How to take part

The symposium is free to take part in, and there are several ways to join in. You can submit an image and accompanying story or reflection, attend the live keynote conversations and workshops, and/or take part in the asynchronous discussions across the six symposium streams.

Submit an image and story

We invite you to contribute one photograph, artwork, drawing, collage, or other image that says something about how you understand or practise hope as an educator, in the broadest sense.

Alongside your image, please provide either a short written reflection or a two- to three-minute audio or video explanation. This might tell the story behind the image, describe a particular practice or experience, raise a question, or reflect on something you are still trying to work out.

Your contribution does not need to be a polished example of “good practice.” We are interested in uncertainty, difficulty, tensions, experiments and things that have not quite worked, as well as examples of practices that have.

Please use an image you have created yourself, have permission to use, or that is available under an appropriate Creative Commons licence.

Who can take part?

Educators, professional staff, students, and others interested in thinking about hope and higher education are all welcome. You do not need to already work on hope as a research topic.

What happens to the contributions?

All submitted images and stories will be organised into one of the symposium’s six thematic streams. During the symposium, participants will be able to browse the contributions, respond to them in their own time, and join asynchronous forum discussions alongside the live keynote conversations and workshops.

Ways to participate

• Submit an image and written, audio or video reflection.
• Attend the live keynote conversations and workshops.
• Explore the images and stories contributed by others.
• Join the asynchronous discussions in the six stream forums.

Ideas you might explore

Your contribution might connect with one or more of these questions, or take us somewhere else entirely:

• What does hope mean in your educational work?
• Where and how is hope practised in teaching, assessment, course design or relationships?
• How does hope work collectively through solidarity, shared struggle, mutual support or action?
• How is hope understood through Indigenous, decolonial and other knowledge traditions?
• Who gets to practise hope, and from what position?
• What emotions sit alongside hope — grief, anger, fear, exhaustion, joy, care or uncertainty?
• When is hope unhelpful, burdensome or politically limiting?
• What might hope make possible in higher education?