The American Association for Adult & Continuing Education annual conference has taken on a new look in 2020 using a virtual format for its annual conference 27-30 October 2020. The virtual conference environment was used for the very first time in its history and opened Wednesday with cocktails and a welcome from Dr Mary Alfred, President and the President-elect Dr Thomas Cox. We were able to chat informally and engage in warm-up activities using for example a conference quiz.

The keynote address this year was given by Dr Elizabeth Tisdell, well-known teacher and researcher on the theme of mindful discourses and their role in challenging power relations. Activities associated with mindfulness are all around us in our personal and work environments yet there has been little research 0n this in the field of lifelong learning. The conference had approximately 80 papers per day over 3 days. The presentations were recorded so it was possible to pick up the presentation and discussion later after its scheduled time on the programme. The subjects of the presentations were wide and varied ranging from global pandemic to conversations about mental health and wellness, and policies and practices affecting learning in cities and regions. There were also opportunities in the programme to relax and engage in other activities such as poetry sessions, meditation and trivia games.

The event had its usual presentation of awards and prizes for notable achievements and there were also debates and meetings of various commissions. One activity I particularly enjoyed was the policy debate session which focussed on the themes of race and covid 19 and their impact on adult learning.

The conference provided a unique opportunity to network and rekindle relationships and connections in a new and challenging way. As someone who attended the previous year’s conference in St Louis in 2019, I was able to use the virtual platform to rekindle friendships with those I had met last year and to say hello to many others whom I might have missed in a large conference hall. An added bonus was to be able to meet people from the safety and comfort of my own home on the other side of the Atlantic in what might be said to be challenging COVID times.

The conference was truly inspirational providing a forum for sharing and debating ideas relevant to adult learning. The next AAACE conference is planned for Miramar Beach, Florida 5-8 October 2021.

Rob Mark, University of Glasgow