Generous Geographers

After my involvement in the GA Awards, I started my main GA Conference 2021 input by being on a panel called 'Generous Geographers'.

Thanks to Kit Rackley for the screengrab of the session as it was underway. I was joined by Simon Catling, Gemma Collins, Jen Monk, and we were chaired by Susan Pike.

I made a presentation just in case it was needed and here are the slides with some thanks and questions for some of the people who've helped me over the years. There were certainly many former GA Presidents mentioned by all the panel, with Simon Catling himself being a former President of course.

Generous Geographers from GeoBlogs

The session will be available to view again (or for the first time if you chose to go to a different session) by all delegates registered on that day of the conference. I shall certainly blog here once those recordings become available.

 It will take a while to process, upload, tag and prepare / edit well over 100 hours of video recordings so please be patient.

GA Conference 2022

The details of the 2022 GA Conference are now up on the GA website.

The theme is EVERDAY GEOGRAPHIES. Geographies of the every day, and encouraging thinking about geography every day.

Everyday geographies

‘Little minds are interested in the extraordinary; great minds in the commonplace’ – Elbert Hubbard

My theme for 2022 encourages exploration of everyday geographies. We are all living geography. Our diurnal routines connect us with places, people, environments and cultures. Repeated exposure means we sometimes forget how significant these are in shaping our identity and impacting the planetary emergency we all face.

Our quotidian experiences are both individual and shared. Speakers and delegates will be encouraged to revisit the stories of the commodities, cultures and landscapes that shape all our lives, unpicking the geographical connections behind them. In recent challenging times, some of those connections were temporarily severed or amended, and others deserve reassessment.

The 2022 Conference will be an occasion where we can once again come together and take the time to celebrate what makes us who we are: now and in the future, and explore how revealing the powerful hidden magic in these everyday stories can enrich our personal curriculum journeys.

Alan Parkinson, GA Vice President 2020-21

I hope to see you there, but more importantly for the time being, I hope to see you next week for the GA Conference 2021.

A few days left to book.

GA Conference 2021

There are only a few weeks to go before the virtual GA Conference for 2021. This will be very different to the technology that had to be sorted at very short notice for the 2020 conference. Those who attend will be able to move in and out of sessions they choose, and also access recordings of every session. You can still see some of 2020's sessions on the GA's YouTube channel.

Susan Pike had curated a wonderful range of speakers and guests, and some further new features.

At @The_GA Conference #GAConf21 we will have a chill out space, including a geographical playlist 🌍 100 on it so far, what would you like to add? 🎶https://t.co/9QyyhB2WS5 #geographyteacher #primarygeography pic.twitter.com/BgifOAUbWC

— Dr Susan Pike | GA President 🌍 (@SusanJPike) March 17, 2021

I hope to see you there. 

GA Conference 2021 - time to book your place

April 8th - 10th is the date of the 2021 GA Conference.

Unfortunately it will be online rather than face to face once again, but we were prepared for that this time round.

Booking is now open.

The theme, chosen by President Susan Pike is an important one for our current times: Compassionate Geographies.

Compassionate Geographies
It gives me great pleasure to announce the theme of the GA Conference for 2021: Compassionate geographies. Geographers are compassionate about the planet and all who inhabit it. The conference theme also encompasses all the GA stands for – compassion in supporting and challenging geographical learning, with a view to a better understanding of the world and its people. Compassion works at numerous levels across a high-quality geography education:
The geography education community has compassion for all its members. Participating in this community, through support and collaboration, ensures every member of the community can find their professional voice.
Our community cares greatly about the quality of geography education for young people. We care about the accuracy of the learning we share with them and each other, the quality of our teaching and more.
Conference 2021 will be an opportunity to celebrate and meet to share our compassion to excite and inspire our learners in geography.

Dr Susan Pike