Latin American Migration and Participatory Action Research Virtual Symposium – Nov 5-6

Posted by University of Pennsylvania on October 19, 2021

We hope you can join us on Friday, November 5, and Saturday, November 6 for a dynamic and exciting conference with top scholars and practitioners in the field of participatory action research.  This conference, sponsored by Penn Global, the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies, and the Population Studies Center of the University of Pennsylvania, will explore how participatory action research can aid in ensuring equity in access to education for Latinx migrants globally.

This virtual symposium will build upon Latin America’s longstanding tradition with participatory and action-oriented research methods. Through the symposium, we will explore how global partnerships that bring together university- and community-based researchers can shed new light on the push and pull factors of Latin American migration to address educational inequities in sending and receiving countries. The symposium will also provide a unique context to consider how these partnerships can create new pathways to more equitable educational outcomes at home in Latin America and in host countries across the globe.

Drawing on lessons learned from Latin America, participants will engage in interactive, dialogic sessions to expand on and create new pathways to sustained institutional partnerships with community-based researchers, including high school students, and both local and global organizations.  Collectively, participants will develop a joint research agenda focused on reducing inequities in educational outcomes for global Latinx communities.

Format of the Symposium

Prior to the symposium, there will be a pre-Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) conference on Thursday, November 4 at 6 PM.  This YPAR pre-conference session will bring together high school students from Philadelphia, Norristown, Ecuador, and other places in the Americas.

The symposium will officially commence on Friday, November 5 at 3 PM with a welcome from the conference organizers. The conference duration will be 3PM to 6 PM on Friday, and 10 AM to 1 PM on Saturday, November 6 followed by a final YPAR session from 2-4PM.

As aforementioned, the format of the symposium will be participatory and dialogical.  We will begin each session with a discussion by the panelists about their research and work in the field. This will be followed by small, participatory break-out rooms where panelists and attendees can reflect on participatory action research and its impact on Latinx migration and educational opportunities.

Please see the agenda here! Here is the registration link.

Conference brochure in English.

Conference brochure in Spanish.

The Symposium is free and open to the public, and we invite you to share this announcement with your networks.