International Conference

5–7 February 2026

1ˢᵗ International D.EL.EXO. Conference Advancing Greek language and culture education worldwide: new developments and emerging issues

Call for papers

Third call for papers

New migration flows and forms of mobility as well as the constantly evolving economic, socio-political, cultural, and technological conditions – on local, translocal, and global levels – are radically reshaping the field of teaching Greek language and culture abroad.

The 1st International Conference of the special interest group D.E.L.EXO. (Teaching Greek Abroad) aims to highlight the multiple aspects of this emerging field and to mobilise a dialogue centred on the diverse voices of the field’s key stakeholders –educators, students, parents and guardians, communities, and institutions. At the same time, it seeks to link issues of teaching and educational policy with current scientific and research inquiries.

The conference will take place online from 5–7 February 2026. It will cover all aspects of teaching and learning Greek language and culture abroad, aiming to bring to the fore challenges and discuss future prospects.

Conference structure

The conference will include:

(A) Keynote speeches:
– Aspasia Chatzidaki, University of Crete, Greek Language Maintenance Abroad through a Family Language Policy Lens: Parental Perspectives
– Joy Kreeft Peyton, President, Coalition of Community-Based Heritage Language Schools, Community-based Heritage Language Schools: The Global Heritage Language Education Sector
– Joseph Lo Bianco, University of Melbourne, Joseph Lo Bianco, University of Melbourne, The Pharos Initiative: Revitalising Modern Greek in Australia

(B) Thematic sessions
Thematic sessions provide an opportunity for stakeholders involved in teaching Greek language and culture (researchers, educators, students, parents and guardians, communities, and institutions) to discuss a specific topic from various perspectives. Each thematic session will have a duration of 120 minutes.

(C) Oral presentations
Oral presentations consist of a 20-minute presentation followed by a 10-minute discussion.

(D) Workshops
Workshops provide an opportunity for educators, schools and researchers to showcase examples from their educational practice. Each workshop will have a duration of 60 minutes.

Thematic sessions and workshops may be organised by D.E.L.EXO. working groups.

Abstract Submission

Abstracts are submitted electronically through the conference website on the Oxford Abstracts platform:

https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/77590/submitter

Please submit one abstract for each oral presentation and each workshop.

For thematic sessions, please submit separately

(a) an abstract with the general description of the thematic session (select <Θεματική συνεδρία (γενική περιγραφή) – Thematic session (general description)> under the <Κατηγορία υποβολής – Submission category> question), and

(b) an abstract for each presentation to be included in the session (select <Προφορική ανακοίνωση (μέρος θεματικής συνεδρίας) – Oral presentation (part of thematic session)>).

The maximum length for each abstract is 350 words, excluding references.

Important dates

Abstract submission deadline: 20 May 2025
Notification of acceptance: 5 August 2025
Presenter registration deadline: 30 September 2025

Conference languages

Greek | English

Registration fees

Presenters (full fee): €50
Presenters (reduced fee):* €30
Attendance (without presentation): €30

* Students, unemployed individuals, and retirees

The D.EL.EXO. Steering Committee
Vally Lytra – Chair
Zoi Nikolaidou – Secretary
Petros Karatsareas – Communications Officer
Dimitris Koutsogiannis – Centre for the Greek Language Liaison

Steering Committee

Maria Andria, Universitat de Barcelona
Themistoklis Aravosittas, York University & University of Toronto
Froso Argyri, University College London
Spyridoula Bella, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Aspasia Chatzidaki, University of Crete
Anna Chatzipanagiotidou, Frederick University Cyprus
Zoi Dionysiou, Ionian University
Georgia Fotiadou, Aristiotle University of Thessaloniki
George Frazis, Charles Darwin University
Alexandra Galani, University of Ioannina
Alexandra Georgiou, University of West London
Karolina Gortych-Michalak, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań
Eleni Griva, University of Western Macedonia
Stella Gryllia, Radboud University
Sofia Hu (Hu Jingjing), Shanghai International Studies University
Maria Iakovou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Maria Kaliambou, Yale University
Vicky Kantzou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Petros Karatsareas, University of Westminster
Napoleon Katsos, University of Cambridge
Vasilia Kourti-Kazoulli, University of the Aegean
Dimitrios Koutsogiannis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Vally Lytra, Goldsmiths University of London
Tsampika Makrogianni, University of the Aegean
Christina Maligkoudi, Democritus University of Thrace
Marina Mattheoudakis. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Katerina Nicolaidi, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Zoe Nikolaidou, Södertörn University
Stavroula Nikoloudis, La Trobe University
Galyna Petrova, Kyiv National Linguistic University
Julie A. Panagiotopoulou, Universität zu Köln
Anastasia Rothoni, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Thomais Rousoulioti, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Maria Soukalopoulou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Christina Takouda, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Irini Tsamadou-Jacoberger, Université de Strasbourg
Roula Tsokalidou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Skevi Vasiliou, Cyprus University of Technology
Maria Zerva, Université de Strasbourg

