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Conference Outline

Sunday, March 22Mon, March 23Tue, March 24Wed, March 25Thu, March 26Fri, March 27

18:00-20:00: Welcome Reception | The Public Red Akasaka
This is a free event open to all registered delegates

Conference Venue: Tokyo International Forum
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

10:00-11:00: Conference Check-in & Coffee | Hall B5 Foyer

11:00-11:30: Welcome Address & Recognition of IAFOR Scholarship Winners | Hall B5 & Online
Joseph Haldane, IAFOR, Japan

11:35-12:00: Keynote Presentation | Hall B5 & Online
Global Education in a Time of Deglobalization
Kiichi Fujiwara, Juntendo University, Japan
12:00-12:15: Q&A

12:20-12:45: Keynote Presentation | Hall B5 & Online
Challenges and Opportunities for the Internationalization of East Asian Higher Education in a Rapidly Changing Environment
Hiroshi Ota, Hitotsubashi University, Japan
12:45-13:00: Q&A

13:00-13:10: Conference Photograph

13:10-14:30: Extended Break

14:30-14:55: Keynote Presentation
Designing Care Futures: Built Environments, Health Systems, and Human–Robot Cohabitation in an Ageing World
Evangelia Chrysikou, University College London, United Kingdom
14:55-15:10: Q&A

15:15-16:15: Panel Presentation | Hall B5 & Online
Longevity, Happiness, and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan and Beyond
Héctor García, Author, Japan
Lowell Sheppard, Never Too Late Academy & IAFOR, Japan (Moderator)

19:00-21:00: Conference Dinner | Shunju Tameikesanno
This is an optional ticketed event

Conference Venue: Toshi Center Hotel
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

09:00-09:30: Conference Check-in | Subaru Room (5F)

09:00-09:30: IAFOR Orientation Session for First-Timers | Orion Hall (5F)
Melina Neophytou, IAFOR, Japan
Briar Pelletier, IAFOR, Japan
This session provides an overview of what to expect at the conference, including guidance on preparing your presentation, publishing opportunities, and ways to engage with IAFOR.

09:45-10:30: Publishing Workshop | Orion Hall (5F)
Navigating Academic Publishing
William Frick, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Associate Editor of the IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

10:30-11:00: Networking Coffee Break

11:00-12:00: The Forum | Orion Hall (5F)
Melina Neophytou, IAFOR, Japan (Moderator)
The Forum is a moderated plenary session designed as a platform for international, intercultural, interdisciplinary – and inclusive – discussions, joining experts and practitioners alike in an open dialogue format.

12:00-13:30: Extended Break

12:05-12:30: Cultural Performance | Orion Hall (5F)
Karate Performance
This is a free event open to all registered delegates

13:30-14:30: Conference Poster Session 1 | Orion Hall (5F)
Aging & Gerontology

14:30-14:45: Break

14:45-15:45: Conference Poster Session 2 | Orion Hall (5F)
Education & International Development, Psychology in Education

14:45-15:30: Panel Presentation | Room 701 (7F)
Understanding Cognitive Impairment: Placing Dementia Within a Realistic Framework
Seoyoun Kim, NACDA & University of Michigan, United States
James W. McNally, University of Michigan, United States (Moderator)

15:30-16:00: Networking Coffee Break

16:00-17:00: Conference Poster Session 3 | Orion Hall (5F)
Psychological and the Behavioral Sciences

16:00-16:45: NACDA Workshop | Room 701 (7F)
Aging Data in the Digital Era: Leveraging NACDA Resources for Gerontological Research, Training, and Education
Seoyoun Kim, NACDA & University of Michigan, United States
Kathryn Lavender, NACDA & University of Michigan, United States

Conference Venue: Toshi Center Hotel
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

09:00-09:30: Conference Check-in & Coffee | Foyer (6F)

09:30-11:10: Onsite Parallel Session 1
Room 603 (6F): ACEID | Innovative Technologies in Education
Room 604 (6F): ACEID | Education, Sustainability and Society
Room 605 (6F): ACEID | Teaching Experiences, Pedagogy, Practice and Praxis
Room 607 (6F): ACEID | Educational Policy, Leadership, Management and Administration
Room 608 (6F): ACP | Neuroscience and Psychotherapy
Room 701 (7F): ACP | Adult Psychology
Room 703 (7F): ACP | Psychology and Education
Room 704 (7F): ACP | Industrial Organisation and Organisation Theory
Room 705 (7F): ACP | Mental Health
Room 706 (7F): AGen | Aging and Gerontology
Room 707 (7F): AGen | Frailty and Lifespan Health Promotion
Room 708 (7F): AGen | Resilience and Public Policy

