Convening the International Drama in Education Research Institute (IDIERI) Conference: Past, present and futures

Abstract

Since its inaugural conference in 1995, the International Drama in Education Research Institute (IDIERI) Conference has become one of the prominent research meetings in the field of drama education and applied theatre. Held triennially, the IDIERI Conference has brought together leading academics and practitioners to share practices and deepen their critical engagement with research. Recently, though, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health and international travel, as well as growing concerns around lowering carbon emissions, has thrown the purpose of academic conferences into existential uncertainty. In July 2022, the University of Warwick is set to host the tenth IDIERI Conference as a ‘hybrid’ live in-person and virtual conference with accompanying ‘local’ modes of workshop facilitation. This article offers a timely retrospective informed by reflections from past convenors and related literature. We analyse IDIERI’s role in the research community, focusing on its scope, its shifting boundaries and intersections, its internationalism and diversity, as well as its significance in the future sustainability of our evolving discipline.