May 2026 AIESEP Newsletter
Nominations for the next board of directors are finalized, with elections taking place June 18th. The World Congress in Taipei is just over a month away, and the deadline to submit abstracts for the Brazil specialist seminar is May 28th. There is a lot happening in the AIESEP community right now, and we look forward to welcoming you in Taiwan soon. You can follow all AIESEP updates on our LinkedIn which is where you can find AIESEP Connect event links. We are now also on Instagram! You can also catch up on position announcements, calls for papers, and other information on our constantly updated blog.
Elections Information
There are 10 candidates running for 6 institutional member seats, and 11 candidates running for 6 individual member seats. The position of secretary general has one candidate, while two candidates are nominees for president. In total, all nominees represent 14 countries across 4 continents. You can find 2 minute videos of each candidate on the AIESEP website under the members corner (you must be logged in). Voting will occur live using an online voting system June 18th, 16:20 Taiwan time during the general assembly. Each voting member will receive a unique link from Vero voting systems in the coming weeks and the link will be active during the voting period. Those who cannot attend the Taiwan conference can still vote during this period from wherever they are. Remember, although ALL members (institutional or individual) get to vote for the president and secretary general, institutional members will be allowed to vote for only institutional board seats and individual members will be allowed to only vote for individual members. If you are an institutional member, please make sure you check to see who the representative is for your institution so your voting ballot gets delivered correctly.
How to Find Election Videos
To access videos and to learn more about the candidates log on to https://aiesep.org/ then log into the website at the top right (member login). There will be a “members corner” tab at the top right of the banner which produces a drop down menu. Click on “election information”. From there you can scroll down and view the candidate videos.
Taipei World Congress 2026
The conference will run June 15th to 19th, 2026. The full program is live and can be found here. The conference website is live https://2026aiesep.org/ and will continue being updated. Basic travel information can be found here, and visa information can be found here. A podcast about Taiwan can be found here (episode 384 in Playing with Research in Health and Physical Education Podcast), and the companion blog, with hyperlinks to all the recommendations can be found here. Everyone is urged to book hotels early before they fill up. There are 13 hotels listed as options with varying distances by foot, metro, and taxi here. You can check out the social events and tours here. Finally, in addition to checking if you need a VISA!! Everyone needs to submit a Taiwan Arrival Card before you travel to Taipei in June (must be completed a minimum 3 days before arrival): https://twac.immigration.gov.tw/
A Specialist Seminar in Brazil: Physical Education and Sports Pedagogy for Sustainable Development
AIESEP is hosting a specialist seminar in Vitoria, Brazil at the Federal University of Espirito Santo December 2-3rd, 2026. The call for abstracts is live and abstracts are due by May 28th. Details including: a vision for the conference, accommodation, conference fees, and a guide to the city can be found in this link.
Recent Award Announcements
AIESEP has announced several recipients of awards recently. New 2026 Fellows include: Dr. Erin Centeio (University of Hawaii, USA) and Dr. Ash Casey (Loughborough University, UK). Dr. Casey will also give the Cagigal Lecture in Taipei. The 2026 AIESEP Early Career Scholar Awards can be found here. The Developing Country Scholar Awards can be found here.
How to sign up for AIESEP Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
Looking to connect with researchers who share your interests? AIESEP Special Interest Groups (SIGs) offer opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow within a global community. First, make your AIESEP Member Profile: As an AIESEP member you can now create your own personal member profile! You can use it to connect with other members, read or post articles, blogs and recorded presentations, or maybe to provide updates on projects or look for that person during the last AIESEP conference who gave that inspiring paper. Go to the Member’s Corner on the AIESEP website and click on Community or directly by clicking here. Here is a link to directions on how to sign up as a member of a SIG
AIESEP Connect in May
The May AIESEP Connect was hosted on May 11th 8am EDT/2pm CEST. This AIESEP Connect session was titled: Early career perspectives on digital technology in health, physical education, and physical activity: A community dialogue.
AIESEP 2027 will be held in Eindhoven, Netherlands
The AIESEP 2027 conference has released dates and a theme. The conference will run July 12-16th, 2027 and will be hosted by Fontys University in Eindhoven, Netherlands! The theme of the conference is: “Bridging the gap from theory to everyday practice in physical education” More information to follow.
Donations
AIESEP is now accepting donations to support future developing country scholars. We have created a page on the website that shares information about how to donate and how your donation makes a difference https://aiesep.org/donation/
Sincerely,
Risto Marttinen
Secretary General AIESEP
Associate Professor
George Mason University
rmarttin@gmu.edu