11:10-11:25: Break

11:25-12:40: Onsite Parallel Session 2
Room 603 (6F): ACEID | Innovative Technologies in Education
Room 604 (6F): ACEID | Education, Sustainability and Society
Room 605 (6F): ACEID | Teaching Experiences, Pedagogy, Practice and Praxis
Room 607 (6F): ACEID | Interdisciplinary, Multidisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Education
Room 608 (6F): ACP | Neuroscience (Workshop)
Room 701 (7F): ACP | Adolescent Psychology
Room 703 (7F): ACP | Psychology and Education (Workshop)
Room 704 (7F): ACP | General Psychology
Room 705 (7F): ACP | Guidance and Counselling
Room 706 (7F): AGen | Aging and Gerontology
Room 707 (7F): AGen | Resilience and Lifespan Health Promotion
Room 708 (7F): AGen | Resilience

12:40-12:55: Break

12:55-14:35: Onsite Parallel Session 3
Room 603 (6F): ACEID | Innovative Technologies in Education
Room 604 (6F): ACEID | Assessment Theories and Methodologies
Room 605 (6F): ACEID | Foreign Languages Education and Applied Linguistics
Room 607 (6F): ACEID | Educational Policy, Leadership, Management and Administration
Room 608 (6F): ACP | AI, Technology and Psychology
Room 701 (7F): ACP | Adolescent Psychology
Room 703 (7F): ACP | Psychology and Education
Room 704 (7F): ACP | Industrial Organisation and Organisation Theory
Room 705 (7F): ACP | Mental Health
Room 706 (7F): AGen | Aging and Gerontology (Workshops)
Room 707 (7F): AGen | Lifespan Health Promotion
Room 708 (7F): AGen | Public Policy

14:35-14:50: Coffee Break

14:50-16:30: Onsite Parallel Session 4
Room 603 (6F): ACEID | Innovation and Technology
Room 604 (6F): ACEID | Education and Difference
Room 605 (6F): ACEID | Teaching Experiences, Pedagogy, Practice and Praxis
Room 607 (6F): ACEID | Educational Policy, Leadership, Management and Administration
Room 608 (6F): ACP | AI, Technology and Psychology
Room 701 (7F): ACP | Adolescent Psychology
Room 703 (7F): ACP | Psychology and Education
Room 704 (7F): ACP | Industrial Organisation and Organisation Theory
Room 705 (7F): ACP | Mental Health
Room 706 (7F): AGen | Aging and Gerontology

16:30-16:45: Break

16:45-18:25: Onsite Parallel Session 5
Room 603 (6F): ACEID | Innovation and Technology
Room 605 (6F): ACEID | Teaching Experiences, Pedagogy, Practice and Praxis
Room 607 (6F): ACEID | Educational Research, Development and Publishing
Room 701 (7F): ACP | Parenting and Psychology
Room 703 (7F): ACP | Culture and Psychology
Room 706 (7F): AGen | Aging and Gerontology

Conference Venue: Toshi Center Hotel
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

08:30-09:00: Conference Check-in & Coffee | Foyer (6F)

09:00-10:40: Onsite Parallel Session 1
Room 603 (6F): ACEID | Education, Sustainability and Society
Room 604 (6F): ACEID | Learning Experiences, Student Learning and Learner Diversity
Room 605 (6F): ACEID | Innovation and Technology
Room 607 (6F): ACEID | Foreign Languages Education and Applied Linguistics
Room 608 (6F): ACEID | Professional Training, Development and Concerns in Education
Room 701 (7F): ACEID | International Education (Panel)
Room 703 (7F): ACP | Linguistics, Language and Psychology/Behavioral Science
Room 704 (7F): ACP | Culture and Psychology
Room 706 (7F): AGen | Aging and Gerontology
Room 707 (7F): AGen | Aging and Gerontology
Room 708 (7F): AGen | Built Environment and Frailty

