CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The Call for Proposals is now open! Submit your proposal by Friday, April 3rd.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
Deadline: FRIDAY, April 3rd at 11:59pm Pacific (GMT -7:00)
We are pleased to invite proposals for the 2026 Open Education Conference (OpenEd26), to be held as a fully virtual event on October 27-29, from anyone with an interest in sharing about open education. The conference warmly welcomes participation from attendees of all countries, educational backgrounds, and professional roles. Students and participants from outside the US and Canada are especially encouraged to submit proposals and participate.
The Open Education Conference is an annual convening where over 1,600 educators and open education advocates gather to collaborate, support, and drive strategies for education that are accessible, affordable, and reflective of the learners they serve.
Proposals are submitted through the Oxford Abstracts platform, which requires the creation of a free account.
(LINK TO PDF)
Theme
The theme of the 2026 Open Education Conference is "The Space Between". This theme invites us to examine the possibilities that exist in the spaces we often overlook. Recognizing that openness is fundamentally relational, it acknowledges the gaps that remain in our open education work and how we might work together to bridge them. By exploring the space between our policies and practices, between our values and our impact, between where we are and where we aspire to be, we can reimagine what education can be when knowledge flows freely across every discipline, border, and boundary.
TOPICS
The conference invites session proposals that relate to open education and build on the theme “The Space Between”. Proposals may discuss any educational level (K-12, college, university, vocational, lifelong learning, etc.) and are welcome from all over the world. Special consideration will be given to proposals addressing the following suggested topics, with extra special consideration for proposals from students:
Between Here and There: Examining how strategic open education work can get us from where we are to where we aspire to be.
Captures: Policy/Strategy, Advocacy, Sustainability, Community Organizing, Student Organizing, etc.
Between Us: Exploring how open values and practices can improve the educational experience for all learners.
Captures: Accessibility, Inclusion and Social Justice, Innovative Pedagogy, Teaching and Learning, Creating OER, Agency, Labor, etc.
Between the Lines: Examining the intersections and implications of emerging technologies in open education.
Captures: Artificial Intelligence, Digital Privacy and Consent, Inclusive Technology, Automation, etc.
Connecting the Dots: Expanding the reach of open education to wider audiences.
Captures: Cross-Sector Partnerships, Workforce Development, Interdisciplinary Work, etc.
Beyond Borders: Exploring open education projects and perspectives from outside the US and Canada.
Captures: Global Perspectives, Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in OER, etc.
Blank Space: Open space for any other open education related topics.
Captures: Anything not listed above!
Session Types
A presentation is a structured talk designed to inform the audience about a topic.
SHORT PRESENTATION
20 min (Live, Virtual)
FULL Presentation
40 min (Live, Virtual)
A presentation is a structured talk designed to inform the audience about a topic. If selecting this type, please address why the additional time over a short presentation is needed to address your topic.
PANEL
55 min (Live, Virtual)
A panel is a moderated discussion where multiple speakers share perspectives on a topic through conversation. Panels may include 3-5 speakers (including a moderator, if applicable). Panel presentations should include varied and ideally contrasting perspectives on the selected topic. If selecting this type, please specifically address how the different perspectives on the panel will lead to an engaging discussion. Reviewers will pay particular attention to these elements for panel proposals.
LIGHTNING TALK
10 min (Pre-Recorded)
Lightning talks are short pre-recorded videos that offer a quick take on a story, case study, idea, or technique. Lightning talks will be available for on-demand viewing throughout the conference.
NEW: CONTRIBUTED PAPERS
This year, the Open Education Conference is introducing contributed papers as a new submission format, offered in collaboration with the Journal for Open Educational Resources in Higher Education (JOERHE). When submitting a session proposal, presenters may opt in to have their proposal also considered as a contributed paper by submitting an extended abstract. Contributed papers may report completed research, describe research in progress, or present a position or theory on a compelling problem relevant to one or more conference themes. Pre-publication manuscripts will be due October 1, and will go through an open peer review process to be published as conference proceedings in March, 2027.
