Submit a Proposal

• Monday, October 19, 2026 — Priority Proposal Deadline
  (but you still have time after this date!)
• Monday, November 16, 2026 — Final Proposal Deadline
• December 2026 (Tentative) — Proposal Decisions Shared / Speakers & Volunteers Notified
• Tuesday, March 31, 2027 — Session Materials Submission Deadline
• Thursday, April 22, 2027 — Global Respectful Disruption Labs (GRDL) | Pre-Summit Experience (LIVE)
• Friday, April 23, 2027 — Global Respectful Disruption Summit (GRDS) (LIVE)
• June–November 2027 — RDL Speaker Series

We welcome proposals from:

• international educators
• intercultural professionals
• students and scholars
• artists and creatives
• community leaders and organizers
• entrepreneurs and innovators
• service providers and advocates
• emerging and experienced practitioners
• grassroots educators and changemakers

Whether you are based in Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, the Caribbean, North America, Central America, or South America, your voice and perspective matter.

We especially welcome perspectives that challenge norms, expand conversations, and reimagine what more humane and inclusive global engagement can look like.

The Global Respectful Disruption ecosystem includes multiple opportunities for engagement throughout 2027, including:

• Global Respectful Disruption Labs (GRDL) — April 22, 2027
• Global Respectful Disruption Summit (GRDS) — April 23, 2027
• RDL Speaker Series — June through November 2027

While applicants may indicate a preferred format, the planning committee may recommend a proposal for a different experience based on format, timing, audience engagement, or overall fit.

For example:

• A summit proposal may be recommended for the RDL Speaker Series
• A traditional presentation may evolve into a facilitated dialogue or fireside conversation
• A session proposal may be recommended as a more interactive GRDL Lab

Our goal is not simply to select sessions, but to thoughtfully match conversations with the format and community space where they can create the greatest impact.

Selected presenters will receive additional details following the review process.

Panel Discussion — The panel format is recommended to include 1 moderator and at least 2 confirmed panelists. We encourage proposing no more than 4 panelists so that each person has meaningful time to contribute and there is space for audience engagement. Panels are 50 minutes in length.

Session — This presentation format is typically designed for 2 presenters who explore the proposed topic, with or without visual accompaniment. Sessions are 50 minutes in length, with time recommended for audience questions and discussion.

GRDL (Global Respectful Disruption Leadership) Lab — The GRDL Lab format may include 1–4 facilitators, with 2–4 facilitators recommended for a highly interactive experience. These 90-minute, workshop-style sessions invite attendees to critically examine an issue or area of practice, break it down, and explore ways to reconstruct or reimagine it through a more just, inclusive, and globally conscious lens. Topics may relate to global learning, social and global justice, leadership, and the inclusion of diverse perspectives, ways of thinking, and practices.

Please:

• complete the Request for Proposals form by the stated deadline
• answer all required questions
• provide both an email address and contact number for follow-up communication related to your proposal 

Evaluation Criteria for Proposals:

You can review the rubric here. 

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be reviewed based on:

• • relevance and timeliness of the topic
  • clarity of the proposal and session format
  • clearly defined purpose and learning outcomes
  • connection to theory, practice, research, or lived experience
  • evidence supporting practices, recommendations, or conclusions
  • overall potential for meaningful audience engagement

Suggested Topics & Areas of Interest

The planning committee has identified several emerging, under-discussed, and evolving topics shaping global education, leadership, community, and humanity.

These examples are intended as inspiration. You are also encouraged to propose topics beyond this list that align with the spirit of Respectful Disruption Leadership (RDL).

AI, Technology & Human Connection

• AI and intercultural learning
• AI dependency and critical thinking
• Digital colonialism and algorithmic bias
• Human connection in increasingly virtual spaces
• Automation and the future of humanity-centered education
• Education Global Educators on Ethical AI use 

Examples:

• “What Happens When AI Becomes the Primary Cultural Translator?”
• “AI Cannot Replace Human Transformation”
• “The Death of Critical Thinking?”
• “Who Owns Knowledge in the AI Era?”

Global Politics, Fear & Surveillance

• Academic freedom and censorship
• Nationalism and global mobility
• Surveillance technologies and study abroad
• Political polarization in education
• Neutrality, fear, and institutional response

Examples:

• “Studying Abroad in the Age of Surveillance”
• “Neutrality Is Not Neutral”
• “When Global Education Becomes Political”
• “Academic Freedom Under Pressure”

Global Education, Access & Economic Realities

• Economic barriers and student mobility
• The businessification of study abroad
• Accessibility and affordability
• Reliance on full-pay international students
• The changing purpose of global education

Examples:

• “Who Gets Left Behind When Global Education Becomes a Luxury?”
• “What Happened to the Original Mission of Study Abroad?”
• “The Collapse of the Middle-Class Student Abroad”

Identity, Belonging & Community

• Queerness and global resistance
• Neurodivergence and disability in global learning
• Belonging beyond performative inclusion
• Loneliness and disconnection in global spaces
• Cross-cultural solidarity and coalition building

Examples:

• “The Cost of Belonging”
• “Queerness as Global Resistance”
• “Disabled Travelers Are Not a Risk Category”
• “Beyond Diversity Statements: Who Actually Feels Safe?”

Decolonization, Power & Reimagining Systems

• Decolonizing global education
• Indigenous and community-based knowledge systems
• Linguistic imperialism
• Power-sharing and reciprocity
• Imagining futures beyond colonial frameworks

Examples:

• “The Global South Is Not Your Diversity Strategy”
• “English as Empire”
• “Who Is Still Centered in International Education?”
• “Decolonization Beyond Buzzwords”

Climate Change/Justice, Sustainability, Care & Humanity

• Climate justice and student mobility
• Eco-anxiety and grief
• Community care and burnout
• Sustainable leadership
• Humanity-centered approaches to education

Examples:

• “Global Education in the Age of Exhaustion”
• “Climate Refugees and the Future of Education Mobility”

Futurism & Radical Possibility

• Afrofuturism and Indigenous futurism
• The future student
• Community-rooted global learning
• Reimagining higher education
• New possibilities for global engagement

Examples:

• “What Comes After International Education?”
• “The Future of Global Education Is Smaller, More Local, and More Human”
• “What If Higher Education Is No Longer the Center of Global Learning?”

We encourage conversations that are:

• intellectually honest
• emotionally grounded
• globally aware
• community-centered
• future-focused
• willing to engage complexity with care and courage

People are exhausted with overly sanitized conference language. The conversations that will stand out are the ones that feel intellectually honest, emotionally real, globally grounded, and willing to sit in contradiction without collapsing into hopelessness.