10:40-10:55: Break

10:55-12:10: Onsite Parallel Session 2
Room 603 (6F): ACEID | Education, Sustainability and Society
Room 604 (6F): ACEID | Learning Experiences, Student Learning and Learner Diversity
Room 605 (6F): ACEID | Innovation and Technology
Room 607 (6F): ACEID | Foreign Languages Education and Applied Linguistics
Room 608 (6F): ACEID | Lifelong and Distance Learning
Room 701 (7F): ACEID | Teaching Experiences, Pedagogy, Practice and Praxis (Workshop)
Room 703 (7F): ACP | Yoga Psychology
Room 704 (7F): ACP | Psychology and Education (Workshop)
Room 705 (7F): ACP | Qualitative Studies in Psychology
Room 706 (7F): AGen | Aging and Gerontology
Room 707 (7F): AGen | Aging and Gerontology
Room 708 (7F): AGen | Built Environment

12:10-12:25: Break

12:25-14:30: Onsite Parallel Session 3
Room 603 (6F): ACEID | Education, Sustainability and Society
Room 604 (6F): ACEID | Higher Education
Room 605 (6F): ACEID | Innovation and Technology
Room 607 (6F): ACEID | Foreign Languages Education and Applied Linguistics
Room 608 (6F): ACEID | Curriculum Design and Development
Room 701 (7F): ACEID | International Education
Room 703 (7F): ACP | Special Topics in Psychology
Room 704 (7F): ACP | Healthcare Services and Psychology
Room 705 (7F): ACP | Quantitative Studies in Psychology
Room 706 (7F): AGen | Aging and Gerontology
Room 707 (7F): AGen | Aging and Gerontology
Room 708 (7F): AGen | Built Environment

14:30-14:45: Coffee Break

14:45-16:25: Onsite Parallel Session 4
Room 603 (6F): ACEID | Education, Sustainability and Society
Room 604 (6F): ACEID | Higher Education
Room 605 (6F): ACEID | Innovation and Technology
Room 607 (6F): ACEID | Foreign Languages Education and Applied Linguistics
Room 608 (6F): ACEID | Curriculum Design and Development
Room 701 (7F): ACEID | Innovative Technologies in Education
Room 703 (7F): ACP | Gender and Psychology
Room 704 (7F): ACP | Special Needs and Psychology
Room 705 (7F): ACP | Quantitative Studies in Psychology
Room 706 (7F): AGen | Aging and Gerontology
Room 707 (7F): AGen | Ageism
Room 708 (7F): AGen | Built Environment

16:30-16:45: Onsite Closing Session | Room 701 (7F)

Conference Venue: Online via Zoom
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

09:55-10:00: Message from IAFOR

10:00-10:25: Online Keynote Presentation
The Psychology of Democracy and Democratic Backsliding
Fathali M. Moghaddam, Georgetown University, United States
10:25-10:40: Q&A

10:45-11:45: Online Forum
Apipol Sae-Tung, IAFOR, Japan (Online Moderator)
The Forum is a moderated plenary session designed as a platform for international, intercultural, interdisciplinary – and inclusive – discussions, joining experts and practitioners alike in an open dialogue format.

12:15-13:55: Online Parallel Session 1
Live-Stream Room 1: ACP | Special Topics in Psychology
Live-Stream Room 2: AGen | Frailty and Loneliness
Live-Stream Room 3: ACEID | Early Childhood and Basic Education
Live-Stream Room 4: ACEID | Higher Education

13:55-14:05: Break

14:05-15:45: Online Parallel Session 2
Live-Stream Room 1: ACP | Linguistics, Language and Psychology/Behavioral Science
Live-Stream Room 2: AGen | Aging and Gerontology
Live-Stream Room 3: ACEID | Special Topics in Education
Live-Stream Room 4: ACEID | Innovative Technologies in Education

15:45-15:55: Break

15:55-17:35: Online Parallel Session 3
Live-Stream Room 1: ACP | Special Topics in Psychology
Live-Stream Room 2: AGen | Aging and Gerontology
Live-Stream Room 3: ACEID | Special Topics in Education
Live-Stream Room 4: ACEID | Foreign Languages Education and Applied Linguistics

17:35-17:40: Message from IAFOR

*Please be aware that the above schedule may be subject to change.

Conference Programme & Abstract Book

The draft version of the Conference Programme will be available online on February 09, 2026. Corresponding Authors will be notified of this publication by email.
The Conference Programme & Abstract Book will contain session information and a detailed day-to-day presentation schedule. The final schedule, along with details on how to access the online sessions and what to prepare for your presentation, will be available on the Conference Website from March 02, 2026.

*Please be aware that the above schedule may be subject to change.

Accepted Presentations

One of the greatest strengths of IAFOR’s international conferences is their international and intercultural diversity.
As of January 13, 2026, AGen2026 has received over 390 submissions from more than 47 countries and territories - including: India, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea.

