The Washington DC Conference on the Social Sciences (WCSS2026)

April 15-20, 2026 | Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington DC, United States, & Online

Welcome to The Washington DC Conference on the Social Sciences!

The International Academic Forum, in partnership with the IAFOR Research Centre at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University, Japan, is very happy to return to Washington, DC and to the United States’ mainland in 2026. This dual conference event will complement those we hold in other cities throughout the world.

IAFOR conferences offer a crucial and critical space for scholarship and creativity, attracting thousands of delegates annually, and from more than a hundred different countries, in events that are celebrations of the international, intercultural, and interdisciplinary. The Washington DC Conference on the Social Sciences (WCSS2026) will be held alongside its sister conference, The Washington DC Conference on Education (WCE2026). Both conferences build upon The IAFOR Conference on Educational Research and Innovation, held with our global partner, Virginia Tech, in 2019, 2022, and 2023.

Washington, DC is an important historical and cultural centre, with world class museums and iconic monuments. It is also a prominent intellectual and academic hub, with great universities and numerous think tanks; not only the nation’s capital, but given the outsized role of the United States in world affairs, DC is central to global dynamics. It is in DC that many discussions are had, ideas are shaped, decisions are made, and policies are crafted, that impact not only the furthest corners of the Union, but that are felt across the world. In these challenging times, it is a fitting physical and intellectual place to host our International Academic Forum.

We have a lot to learn from each other. Join us in DC in 2026!

For and on behalf of the IAFOR International Academic Board and the Conference Programme Committees,

Dr Joseph Haldane, Osaka University, Japan & University College London, United Kingdom
Chairman and CEO, IAFOR

Professor Jun Arima, University of Tokyo, Japan
President, IAFOR

Professor Anne Boddington, Middlesex University, United Kingdom
Executive Vice-President and Provost, IAFOR

Call for Papers

The WCSS2026 Conference Programme Committee welcomes papers from a wide variety of interdisciplinary and theoretical perspectives, and submissions are organised into the following streams:

IAFOR's Conference Themes for 2025-2029

Our selected themes for 2025-2029 bring together ideas and encourage research and synergies in the following areas:

Technology and Artificial Intelligence

Humanity and Human Intelligence

Global Citizenship and Education for Peace

Leadership

Our four themes can be seen as standalone themes, but they are also very much in conversation with each other. Themes may be seen as corollaries, complementary, or in opposition/juxtaposition with each other. The themes can be considered as widely as possible and are designed, in keeping with our mission, to encourage ideas across the disciplines.

About IAFOR

Founded in 2009, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) is a mission-driven politically independent non-partisan and non-profit organisation dedicated to encouraging interdisciplinary discussion, facilitating intercultural awareness and promoting international exchange, principally through educational interaction and academic research. Based in Japan, its main administrative office is in Nagoya, and its research centre is in the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), a graduate school of Osaka University.