2021 Online Colloquium

The global pandemic made it impossible for IASYM to meet in Atlanta, GA in January 2021 as planned. However, we are offering a free online colloquium for members and guests. The theme for this conference:

Thinking Theologically about Youth Ministry in Times of Upheaval

This year has upended all of our assumptions about life and ministry. The Covid-19 pandemic, political rivalry, and civil unrest have presented new issues for the Church, especially for young people. Many are suffering; church meetings have been displaced; and our vocabulary has stretched to include phrases like Zoom-fatigue. Certainly this experience calls for new thinking about church practice, but does it also cause us to revisit our theological assumptions? How do the events of this year color the way we view Christian anthropology? Our ecclesiology? And what does it mean for the Missio Dei? These times demand our best research, excellence in theological reflection, and fresh praxis that guides us in the new days coming for God’s people.

The colloquium will feature four blocks of meetings. Regional blocks will feature a pre-recorded International Keynote Address addressing the theme. In each region, a live discussion will follow. And, two hours in each regional conference are devoted to presentations and papers. We are receiving proposals for online presentations immediately.

Presentation Proposals:

The break-out presentations will involve greater flexibility than our normal face-to-face meetings. Presentations may be on a topic of research interest, preliminary research, theological reflection, or a completed research project. They may or may not include a formal paper. Proposals should describe a presentation you believe would be beneficial to conference attendees. If you have already submitted a paper for the 2021 Live conference, alert us that you would like to present the paper at the online colloquium, and it will be given priority consideration. Please indicate in which regional block(s) you would be willing present: Asian/Australian Session; African/European Session; American Session; or Any. Note the times for each.

Presentation Guidelines:

The presentation will be live online and should last 20 minutes. This will be followed by 30 minutes of live online discussion.

Proposal Deadline:

Proposals are due on Thursday, October 1, 2020. Please submit these to Christian Noval (cn@katolsk.dk). You will be notified by November 1, 2020 whether or not your proposal has been accepted and at what time you will present.

Conference session Schedule

All sessions are available to all conference participants. Sessions are divided into regions merely to provide optimal times for individuals in different time zones to meet.

* Previous day: Wednesday, 6 January
** Next day: Friday, 8 January

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