View Accepted Presentations

Featured Presentations


  • Designing Care Futures: Built Environments, Health Systems, and Human-Robot Cohabitation in an Ageing World
    Designing Care Futures: Built Environments, Health Systems, and Human-Robot Cohabitation in an Ageing World
    Keynote Presentation: Evangelia Chrysikou
  • Longevity, Happiness, and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan and Beyond
    Longevity, Happiness, and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan and Beyond
    Panel Presentation: Lowell Sheppard
  • Understanding Cognitive Impairment: Placing Dementia Within a Realistic Framework
    Understanding Cognitive Impairment: Placing Dementia Within a Realistic Framework
    Panel Presentation: James W. McNally
  • Aging Data in the Digital Era: Leveraging NACDA Resources for Gerontological Research, Training, and Education
    Aging Data in the Digital Era: Leveraging NACDA Resources for Gerontological Research, Training, and Education
    Featured Workshop: Seoyoun Kim, Kathryn Lavender
  • Navigating Academic Publishing
    Navigating Academic Publishing
    Featured Workshop: William C. Frick
  • The Psychology of Democracy and Democratic Backsliding
    The Psychology of Democracy and Democratic Backsliding
    Keynote Presentation: Fathali M. Moghaddam

Featured Speakers


  • Evangelia Chrysikou
    Evangelia Chrysikou
    University College London, United Kingdom
  • William C. Frick
    William C. Frick
    University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
  • Kiichi Fujiwara
    Kiichi Fujiwara
    Juntendo University, Japan
  • Héctor García
    Héctor García
    Author, Japan
  • Seoyoun Kim
    Seoyoun Kim
    University of Michigan & NACDA Program on Aging, United States
  • Kathryn M. Lavender
    Kathryn M. Lavender
    National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), United States
  • James W. McNally
    James W. McNally
    University of Michigan & NACDA Program on Aging, United States
  • Fathali M. Moghaddam
    Fathali M. Moghaddam
    Georgetown University, United States
  • Lowell Sheppard
    Lowell Sheppard
    Never Too Late Academy & IAFOR, Japan

Virtual Presentations

Watch Virtual Presentations

Important Information Emails

All registered attendees will receive an Important Information email and updates in the run-up to the conference. Please check your email inbox for something from "iafor.org". If you can not find these emails in your normal inbox, it is worth checking in your spam or junk mail folders as many programs filter out emails this way. If these did end up in one of these folders, please add the address to your acceptable senders' folder by whatever method your email program can do this.

Previous Programming

View details of programming for past AGen conferences via the links below.

AGen2025 AGen2024 AGen2023
AGen2022 AGen2021 AGen2020
AGen2019 AGen2018 AGen2017
AGen2016 AGen2015
Designing Care Futures: Built Environments, Health Systems, and Human-Robot Cohabitation in an Ageing World
Keynote Presentation: Evangelia Chrysikou

Population ageing represents not only a demographic or technological challenge, but fundamentally a design challenge. The built environment is not a passive backdrop to care; it actively shapes health, autonomy, behaviour, and social relations across the life course. Yet responses to ageing and vulnerability have often prioritised medical or technological solutions, while the spatial conditions of everyday life remain insufficiently addressed. This keynote integrates three interconnected domains: age-inclusive built environments, healthcare planning, and the emerging concept of human–robot cohabitation. Across hospitals, community facilities, and domestic settings, spatial design and health planning influence whether care environments promote dignity, resilience, and wellbeing, or reinforce dependency and exclusion. Effective planning therefore requires alignment between physical space, service models, and population needs.

Cohabitation is a particularly critical lens in the context of care robotics. Robots are not neutral machines: as they enter environments of vulnerability, they develop forms of agency, shape routines, influence human behaviour, and gradually reconfigure social norms. Coexistence becomes reciprocal: humans adapt to robots as much as robots adapt to humans. This process has direct implications for housing design, spatial organisation, ethics, and governance. By foregrounding cohabitation, this keynote advances an integrated, design-led agenda that positions architecture, health systems, and intelligent technologies as inseparable components of equitable and humane ageing futures.

Read presenter's biography
Longevity, Happiness, and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan and Beyond
Panel Presentation: Lowell Sheppard

As Asia and the wider world confront rapidly aging populations, a pressing interdisciplinary question emerges: What makes life not only long, but happy, connected, and meaningful in its later stages? This group of distinguished panellists will share their perspectives on how community environments shape emotional well-being, psychological resilience, and functional independence well into advanced age. Drawing on research centred in Japan’s super-aging society, the panel explores how community-driven structures such as moai (模合) groups, neighbourhood support networks, exercise rituals, festivals, and intergenerational spaces directly contribute to late-life happiness. And how education, in the form of continued learning, teaching, mentoring, and curiosity, can help sustain life-long purpose and emotional and mental vitality.

