AILA Development 2021: The Most Relevant Benefits and Urgent Requests
What have AILA’s most relevant benefits been for its national affiliates in the last year, and what are the affiliates’ most urgent wishes for 2021/22? At the 2021 virtual meeting of the Executive Board and the International Committee on August 14, delegates from 34 AILA national affiliates shared their experiences and expectations regarding the development of AILA.
The most relevant benefits from AILA 2020/2021 include:
- exploiting the great AILA network
- networking with other affiliates around the globe
- collaborating with other affiliates in the region
- receiving, for the first time, proposals from abroad for the national conference
- further developing the new AILA Ibero-American regional network AIALA
- implementing the AILA tandem initiative
- co-organizing the AILA 60th World Congress Lab
- receiving first-hand information from the field of Applied Linguistics
- doing research in the AILA Research Networks
- meeting with other key players in the field
- being visited by the AILA President
- using the excellent AILA communication tools such as the AILA Newsletter and the AILA App
The most urgent requests to AILA for 2021/2022 comprise:
- finding joint solutions of how to stop the trend of high education closing down
- intensifying collaboration between board and local organizers of AILA World Congresses
- finding ways to deal with affiliates’ income loss during the pandemic
- helping national affiliates rethink their meetings in times of climate change
- pushing the AILA App more
In line with this feedback, AILA commits itself to further strengthen members’ benefits, together with the national affiliates and our members. Progress will be reported throughout the year in the AILA Newsletter and evaluated in the 2022 meeting of the AILA Executive Board with the International Committee.