24
Krawummel
Royals&Rice
Sayf Kebab
Vapiano (Königsstraße 51)
All of these restaurants offer vegetarian and vegan options.
While we are very much looking forward to coming together in person for this event and enjoying all the significant benefits this brings, we also recognize that any academic conference has an environmental impact. We seek to reduce the impact of this event as much as possible within the limitations of hosting this international conference.
As much as possible, we attempt to use digitized documents during the planning process to reduce the unnecessary use and waste of paper. This also expands to documents used throughout the conference proper. For instance, we keep the quantity of printed materials and documents at a minimum, and we reduce the printed program to its essentials (more details are available on this digital conference website).
More measures will be taken as the conference date approaches, and this statement will be updated accordingly.
We are excited to announce that our annual workshop afternoon specifically geared towards practitioners will be embedded in the international conference. Our 13th Nachmittag der Fremdsprachen will feature workshops on education for sustainable development in the context of foreign language classrooms at primary, secondary, and vocational schools. It takes place on Tuesday, 25th March, 2025. Please visit this website for more information.
Nachmittag der Fremdsprachen is a separate event, and registration for the international conference does not include registration for Nachmittag der Fremdsprachen.