Check out some of our favorite events and activities!
All events take place at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta Hotel, unless otherwise specified. Rooms and times will be posted as they become available. Locations and times are subject to change. Please check your conference program guide, available onsite, for the final schedule.
Wednesday, April 6
Service-Learning World Forum
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Join your fellow conference participants for exciting entertainment and keynote speeches at the Service-Learning World Forum. Explore youth service and service-learning as forces that span cultural and national boundaries, building communities and strengthening young people. Discover how service-learning is implemented throughout the world.
» Learn more about the Service-Learning World Forum
Opening Plenary Session
4:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Join your fellow conference participants to hear inspirational leaders talk about the state of service-learning, service, and volunteerism. What is on the horizon for service-learning? What resources will be available to you? These and many of your other questions will be answered in the opening session of the National Service-Learning Conference.
Exhibit Hall Grand Opening and Welcome Celebration
5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Taste the flavor of Atlanta. Join your fellow conference attendees as we start the conference with food, entertainment and more. Don’t miss your first taste of true Southern hospitality.
Meet representatives from nonprofits oriented to service and education, companies working with the service-learning movement, and national-service organizations. While you are there, visit the conference bookstore to browse the offerings of relevant fiction, nonfiction, and children's books.
» Learn more about the Exhibit Hall
Learn and Serve America Fireside Chat for past and present grantees, subgrantees, sub-subgrantees, and community partners
7:15 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
We invite all who receive Learn and Serve America funding or work with Learn and Serve to join us for this gathering. Meet others who share your dedication to service-learning and receive important updates on The Corporation for National and Community Service and Learn and Serve America.
Newcomers Orientation
8:00 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
New to service-learning or the National Service-Learning Conference? Confused by terms like "thought leader series," "plenary session," and "conference track"? Join us for this informal networking session, where the mysteries of the conference are revealed. We'll help you get your bearings, answer your questions, and make the most of the conference. A "don't miss" event for first-time attendees.
Networking Gatherings and Receptions
8:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
These informal sessions provide a chance to network, trade ideas, and socialize with attendees who have similar interests and backgrounds.
- Youth Kickoff: Held in the Youth Room, this is the place for young people to meet and kick off the conference. (Youth only.)
- International Gathering: For international guests and those interested in international applications of service-learning.
- Organic Roundtable Networking: Looking to meet people from your region? Want to find others doing environmental service-learning? You devise the groups, we will provide the avenue to connect people.
Thursday, April 7
Plenary Session Featuring Greg Mortenson
10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Join your fellow conference participants for engaging speakers and live performances, including a keynote address from Greg Mortenson, co-founder of nonprofit Central Asia Institute, founder of Pennies For Peace, co-author of New York Times bestseller “Three Cups of Tea”, and author of “Stones into Schools”.
Service-Learning Showcase
Exhibit Hall, 12:15 p.m.-2:15 p.m.
The service-learning showcase highlights high-quality service-learning projects from across the country and around the world. Talk with people about their projects to learn how service-learning is implemented, how they connected service to their curriculum goals, what impact their projects have had, and what makes them effective. Stroll through the showcase and pick up ideas to take back home.
» Learn more about participating in the Service-Learning Showcase
College Fair
Exhibit Hall, 12:15 p.m.-2:15 p.m.
Looking for a school after graduation? Colleges and universities from Atlanta and beyond will answer your questions at the College Fair. Admissions professionals share information about academic programs, campus life, admission requirements, and the service that takes place at their institutions.
» Learn more about exhibiting at the College Fair
Friday, April 8
Plenary Session
10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Join your fellow conference participants for exciting entertainment and keynote speeches. Hear from teacher, speaker, author, and humanitarian, Naomi Tutu.
Wisdom Teachings Lunch: Lessons Learned from the Gathering of Elders
12:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
Attend the Gathering of Elders. Community elders have shown extraordinary wisdom and originality as teachers and counselors of change. Their life lessons are contained in philosophies, oral histories, and ceremonies, handed from one generation to the next. Their symbolic connection to the past helps us remember who we are, why we serve, and what we must do to change the world. In this special gathering, elders speak from their traditions and life experiences about youth, change, service, and leadership.
Preregistration is required. Additional fee applies.
The 2011 State Farm® Awards Celebration
6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. State Farm Awards Ceremony
7:30 p.m.-11:00 p.m. State Farm Awards Celebration
Join your colleagues in the service-learning movement as we celebrate the practitioners and young people who have given so much to their communities. Come celebrate with the recipients with food and music.
Saturday, April 9
Choose an immersion session. Immersion sessions are intensive, 3 hour, interactive sessions that provide materials, strategies, and skills in cutting-edge areas of service-learning. Held on Saturday, April 9, they provide opportunities to explore subject areas in depth.
» Learn more about Immersion Sessions