The discussion will highlight the interplay between psychology, behaviour, purpose, and social connection. The panellists will show how these factors collectively influence a healthy lifespan by integrating perspectives from gerontology, psychology, behavioural science, education, and development studies. The session will offer insights into why older adults thrive in environments where belonging is strong, relationships are deep, and lifelong learning is encouraged, and how purpose and social identity protect against loneliness and cognitive decline. The panel will specifically discuss how lessons from Japan can inform policy, community design, education, and behavioural interventions across cultures, where long life is lived richly.

Read presenters' biographies
Understanding Cognitive Impairment: Placing Dementia Within a Realistic Framework
Panel Presentation: James W. McNally

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) updated the definition of dementia in May 2013, during the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in San Francisco. Major neurocognitive disorder’ (MND) replaced the term ‘dementia’ in order to reduce stigma and to focus on the decline from a previous level of functioning rather than the deficit. The DSM-5 also allowed for the inclusion of dementias where other cognitive domains were affected first, such as in vascular or frontotemporal dementia. Unfortunately, the redefinition of dementia to MND allowed a broad reinterpretation of risks associated with ‘dementia’ to emerge in the research literature, often incorporating chronic health conditions or sensory disabilities as predictors of future dementia. Based upon these loose interpretations, recent estimates suggest that 40 percent or more of the current world's population will have dementia in the coming decades. This panel will place definitions of MND within the framework of a progressive neurological disease and ways we can intelligently address the needs of individuals facing cognitive impairment.

Read presenters' biographies
Aging Data in the Digital Era: Leveraging NACDA Resources for Gerontological Research, Training, and Education
Featured Workshop: Seoyoun Kim, Kathryn Lavender

The establishment and maintenance of sustainable, accessible data archives are critical to advancing gerontological research across national and international contexts. Robust data archives, such as the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), empower researchers, educators, and students to maximise the return on costly data collection by enabling secondary analysis, replication studies, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Internally managed archival systems further promote equitable data distribution and research autonomy.

This workshop explores NACDA, the world’s largest publically accessible collection of ageing-related studies with over 1,600 longitudinal and cross-sectional datasets, demonstrating hands-on strategies for discovering, accessing, and implementing curated data in research and teaching. Whether you are developing a thesis, designing a curriculum, or conducting advanced inquiries, publicly available ageing datasets can catalyse innovation.

In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionising data analysis and discovery. The integration of AI-driven tools alongside traditional archival practices enables researchers to identify novel patterns, automate complex analyses, and foster new avenues for collaboration across borders. The workshop will briefly discuss these technological possibilities and provide guidance on how the latest digital tools can enhance gerontological inquiry.

All conference attendees are welcome to join, engage with NACDA instructors, and learn how to harness the power of ageing data—now amplified by state-of-the-art technologies—for research, education, and global partnership.

Read presenters' biographies
Navigating Academic Publishing
Featured Workshop: William C. Frick

Publishing in peer-reviewed outlets is a central expectation of academic life. Yet many scholars, particularly early-career researchers and those working in resource-constrained or interdisciplinary contexts, receive limited formal training in how academic publishing actually works. This Continuous Professional Development (CPD) workshop is designed as a capacity-building session for conference participants seeking to strengthen their scholarly publishing practices across a range of formats, including peer-reviewed registers (journals), edited book chapters, monographs, and applied outputs such as consultation and advocacy reports.

The workshop offers a practical, demystifying overview of the academic publishing landscape, with attention to selecting appropriate outlets, aligning manuscripts with journal or publisher scopes, and understanding peer-review and editorial decision-making processes. Participants will be guided through common reasons for manuscript rejection, including issues of fit, originality, methodological rigor, theoretical and/or applied contribution, and clarity of argument. They will learn how these decisions are typically communicated by editors and reviewers. Particular emphasis will be placed on professional etiquette in responding to reviewers’ and editors’ comments, including strategies for revision, resubmission, and constructive engagement with critical feedback.

