The purpose of the summit is to convene 75–100 scholars, editors, and publishing professionals in a focused international event on writing and publishing in education, learning, practices, and technology. Participation will be open on a first-come, first-served basis, with targeted outreach to AECT members and partners across the world.

The Summit is intentionally designed to meet the needs of mid-career and established scholars, many of whom have limited opportunities for sustained writing due to leadership, administrative, and supervisory responsibilities, while also supporting developing and advancing scholars seeking structured feedback and guidance on manuscripts and proposals. The program emphasizes reciprocal engagement by pairing protected writing time for established scholars with mentoring and reviewing support for advancing scholars.

Through this design, the Summit addresses current challenges and opportunities in scholarly communication with a focus on equity, sustainability, and global collaboration. It adopts a broad view of publishing ecosystems, engaging established peer-reviewed journals and book publishers alongside emerging models that expand reach and impact, including public scholarship platforms (e.g., The Conversation), open-access repositories, multimedia formats, and research-creation publications.

As a flagship international initiative, the Summit positions AECT as a convener and leader in scholarly publishing by combining skills intensives, manuscript development labs, structured mentoring, and global publishing partnerships, culminating in the Dublin Declaration on Global Publishing Futures as a durable, field-shaping outcome.

The Summit is designed for a diverse community of participants engaged in or supporting scholarly publishing in learning, instructional design, educational technology, and related fields. While AECT members will form a core audience, the Summit also intentionally engages scholars and publishing professionals beyond AECT’s membership to broaden perspectives and strengthen global collaboration.

Participants will include:

1. AECT members who are active as authors, editors, reviewers, or publishing leaders.
2. Scholars across world regions, including Australia, Thailand, Africa, Europe, and Latin America, to ensure diverse geographic and cultural perspectives.
3. Developing and advancing scholars, including those supported through sponsored participation, whose voices have historically been underrepresented in scholarly publishing.
4. Representatives from academic publishers, publishing outlets, and foundations, invited through direct solicitation to contribute expertise, partnerships, and sponsorship support.

The Summit is structured as a two-part, in-person international event that integrates protected writing time, scholarly exchange, and strategic conversations about the future of publishing. The Pre-Summit will take place Monday through Wednesday morning, offering programming focused on individual and small-group scholarly work, writing and manuscript development, and scholarly exchange. Participation in this portion of the event is optional and designed to allow flexibility based on individual needs and availability.

The core Summit Convening will take place from Wednesday evening through Friday, bringing all participants together for curated sessions, discussions, and synthesis activities centered on publishing innovation, equity, sustainability, and global collaboration.

Key program components include:

1. Skills Intensives early in the program, focused on writing, publishing, and editorial practices relevant to mid-career and established scholars as well as advancing scholars.
2. Manuscript Development and Writing Labs providing sustained time and space for drafting, revising, reflection, and collegial exchange around manuscripts and proposals.
3. Summit Convening Sessions featuring editors, publishers, and publishing leaders addressing trends, challenges, and innovations across scholarly and public-facing publishing ecosystems.
4. Networking and Cultural Engagement designed to foster informal exchange and relationship-building across roles, regions, and publishing contexts.
5. Closing Synthesis and Commitment Activities, including the co-development and endorsement of the Dublin Declaration on Global Publishing Futures.

The Summit was designed with a budget model that balances financial sustainability with participant access. The full cost of the five-day Summit (Sunday–Friday, six nights) is €1,970 per participant, inclusive of:

• Hotel accommodations with breakfast
• Daily lunches and breaks on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
• Special events
  • Welcome reception BBQ dinner on Monday
  • Plated networking dinner on Tuesday
• Operations
  • Meeting space and AV
  • On-site logistics and event management
  • AECT overhead and staffing costs

This equates to approximately $2,265 USD per participant at current exchange rates.

A reduced-cost option is available for participants attending only the core Summit Convening (Monday–Tuesday, three nights): €1,275 per participant, or approximately $1,450 USD.