Queen’s University Belfast is hosting the annual conference for the British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL), the premiere professional organisation of UK scholars in applied linguistics. This flagship conference is coming to Northern Ireland for the first time in BAAL history, giving more than 400 scholars across Ireland, the UK and around the globe opportunities to share world-class research and reconnect with colleagues under the theme Innovation and Social Justice in Applied Linguistics.

For the first time, the BAAL conference is hosting a network meeting with the International Association of Applied Linguistics (Association Internationale de Linguistique Appliquée—AILA) and a workshop for junior researchers, in collaboration with AILA. Other networking opportunities for early career researchers include pre-conference workshops and a Post Graduate Forum.

The local organising committee (LOC) involves a transnational, interdisciplinary team of scholars from the University’s School of SSESW and and School of AEL, led by Sultan Turkan (Bilingual Education, SSESW) with her SSESW team (Mel Engman, Aisling O’Boyle, Yecid Ortega, Caroline Linse, Ibrar Bhatt) and AEL colleagues (Jane Lugea, Daniel McAuley, Merryn Davies-Deacon, and Emma Humphries).

The conference theme of Innovation and Social Justice in Applied Linguistics reflects the moral and ethical commitments of the local organizing committee, and a shared belief that research must be rooted in real-world practices and contexts. A relatively large number of papers were accepted in an intentional move to promote inclusivity and increased engagement with international scholars at all levels of their careers.

The LOC hopes that the success of this conference can elevate the profile of Northern Ireland’s contributions to cutting-edge language research and activism. Belfast is truly a contact zone of language, history, politics and the arts, with tethers that extend well beyond geographic and political borders. Hosting the conference allows Queens’ to showcase Belfast and to lead global disciplinary conversations, while drawing on local roots. LOC chair, Sultan Turkan, commented: “We are delighted that Belfast will hold space for us all to connect with where we are as a field and organization, and to encourage each other to move forward intentionally, innovatively, and productively.”