In addition, the workshop addresses broader considerations that shape successful publishing trajectories, such as ethical authorship practices, collaboration and mentoring, managing rejection and revision cycles, navigating impact and visibility, and balancing scholarly rigour with accessibility. The workshop will draw on real-world examples and reflective discussion, equipping participants with actionable knowledge, realistic expectations, and confidence to engage productively with academic publishing as an ongoing professional practice rather than a one-time achievement.

Read presenter's biography
The Psychology of Democracy and Democratic Backsliding
Keynote Presentation: Fathali M. Moghaddam

This presentation will discuss the psychology of democracy and democratic backsliding in two main parts: Part one will discuss the psychological foundations of democracy and dictatorship, while part two will explore pro-democracy solutions to the democratic backsliding we are currently experiencing in the 21st century. Democracy is not inevitable; in some respects, our psychological socialisation over thousands of years has been more in the context of dictatorships than democracies. In addition, the behavioural changes we need to make to achieve ‘actualised’ (fully developed) democracy are hindered by low political plasticity in certain domains, such as (1) leader-follower relations and authoritarian styles of leadership, and (2) certain aspects of group dynamics, such as collective reactions to perceived threats. The illustrative examples of our reactions to rapid large-scale migration and ‘sudden’ intergroup contact will be discussed. The conclusion of part one is that the psychological foundations of democracy are fragile and slow to develop. In part two, two proposals will be put forward regarding the role of psychological science in strengthening democracy, the first of which concerns nurturing the psychological characteristics of the democratic citizen, presenting ten psychological characteristics. The second proposal concerns developing omniculturalism, the active celebration of human commonalities, based on scientifically established evidence. It is argued that omniculturalism is especially compatible with actualised democracy.

Read presenter's biography
Evangelia Chrysikou
University College London, United Kingdom

Biography

Dr Evangelia Chrysikou, RIBA is Associate Professor within the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction at University College London, United Kingdom, and Founder/Programme Director of the university’s MSc Healthcare Facilities. A multi-awarded RIBA architect and healthcare planner, Dr Chrysikou has published widely and won several prestigious grants and fellowships from international organisations, including Horizon 2020, UKRI, Wellcome, British Academy, Royal Society of New Zealand, and the Sasakawa Foundation. Her research interests lie at the spectrum of inclusion in relation to design, spanning across the disciplines of built environment, health, digital technologies and the social sciences. Dr Chrysikou is a member of the National Accessibility Authority, Hellenic Republic by invitation from the Greek Prime Minister, and a member of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Life Sciences and Healthcare Council Leadership Committee. She was the coordinator of the Environment Section of the EIPonAHA, EU, and has worked as a consultant for international government bodies such as the Japanese MOFA, Peru Reconstruction Mechanism, and the British Government for projects related to healthcare planning and architecture. She was elected Vice-President of the Urban Public Health section of EUPHA in 2018.

Keynote Presentation (2026) | Designing Care Futures: Built Environments, Health Systems, and Human–Robot Cohabitation in an Ageing World
William C. Frick
University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Biography

Dr William C. Frick is currently a Professor in the College of Public Policy at the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and a faculty developer with the Institute of Leadership in Higher Education. Previously, he was the Rainbolt Family Endowed Presidential Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education at the University of Oklahoma, United States. He is the founding director of the Center for Leadership Ethics and Change, an affiliate body of the international Consortium for the Study of Leadership and Ethics in Education (CSLEE) of the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA). Professor Frick has assumed editorial roles and been appointed to editorial boards in a number of prominent registers including, and most recently, Leadership and Policy in Schools, the Journal of Educational Administration, and the Journal of School Leadership. Prior to his higher education academic roles, Professor Frick was a practitioner in common education public schools including building and district-level administration. He has been awarded Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar and Fulbright Public Policy Fellow assignments. A doctoral graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, United States, his research interests include the philosophy of administrative leadership, school system reform within urban municipality revitalisation efforts, and broader cultural studies exploring the intersection of identity and schooling. A coauthored book with Jacqueline A. Stefkovich titled Best Interests of the Student: Applying Ethical Constructs to Legal Cases in Education (2006) is now in its third edition with Routledge. He has served in multiple officer and representative roles for national professional associations such as AERA, UCEA, and the CSLEE as well as local schools and school systems.

