Inspire. Imagine. Innovate! The 21st Annual National Service-Learning Conference

During March 2010, the 21st Annual National Service-Learning Conference touched nearly 3,500 people, including educators and students representing all 50 states and 32 countries. Attendees gathered at the convention center in San Jose, Calif., March 24-27 — as well as those participating online through professional development offerings and a Small Worlds service-learning project — were inspired by speakers and stories, encouraged to imagine new possibilities, and challenged to innovate for an even brighter future.

This year’s conference, with support from leadership sponsor State Farm Companies Foundation and host sponsor Shinnyo-en Foundation, offered more than 150 workshops and Thought Leader sessions focused on high-quality service-learning. A 21st Century Presentation Room, sponsored by Microsoft, allowed virtual participation of presenters through video-conferencing and Skype, as well as hands-on learning experience with new technologies and virtual spaces to enhance service-learning projects. The exhibit hall floor, the epicenter of the conference, featured 79 exhibitors as well as a 40 schools participating in the service-learning showcase.

Ken Robinson, one of many inspiring keynote speakers, challenged a captivated audience to re-think today’s education system. “Creativity should be reconnected to intelligence,” he argued, in order to meet the unprecedented challenges this generation is facing.

The authors of They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky, three of the approximately 17,000 Lost Boys of Sudan, spoke of their mass exodus during the country’s second civil war and eventual resettlement in the United States. They asked participants to imagine themselves to be on such an epic journey. Alephonsion Deng said, “You are the ones to change the face of the world and make it a better place.”

Young people, approximately 30 percent of the conference registrants, were heavily involved in the planning and execution of the conference. They contributed as emcees at each plenary session, keynote speakers, presenters in workshops, teen driver safety experts in Ignition Lane exhibits, members of the conference service corps, leaders of on-site service projects, and more. In a collaborative effort of youth from across the country, supported by NYLC, the conference Youth Room became the hub for youth activities, including workshops on creativity and the achievement gap, as well as games and music.

The conference is a time when NYLC and its colleagues in the movement recognize exceptional accomplishment in service-learning through service-learning awards. This year, leading service-learning and service organizations presented the William James National Service Lifetime Achievement Award to educator Donald Eberly, a founder of national service as we know it today. The Executive Director of Community Service Volunteers, Elisabeth Hoodless, said, “His vision, tenacity, and sheer hard work have gotten us to where we are today.”

Jeffrey M. Duncan-Andrade received the G. Bernard Gill Urban Service-Learning Leadership Award. A professor and high school teacher in East Oakland, Calif., Duncan-Andrade challenged educators to innovate and “stop analyzing dysfunction … (and) start writing the narratives of function.”

Other special events that took place at the conference included the annual daylong Administrators Academy for district and school leaders aimed at helping them learn how service-learning and youth engagement can be powerful allies in instructional improvement plans, and a Leaders Academy dedicated to sharing practices for cultivating diverse and inclusive service-learning leaders.

Throughout the conference, attendees reflected and connected through visual and performance art. Pioneer High School students of San Jose engaged conference attendees in the latest social media, demonstrating how it can be used to address community needs. Service-learning projects offered both on and off site included transforming ordinary plastic bags into new products, led by students from the New Foundations Charter School, and the traditional tree planting. Artists like Myrikal, youththrive: LIVE!, and the Sunnyvale Middle School Symphonic Ensemble performed relevant pieces like Shinnyo-en Foundation’s original Six Billion Paths to Peace songs.

Saturday’s Service-Learning World Forum offered perspectives from colleagues from across the globe, and the Gathering of Elders provided participants with the opportunity to reflect on the conference experience, look beyond their everyday lives, and find wisdom and inspiration to return home and innovate. Representative Mike Honda (D-Calif.) spoke of his experience as a Peace Corps volunteer, teacher, principal, and congressman since 2001. He said, “It is now time for a new generation to answer Obama’s call to service.”