NOTE: Session proposals must be selected for the general conference program in order to be considered as a contributed paper. For more information on contributed papers, read the contributed papers section of the conference FAQ.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Session Description: Session descriptions will be used as the public description of the session in the conference program. Descriptions should be 1000 characters or less and written in English. In-text citations and reference lists are not required. If submitting a contributed paper proposal, a 2,400 to 3,250 character abstract must be submitted in addition to the session description.
Submission Limit: To encourage and support a wide variety of voices at the conference, each individual may be listed as a presenter or author on a maximum of 2 proposals.
Correspondence: The person who submits the proposal is the primary contact and is responsible for all communications and coordination on behalf of all co-presenters. If you need to change the primary contact after submission, please contact us.
Technology: Presentations and panels will be held virtually in Zoom and will feature presenter screen sharing, live chat, and automatic captions. Lightning talks must be submitted in advance of the conference and will be published in the conference platform for on-demand viewing throughout the conference.
Scheduling: Most sessions will be held between 9:00am and 5:00pm North American Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-4:00). The conference welcomes worldwide participation, and accepted presentations with significant time differences will be prioritized in the scheduling process.
Licensing: Unless an exception applies, session descriptions and video recordings (if applicable) will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) License and released openly following the conference. Authors retain copyright, but will be required to sign a release granting nonexclusive publication rights to the conference.
Timeline
Friday, April 3 - Call for Proposals Submission Deadline
Monday, April 13 - Conference Registration Opens
Friday, May 15 - Conference Session Acceptance Notifications
Early June - Contributed Paper Acceptance Notifications
Monday, July 6 - Full Conference Program Published
Monday, August 31 - Early-Bird Registration Deadline
Thursday, October 1 - Pre-Recorded Video Submission Deadline
October 27-29 - OpenEd26 Conference
Selection Process
Proposal selection will be conducted through a community-driven process. The first round of reviews will be conducted by Board Members and Proposal Reviewers who signed up in an open call for volunteers. Members of the #OpenEd26 Proposal Selection Committee will then review the results and make final decisions based on the available time slots.
Presenters will receive a decision on their proposal by Friday, May 15th.
Review Criteria
Relevance of Topic: The proposal relates to the use, practice, creation, evaluation, research, advocacy, or critique of open education and connects to the selected conference topic. Stronger proposals are timely, make a unique contribution to the field, and align closely with the selected topic and overall conference theme.
Value to Attendees: Proposal specifies learning outcomes that will meaningfully contribute to attendees’ understanding of open education. Learning outcomes are achievable through the session and timeframe described and relevant to the target audience type. (Note: Proposals that discuss the use of a proprietary product or service must have learning outcomes that are applicable outside the context of that product or service.) For tips on writing strong learning outcomes, take a look at this blog post.
Quality of Proposal: The session description clearly and succinctly communicates what the session will cover. The description matches the proposed session type, and responses provide sufficient information to evaluate the proposal's relevance and value to attendees.
Presenter Perspectives: Presenter(s) are well qualified and bring a valuable perspective on the topic, whether through subject matter expertise, professional experience, or lived experience. The conference values diversity in its broadest sense and actively seeks presenters from a wide range of backgrounds, with particular emphasis on voices that are marginalized or less represented at the conference.
ACCEPTANCE REQUIREMENTS
Registration: If a session is accepted, the primary contact will be required to register for the conference by the early-bird deadline of August 31st. Cost waivers for registration will be available by application, especially to students, those located outside of North America, and others for whom cost would be a barrier.
Recording Release: All accepted presenters will be asked to sign a presenter agreement as a condition of acceptance, including a release to publish any session recordings and pre-recorded videos under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) License. Presenters may request alternative licensing or to opt-out of recording where justified.
Preparation & Schedule: Upon acceptance, presenters will be provided with detailed expectations for their sessions that they may consider before accepting the invitation to present. Accepted presenters will also have the opportunity to specify any schedule limitations such as time zones.
Code of Conduct: All participants in the conference, including presenters, are subject to the conference’s code of conduct.