Featured Workshop (2026) | Navigating Academic Publishing
Kiichi Fujiwara
Juntendo University, Japan

Biography

Kiichi Fujiwara is a Professor in the Graduate School of International Liberal Arts at Juntendo University and Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo, Japan. He taught International Politics at the Graduate Schools of Law and Politics and the Graduate School of Public Policy until 2022. Professor Fujiwara founded the Institute for Future Initiatives at the University of Tokyo, a university think-tank that engages in multidisciplinary approaches to global challenges. His publications include Remembering the War (2001), A Democratic Empire (2002), Is There Really a Just War? (2003), Peace for Realists (winner of the Ishibashi Tanzan award, 2005), International Politics (2007), Conditions of War (2013), A Destabilizing World (2020), and Predatory Imperialism (forthcoming). Professor Fujiwara is a commentator on international affairs and writes a monthly column for Asahi Shinbun. He is also a film buff, and serves as a film reviewer for the NHK.

Keynote Presentation (2026) | TBA
Héctor García
Author, Japan

Biography

Héctor García was born in Spain and worked at CERN in Switzerland before moving to Japan, where he has lived for over 21 years. During his fifteen years in Tokyo’s IT industry, he wrote the international bestseller Xcentric Culture: A Geek in Japan (2008) and later The Magic of Japan: Secret Places and Life-Changing Experiences (2020). He is also the co-author of the global hit Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life (2016), which has been translated into 70 languages. Notably, Ikigai holds the distinction of being the most translated book ever originally written in Spanish. To date, he has published ten books on Japanese culture.

Panel Presentation (2026) | Longevity, Happiness, and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan and Beyond
Seoyoun Kim
University of Michigan & NACDA Program on Aging, United States

Biography

Dr Seoyoun Kim is affiliated with ICPSR and the Population Studies Center at the Institute for Social Research within the University of Michigan, United States She is also the director of the NACDA Program on Aging. She holds a dual-title PhD in Sociology and Gerontology from Purdue University, United States. Her research lies at the intersection of social gerontology, epidemiology, multi-omics, and cardiovascular health. Dr Kim explores how social and environmental factors shape health outcomes, particularly in ageing populations. She examines the impact of paid and unpaid productive engagement on the well-being of older adults, shedding light on the social determinants of health in later life. Her research also integrates multi-omics approaches to unravel the complex interactions between genetic, epigenetic, and environmental influences on health and ageing.

Panel Presentation (2026) | Understanding Cognitive Impairment: Placing Dementia Within a Realistic Framework
Kathryn M. Lavender
National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), United States

Biography

Kathryn Lavender is the Data Project Manager for the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), the aging archive at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the Institute for Social Research, the University of Michigan, United States. NACDA is funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Ms Lavender helps to guide data producers on data management and data sharing in the realm of data on aging populations/gerontology; promotes secondary research resources for public use; and contributes to spreading knowledge about quality metadata and data discovery through NACDA, as well as through the DDI Alliance. Ms Lavender has been an ICPSR staff member for more than 15 years and has been managing NACDA for nearly half of that time.

Featured Workshop Presentation (2025) | Aging Data in the Digital Era: Leveraging NACDA Resources for Gerontological Research, Training, and Education

Previous Presentations

Featured Workshop Presentation (2025) | Aging Data: NACDA Resources for Gerontological Research, Training and Education
Workshop Presentation (2023) | Aging Data: The National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging
Workshop Presentation (2022) | NACDA: Data on Aging Resources from Research Ideation to Long-Term Preservation and Sharing
Workshop Presentation (2021) | Creating Our New Normal: Responding, Adapting and Thriving in a Post-COVID 19 World
Workshop Presentation (2021) | Aging Data: NACDA & an Open-source Repository
Keynote Workshop Presentation (2020) | Aging Data: NACDA & an Open-source Repository
Featured Workshop Presentation (2019) | Locating Data for Research: Data Collections and Resources for Thesis Writing, Teaching, and Grant Development for the Social Sciences and the Environment
Featured Workshop Presentation (2018) | Locating Data for Research
James W. McNally
University of Michigan & NACDA Program on Aging, United States

Biography

Dr James W. McNally is the Director of the NACDA Program on Aging, a data archive containing over 1,500 studies related to health and the aging life course. He currently does methodological research on the improvement and enhancement of secondary research data and has been cited as an expert authority on data imputation. Dr McNally has directed the NACDA Program on Aging since 1998 and has seen the archive significantly increase its holdings with a growing collection of seminal studies on the aging life course, health, retirement and international aspects of aging. He has spent much of his career addressing methodological issues with a specific focus on specialised application of incomplete or deficient data and the enhancement of secondary data for research applications. Dr McNally has also worked extensively on issues related to international aging and changing perspectives on the role of family support in the later stages of the aging life course.