Program - Abstracts

Program

Abstracts

Keynote Speeches

Aspasia Chatzidaki, University of Crete

Greek Language Εducation abroad as an instrument of Family Language Policy: Perspectives from second-generation parents

In recent years, the scientific community has shown renewed interest in the study of Greek as a community and heritage language abroad, examining issues of bilingual development (e.g. Daskalaki et al., 2020; Papastergiou & Sanoudaki, 2021) as well as various dimensions of Greek language education (e.g. Chatzidaki, 2019; Cushing et al., 2021; Mattheoudakis, 2024). Nevertheless, only a limited number of studies have focused on the social actors themselves (parents and children) and on how they experience, design, and implement practices of Greek language maintenance in contemporary globalized societies (see e.g. Gogonas, 2019; Koutsogiannis et al., 2024). Such studies focus mainly on the experiences of families who migrated during the financial crisis of 2010–2018 and reveal both convergences and divergences in the families’ strategies, which are shaped by a variety of factors. In this presentation, I will discuss the choice of Greek-language education as a tool of language management, drawing primarily on the theoretical framework of Family Language Policy (Spolsky, 2012). Based on data from a recent study of the Greek community in Canada (Hellenic Relay), I will explore the parents’ language ideologies that emerge from our findings, situating them within broader theoretical debates in the field of FLP (e.g. Curdt-Christiansen & Huang, 2021; Curdt-Christiansen et al., 2023; Nordstrom, 2016).

Joy Kreeft Peyton, President,
Coalition of Community-Based Heritage Language Schools

Community-based Heritage Language Schools: The Global Heritage Language Education Sector

The Coalition of Community-Based Heritage Language (CBHL) Schools was formed in 2012, when a group of us realized that these schools were not recognized, respected, or even often known about, in the language education sector in the United States. We formed to identify, connect with, support, and advocate for the thousands of schools teaching hundreds of languages, including Greek. Several years ago we started to connect with leaders of these schools in other countries. We realized that we have a lot in common, and there are many initiatives that we can engage in together, to sustain and enliven these schools in all countries. We formed the Global Heritage Language Think Tank, a group of passionate professionals from around the world involved in heritage language education (from 14 countries at this point; the United States and mostly European countries ), who come together regularly to generate new ideas about and seek to improve the recognition, visibility, vitality, quality, and sustainability of CBHL educational programs around the world. Initiatives we are involved in together include developing and publishing the International Guidelines for Professional Practice, with a review rubric that leaders can use to review and improve their programs; initiatives to connect community-based and public schools and universities and to ease tensions between these sectors; collecting evidence of and creating a document about injustices and political pressure against HL communities; developing a comprehensive schools network in England; and seeking to become a UNESCO member working group.

Joseph Lo Bianco, University of Melbourne

The Pharos Initiative: Revitalising Modern Greek in Australia

During the 1960s and 70s Greek Australians were in the forefront of crafting Australia’s repudiation of the assimilationist policies that had accompanied the vast immigration program the nation adopted after the conclusion of the second world war, resulting in a series of widely accepted multicultural principles. From this grew a golden period of the teaching and public promotion of Modern Greek, in many parts of Australia, but particularly Melbourne. Greek was a popular language at school for new learners and for Greek language maintainers alike. However, in the past two decades there has been serious decline in the fortunes of Modern Greek, the result of public policy priorities promoting Asian languages of commerce in preference to community languages, but also because of the ageing of the community, language shift at home and attenuated support from Greece. The Pharos Initiative was born to combat this decline to and to imagine a new role for Greek in a post-immigration multiculturalism. This paper will describe the theoretical and conceptual basis of the Pharos idea, and assess the early effects of its implementation, to show how it has grown from a modest initiative to a nation-wide revitalisation effort.