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Biennial 2027

CALL FOR PROPOSALS IS OPEN

SANKOFA: Reclaiming Our Values, Committing to Action

June 15–19, 2027
University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina

We invite scholars, educators, students, practitioners, community leaders, artists, activists, and others committed to transformative work to submit proposals for “Sankofa: Reclaiming Our Values, Committing to Action,” taking place June 15–19, 2027, at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina.

About the Theme

Sankofa calls us to look back in order to move forward—to recover, reclaim, and carry with us the knowledge, values, histories, and practices that are essential to building our collective future.

At a time of profound social, cultural, educational, and institutional change, this conference invites participants to consider:

What must we reclaim? What values must we reaffirm? And how do we transform those values into meaningful, sustained action?

“Sankofa: Reclaiming Our Values, Committing to Action” will create a space for critical reflection, interdisciplinary dialogue, knowledge sharing, community building, and action. We encourage proposals that engage the conference theme from diverse disciplinary, professional, cultural, and community perspectives.

We Invite Proposals That Explore

Proposals may address topics including, but not limited to:

  • Reclaiming histories, traditions, knowledge, and cultural practices
  • Education as a space for transformation and liberation
  • Community engagement, organizing, and collective action
  • Leadership grounded in shared values and responsibility
  • Equity, justice, belonging, and human dignity
  • Intergenerational knowledge and dialogue
  • Culture, identity, memory, and storytelling
  • Institutional change and accountability
  • Building and sustaining resilient communities
  • Translating scholarship and reflection into action
  • Innovative practices that connect past wisdom with present challenges
  • Visions and strategies for creating more just and sustainable futures

Interdisciplinary, collaborative, community-engaged, and innovative proposals are especially welcome.

Proposal Formats

Poster Presentations

Symposia

Ignite Presentations

Town Hall Meetings

Workshops

The Innovative Other

RECLAIM. REFLECT. RECONNECT. ACT.

Join us at the University of South Carolina as we look back with purpose, engage the present with clarity, and commit ourselves to action for the future.

SANKOFA: Reclaiming Our Values, Committing to Action
June 15–19, 2027
University of South Carolina | Columbia, South Carolina