Across the world, growing inequality, democratic erosion, attacks on judicial independence, restrictions on civic participation, and persistent barriers to accessing justice are profoundly affecting individuals, communities, and institutions. At the same time, economic instability, environmental crises, forced migration, and technological transformations continue to deepen existing social divides and create new challenges for legal systems and democratic governance.
These developments raise fundamental questions about the role of law, justice, and education in contemporary societies. They challenge legal educators, practitioners, students, and civil society actors to rethink established frameworks and to develop innovative approaches capable of responding to increasingly complex social realities. In this context, the promotion of justice, equality, human dignity, and the rule of law requires renewed commitment, creativity, and collaboration across borders.
Clinical Legal Education and other forms of Justice Education have long demonstrated their capacity to connect legal learning with social transformation. Through experiential and community-engaged methodologies, these programs contribute to expanding access to justice, strengthening democratic values, empowering marginalized communities, and preparing future legal professionals to address pressing societal challenges with competence, empathy, and a commitment to public service.
The 2027 international conference, hosted in Argentina and organized by leading national, regional, and global networks of justice educators, will provide an important forum for critical reflection, dialogue, and collective learning. Bringing together legal academics, students, clinicians, practitioners, judges, policymakers, and social activists from around the world, the conference will explore how justice education can respond effectively to growing inequality and contemporary threats to the rule of law while promoting more inclusive, democratic, and equitable societies.
The main objective of the conference is to create opportunities for participants to exchange ideas, experiences, research, teaching methodologies, and innovative practices that strengthen the relationship between legal education and social justice. Through plenary discussions, interactive workshops, panel presentations, roundtables, and community-based activities, delegates will examine emerging challenges and identify new strategies for advancing justice education in universities, legal clinics, and community settings.
Special attention will be given to the role of clinical legal education in defending the rule of law, human rights, promoting access to justice, supporting vulnerable populations, fostering democratic participation, and strengthening institutional accountability. Participants will also have opportunities to engage with local initiatives and organizations working at the forefront of legal empowerment and social change throughout Argentina.
The conference program will be designed to maximize participation, exchange, and collaboration among attendees. While a limited number of plenary sessions and keynote addresses will provide shared spaces for reflection, the majority of the program will consist of interactive and practice-oriented sessions that encourage dialogue, peer learning, and the development of sustainable international partnerships. The structure of the conference reflects a commitment to active, participatory, and inclusive forms of learning that have long been central to justice education.
The Training of Trainers (ToT) will be held before the General Conference, on July 11 to 12, 2027. It welcomes legal educators, clinicians, lawyers, and students from around the world, whether new to teaching or experienced. Together, we will explore practical approaches to teaching, supervision, feedback, and community building, with a focus on AI, sustainability, and co-creation, guided by a shared belief: how we teach shapes the lawyers our students become and the justice they help create.
Through critical dialogue, collaborative learning, and the exchange of experiences from different regions of the world, the conference aims to reaffirm the transformative potential of justice education in times of inequality and to strengthen the global community committed to protecting the rule of law, advancing human rights, and building more just and inclusive societies for all.
Submit your proposal →Interactive sessions/workshops: Past conferences have provided opportunities to connect educators from around the world and engage them to exchange experiences, share ideas, learn from each other, and reflect. This conference will continue the tradition of parallel interactive sessions, led by internationally mixed facilitator teams, which give participants the opportunity to engage around topics linked to justice/clinical legal education. Conference organizers seek proposals from teams of presenters/facilitators from around the world who are interested in organizing a 30-min, 45-min, 60-min, or 90-min interactive workshop on a relevant topic as indicated by the non-exhaustive “Areas of Interest” described below and/or linked to clinical legal education/justice education.
Lightning talks: In addition to the interactive workshops, which encourage broad collaboration over a common theme, lightning talks allow presenters to be in the spotlight for up to 10 minutes, where they can provide quick insight into a specific topic. These short presentations are designed to allow presenters to share an idea, achievement, initiative, or problem and seek feedback. We anticipate each presentation, of no more than 10 minutes, will provide a short introduction to new work, methodological innovations, or insights from the field. Several lightning talks with related themes will be placed together in the same session to allow for commonalities and contrasts to emerge and engage in feedback and discussion after the talks. If your presentation does not lend itself to an interactive workshop, lightning talks will provide space for discussion with the audience after a group of talks.
If you have any questions, please email us at program@gaje.org
The conference organizers are particularly interested in receiving proposals linked to the general conference theme, addressing “Global Challenges” through “Justice Education”. These include, but are not limited to, exploring the role of justice education in addressing legal challenges arising, for example, from humanitarian crises due to geopolitical conflicts and international disputes and from refugees seeking protection; democratic backsliding and shrinking civic space; as well as the intersection of justice education with environmental law to combat climate change and climate-induced displacements.
In addition, we welcome proposals on innovative approaches to teaching and learning and legal strategies to strengthen human rights, promote justice and equality, cultural sensitivity, inclusion, and access to justice, especially for vulnerable and marginalized communities through legal education, as well as the use of technology (such as artificial intelligence) in legal education or interdisciplinary approaches to achieve social justice.
Session proposals are reviewed by the “Conference Program Team.” Relevance to justice education and geographic diversity among presenters are important criteria in the proposal review. We encourage session proposals from international teams. In the past, the solicitation of international co-presenters on the GAJE listserv has been encouraged. Additionally, the “Conference Program Team” is also available to help connect presenters from different countries linked through a common topic. In that case, you may register a specific workshop proposal on a given topic and indicate in the submission form that you wish to be connected to other presenters linked to your topic.
While the focus of your workshop will be shaped by the areas of interest that it looks at, for coordination and scheduling purposes, we request that you broadly assess the stream within which your workshop falls. In order to make the event more inclusive and ensure that language does not become a barrier, presentations that use Spanish to develop the proposal and present it at the conference may be accepted. As part of the application, you will be given the opportunity to identify, out of the following options, a stream for your workshop.
Session proposals should be submitted online through the Proposal Submission Form available on the dedicated GAJE website for the 2027 WWC.
We encourage early submissions, as this helps not only the organizers to create an engaging program but also helps presenters to receive early feedback on their proposals and then eventually to apply timely for possible funding that will allow them to attend the conference.
Where there is more than one presenter, we require that a “Lead Presenter” submit the proposal. That person, unless changed, becomes the point of contact for the presentation throughout the stage of proposal review, decision, scheduling, and questions and logistical information for the conference.
For logistical reasons, participants can only be involved in a maximum of two session proposals.
The Online Proposal Submission Form will ask for the following information:
All questions concerning the conference should be directed to conference@gaje.org.
Submit your proposal →