The Oceania Comparative and International Education Society (OCIES) is delighted to announce that the 54th Annual OCIES Conference will be hosted by Solomon Islands National University (SINU) in Honiara, Solomon Islands, from 24–26 November 2026, beginning with NERO Day on Monday 23 November.
The conference theme, “Reimagining Education in Oceania: Indigenous Knowledge, Equity, and Sustainable Futures,” positions the gathering as an important regional and international forum for exploring the future of education across Oceania.
Hosted within the Solomon Islands context, the conference will foreground Pacific perspectives and create space for dialogue about education systems that are culturally grounded, inclusive, and responsive to the realities and aspirations of Pacific communities.
At the centre of the conference theme is a strong commitment to Indigenous and Pacific knowledge systems.
The concept note highlights the importance of recognising Pacific ways of knowing, including relational and community-based approaches such as tok stori, while exploring how these approaches can shape educational systems across the region. The conference also aims to create space for Pacific methodologies, languages, and epistemologies that have often been marginalised within formal education discourse.
Alongside Indigenous knowledge, the conference will engage key regional challenges surrounding equity, inclusion, sustainability, and educational futures.
Across Oceania, many communities continue to face significant disparities in educational access and outcomes, particularly in rural and remote contexts. The conference theme therefore calls attention to issues of participation, inclusion, and educational opportunity across diverse Pacific settings.
The conference will also explore the role of education in responding to climate change, community resilience, sustainable livelihoods, and rapidly changing technological futures.
Conference sub-themes include:
- Indigenous Knowledge and Pacific Epistemologies
- Equity, Access, and Inclusion in Education
- Teacher Development and Professional Learning
- Education for Sustainable Development in Oceania
- Digital Futures and Innovation in Education
- Policy, Leadership, and Governance in Education
Beginning the conference programme on 23 November, NERO Day will once again provide a dedicated space for postgraduate students, early career academics, and emerging researchers across Oceania to connect, present, and receive mentoring within a supportive scholarly environment.
Hosting the 2026 conference at SINU also reflects OCIES’s continuing commitment to strengthening regional engagement and Pacific-centred scholarship across Oceania. Since the Society’s transition from ANZCIES to OCIES in 2014, the organisation has increasingly worked to create more inclusive and regionally grounded spaces for Comparative and International Education dialogue across the Pacific.
As the conference concept note emphasises, OCIES 2026 aims to foster meaningful dialogue, strengthen regional research networks, and promote educational approaches that are culturally responsive, inclusive, and sustainable.
In November 2026, these conversations will continue in Honiara as scholars, educators, policymakers, students, and community leaders from across Oceania and beyond come together to collectively reimagine education in the region.
You can download copies of the conference theme, concept note and save the date poster here. More information to come.