Panel Presentation (2026) | Understanding Cognitive Impairment: Placing Dementia Within a Realistic Framework

Previous Presentations

Workshop Presentation (2023) | Aging Data: The National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging
Workshop Presentation (2022) | NACDA: Data on Aging Resources from Research Ideation to Long-Term Preservation and Sharing
Panel Presentation (2022) | Helping Hands: Robotic Assistance in Supporting and Maintaining Social Interactions with Elders
Panel Presentation (2022) | Missing You: Resilience, Renewal and Rebuilding Intergenerational Contact Within Families
Workshop Presentation (2021) | Creating Our New Normal: Responding, Adapting and Thriving in a Post-COVID 19 World
Workshop Presentation (2021) | Aging Data: NACDA & an Open-source Repository
Keynote Workshop Presentation (2020) | Aging Data: NACDA & an Open-source Repository
Featured Presentation (2019) | Defining and Measuring Resilience in an Aging World
Featured Workshop Presentation (2019) | Locating Data for Research: Data Collections and Resources for Thesis Writing, Teaching, and Grant Development for the Social Sciences and the Environment
Featured Panel Presentation (2018) | Health Across the Lifecourse
Featured Workshop Presentation (2018) | Locating Data for Research
Featured Presentation (2017) | Methodologies for the Collection of Comparative Community Level Public Health Data: Obtaining Powerful and Statistically Meaningful Findings for Small Populations
Featured Panel Presentation (2017) | Easts Meets West – Healthy, Active and Beautiful Aging in Asia
Fathali M. Moghaddam
Georgetown University, United States

Biography

Dr Fathali M. Moghaddam is an award-winning professor of psychology at Georgetown University, United States. He previously worked for the United Nations and McGill University, Canada. Dr Moghaddam has published extensively on intergroup relations, the psychology of democracy and dictatorship, and subjective justice. His most recent books include Political Plasticity: The Future of Democracy and Dictatorship (2023), The Psychology of Assimilation, Multiculturalism, and Omniculturalism (2024), The Psychology of Revolution (2024), and The New Immigration Challenge: A Psychological Exploration Toward Solutions (with M. Hendricks & R. Salas Schweikart, 2026). Professor Moghaddam currently holds an h-index of 67.

Keynote Presentation (2026) | The Psychology of Democracy and Democratic Backsliding
Lowell Sheppard
Never Too Late Academy & IAFOR, Japan

Biography

Mr Lowell Sheppard is an author, speaker, social entrepreneur, and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society with a lifelong commitment to social impact, ethical leadership, and exploration. He has worked extensively with established NGOs and start-ups, most notably as the Founder of HOPE International Development Agency Japan. Under his leadership, HOPE-JP has grown to rank among the top 2% of charitable organizations in Japan, achieving the prestigious nintei tax-deductible certification. Mr Sheppard has been a longtime supporter and past speaker at IAFOR Conferences. He currently serves as the organisation’s Director of Development, seeking to expand the Global Fellowship Programme and scholarship opportunities. Mr Sheppard’s passion for social and environmental improvement projects has driven his career. For over two decades, Lowell has served as an informal advisor to companies and boards around the globe.

In pursuit of adventure and deeper insights into ageing and longevity, Mr Sheppard moved onto a sailboat five years ago and has been sailing full-time around Japan, embracing the life of a digital nomad and explorer. After spending fifteen months moored and deeply immersed in the Blue Zone culture of Okinawa, Mr Sheppard set out in 2025 to revisit a journey that had first shaped his life twenty-five years earlier: chasing Japan’s cherry blossoms from south to north. What began as a seasonal passage became a year-long quest, repeatedly visiting and revisiting Japan’s key longevity hotspots—rural prefectures, islands, and communities where people continue to live long, healthy, independent lives. Between these journeys, he regularly returned to his own ‘longevity laboratory’” a remote island village where he lives and observes daily community life at close quarters, blending slow travel, field research, and lived experience.

As an author, his book Never Too Late (Lion Hudson PLC, 2005), published in four languages, became the inspiration for his latest social enterprise, the Never Too Late Academy. His most recent book, Dare to Dream, was shortlisted for the UK Business Book of the Year Award in 2023.

Panel Presentation (2026) | Longevity, Happiness, and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan and Beyond

Previous Presentations

Panel Presentation (2022) | Missing You: Resilience, Renewal and Rebuilding Intergenerational Contact Within Families
Keynote Presentation (2018) | Surviving and Thriving: In Pursuit of a Sustainable World – A Unique and Personal Reflection