The VII Service-Learning Researchers’ Symposium (JIAS), held on Wednesday, 20th August, in Buenos Aires, brought together an audience of diverse ages, professions, and backgrounds, all sharing a passion for studying educational practices that address community issues.

The findings and progress of research on solidarity service-learning initiatives at all educational levels in 23 countries were presented to 125 attendees, many of whom were from delegations worldwide representing universities belonging to the Uniservitate Global Network.

« For decades, most research on service-learning came from the North. We are very happy that, on this symposium, which we have supported with the Ibero-American Service-Learning Network, it is possible to have a horizontal dialogue between North and South, or East and West, and that we can learn from our colleagues in Asia, who have so much to teach us, from our colleagues in Africa, or Europe and from the many colleagues in Latin America who are here today, » said Nieves Tapia at the opening ceremony. Tapia, founder and director of CLAYSS, the event’s host, also thanked the attendees for « helping us to expand the service-learning field and make it more solid. »

The JIAS was organized at the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Buenos Aires as part of the 22nd International Solidarity Service-Learning Week, also hosted by CLAYSS.

During the opening ceremony, Pablo Alejandro Rodríguez, Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, highlighted the importance of « creating knowledge and applying it to the community. « In turn, the secretary of University Extension, Jordi Pasart, representing the vice-chancellor of the UBA, stressed the need to monitor initiatives. « Going once and getting involved is very nice, and we’ll all have the photo and video for social media, but monitoring is what will generate change and ultimately allow us to do research, » he said.

The latest edition of the JIAS confirmed the sustained growth of this initiative, which was first launched in 2004 as part of a series of conferences at the Universidad de San Andrés, Argentina. Subsequent editions were held in 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2023. The proceedings of the papers are available for free on the CLAYSS website. The e-posters presented are already available, and the research proceedings will be added soon. As usual, they are divided into three sections: theoretical contributions, monitoring and evaluation of institutional programmes, SSL policies and promotion; and case studies and systematization of practices.

During the morning presentations and afternoon concurrent sessions, participants were moved, exchanged experiences and found inspiration for future research. The 40 papers in this edition were selected by international specialists after reading the 60 papers submitted. Following that process, Alejandra Herrero, researcher and former president of CLAYSS, listed some significant approaches. For instance, many papers moved from the mere implementation of institutional models to finding internal mechanisms for the programme’s sustainability, networks between institutional programmes, considerations regarding the incorporation of community knowledge or gender perspectives, the implementation of public policies, local and regional institutional recognition as a requirement for the knowledge and dissemination of these practices, the need for teacher training, diagnostic processes and participatory action, and the organization of priorities based on community demands.

One of the most significant research projects in terms of theoretical contributions is connected to the concept of spirituality and its application in service-learning projects. This was carried out by three members of the Uniservitate academic sounding board: Daniela Gargantini, from the Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Argentina; Arantzasu Martínez Odría, from the Universidad de San Jorge, Spain; and Miquel Martínez, from the Universidad de Barcelona, Spain, together with two theologians from the Universidad Católica de Chile, Cristian Núñez Durán and Mario Insulza. Gargantini explained that in the preliminary conclusions, they consider the spiritual dimension of individuals, distinct from the biological and social ones. It is considered as an intrinsic human capacity closely related to the search for meaning and purpose in life and, as such, can be taught. They also differentiate between three related but not equivalent concepts: spirituality, religiosity, and confessionality.

Additionally, the work presented by two Palestinian professors from Bethlehem University, Layth Awwad and Ruba Ayyad, was noteworthy. As they were unable to obtain permission to travel, they sent a video analyzing the effect on students of various digital initiatives developed since the beginning of the armed conflict in mid-2023. In one of them, called « Art for Emotion Expression, » students coordinated a workshop with children from a refugee camp and their parents, to offer them a safe space to deal with wartime experiences through drawings. Another initiative, entitled « Community Fun Day, » consisted of an event organized by students with marginalized stay-at-home mothers who were able to share their feelings and be heard. In fact, one participant told the students, « You are the first person to ask me about my feelings. » The professors stated that the campaigns showed how digital tools and direct engagement can foster resilience and social cohesion in communities. They added that their teaching legacy is « young leaders who believe that they can help, that they are needed and can make a difference. »

The proposal by Maristela do Nascimento Rocha, from the University of Leuven, Belgium, aroused particular interest. In her presentation, she argued for the need to develop a new framework to analyze service-learning experiences, as the concepts and models currently in use come from dominant countries or cultures. « I would like to create a working model, a framework, that includes perspectives from different cultures, mainly Latin American, African and Asian, which are generally excluded, to ensure that the approach to service-learning is truly comprehensive, » said Maristela, who this year integrated service-learning into a research project on university decolonization and epistemologies of the South that began five years ago.

One piece of data provided by Luisa Mota Ribeiro of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa resonated from the measurements of the effect of service-learning on young people: 70% of students from different academic disciplines, out of a total of about two hundred, said that their life purpose had changed significantly, greatly, or completely after participating in these practices.

Whether theoretical contributions, evaluations, or case studies carried out by senior research experts or secondary school teachers, the work of the JIAS contributes to scientific and human knowledge about solidarity service-learning practices that are intended to improve education and, through it, the whole world. It will be available on the CLAYSS website, alongside the 2023, 2019, 2017, 2015, and 2012 editions.