President's Message

Since my last report, Renata, our Past President and Iris, our Treasurer were able to visit Thimphu, Bhutan to meet with the local conference committee on June 2 thru June 8 to visit the site of our 19^th Biennial International Conference, at the Royal Thimphu College (CTC). They had the opportunity to visit the proposed conference facilities, hotel and lodging options and several local school and community programs. The Updated conference information will be posted on our website. 

The 19^th Biennial Conference is scheduled to be held June 21-26, 2026, and hosted by the Royal Thimphu College (RTC) located in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan.

Given the feedback from members, the Board had a zoom meeting with the staff of Easy Chair, a software company which provides conference management services and support. We have entered into an arrangement with them to provide conference support, especially for the submission and acceptance of conference proposals and development of the conference program.  You can find the conference proposal submission link on our IASE website conference webpage. Deadline for submissions is October 1, 2025.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS/ABSTRACTS

19th Biennial Conference of the

International Association of Special Education (IASE)

You are cordially invited to submit your proposal for IASE’s 19^th biennial international conference!

Cultivating Inclusive Futures: Innovations in Special Education

Thimphu, Bhutan

June 21, 2026- June 26, 2026

A Partnership between

International Association of Special Education (IASE)

&

Royal Thimphu College (RTC), Bhutan

Submission Information and Important Timelines:

Please review all submission criteria below and submit the proposal/abstract form through EasyChair by October 1, 2025. Proposals are limited to 2 per presenter – 1 as a primary proposer and the 1 as a co-presenter. Incomplete submissions will not be considered.

All presenters are encouraged to register by the Early Bird deadline on March 1, 2026. Everyone will be required to pay their registration fees by April 20, 2026, to be included in the

conference program.

Review your proposal thoroughly before submitting. Proposals must be submitted in English. All proposals are stored in a secure database

To avoid any disappointment and having to cancel your attendance if you have an accepted proposal, please check the cost of travel to Bhutan.

October 1, 2025: Deadline for submission of proposals/abstracts

December 1, 2025: Notification of acceptance of proposal (upon notification submit visa documentation via website upload)

December 2, 2025: Registration opens

February 15, 2026: Conference proceedings due

March 1, 2026: Early Bird registration deadline

-       First batch of visa forms are sent

April 20, 2026: Final registration deadline

-       Second and final batches of visa forms are sent

Presentation Selection Criteria:

The conference program committee will select proposals/abstracts based on the following criteria:

(A) Importance of the Topic to the Field

(B) Usefulness to Practitioners

(C) Relevance to Learners, Families, and/or Educators of Diverse Groups

At our last IASE Board meeting on April 26, the Board voted to accept the nomination of Elia Balagilije Dyiteg ((Tanzania) as the new Member at Large on the IASE Board of Directors.  In addition, Dr. Brenda Lazarus was appointed our IASE Historian and will be working on collecting and storing our past documents and activities. We also welcomed Dr. Girma Berhanu from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden as our new JIASE Journal Editor.

We had our 1st Virtual Dialogue on March 29^th. The dialogue was focused on three presentations from our National Chairs in Canada, India and Nigeria. It was a great success due to the effort of our National Chairs Committee chairperson Dr. Samantha Mrstik.  Dr. Mrstik is also our Virtual Dialogue Committee chairperson, so if you have any topics for future dialogues, please communicate your recommendations to Dr. Mrstik or any member of the Board.

Our 2nd Virtual Dialogue: Growing up with a Disability: Challenges and Accomplishments

Dr. Mrstik has scheduled three presenters from IASE 

Please join us on September 6, 2025, at 10:00 AM, EST.

Featuring:

Samuel Delali Anku, Ghana, Vice President of Inclusion Africa and Self-Advocate Representative on the Board of Inclusion Ghana

Sampson Dzivor, Ghana, Software Developer

Julia Njeri Kiguru, Kenya, Special Education Advocate

To RSVP for this event, please click this link.  You will be sent a Teams Link before the event.

To remind everyone, communication is a vital component and important part of our mission. In that spirit, Tejal Kothari, our Board Member at Large from India has volunteered to coordinate our social media messaging. I would also like to thank our website moderator, Dr. Kalynn Pistorio for her continued work on improving our IASE website. Please communicate any ideas on what content or information you want posted on our website.

The Board and I will continue the effort to expand our memberships in unrepresented countries and improve our most important international initiatives.

1)      The Volunteer Service Projects (VSP)

2)      The National Chairs Project

3)      Virtual Dialogues

4)      Biennial Conference

Future Items:

Site and venue for the 20^th Biennial International Conference

Nomininations and Selection of additional National Chairs

Internal and External Communication Issues: (social media, website and zoom meeting format and inclusion