Welcome from GELYDA

The Global Extended Learning and Youth Development Association (GELYDA - pronounced GELIDA) is a new international membership organization dedicated to understanding, supporting, and improving expanded opportunities for learning, development, and thriving in schools, afterschool and summer programs, and communities.

Building off the success of our first international conference in Reykjavik, Iceland in June 2025, the GELYDA Steering Committee is pleased to announce the Association’s second international conference, “Building civic and community engagement in youth development: A shared responsibility of schools and extended education,” in Seoul June 24-26, 2026.

Preparing young people for democratic citizenship is more urgent than ever. Children and youth must develop the values, skills, and attitudes to participate meaningfully in community life, safeguard positive norms, and contribute to a more just and connected global society. Afterschool programs, service learning, and community initiatives provide critical opportunities for young people to practice perspective taking, civic engagement, and collective problem-solving.

Through engaging keynote speakers, symposia, breakout sessions and other interactive formats the 2026 GELYDA international conference calls on practitioners, policymakers and researchers to explore the role of extended learning in the development of young people.

Please join us as we gather at Sungkyunkwan University, a prestigious private research university in the heart of Seoul with a history that spans over 600 years.