15th WCAJ Symposium on Writing Centers in Asia
The Writing Centers Association of Japan (WCAJ), in collaboration with International Christian University, Tokyo, is pleased to announce the Fifteenth Symposium on Writing Centers in Asia to be held in person on March 7th, 2026. The theme this year is “Dialogue and Community: How can we learn from each other?”
WCAJ 15th Symposium Poster.pdf
We are now accepting applications for symposium presenters.
Date and Location
Date: Saturday, March 7 *Start and end times will be posted here as soon as they are determined.
Location: International Christian University, Tokyo
Access: https://www.icu.ac.jp/en/about/access/index.html
Campus Map: https://www.icu.ac.jp/en/about/campus/index.html
Participation
We invite submissions from writing center practitioners, staff, graduate and undergraduate tutors, as well as teachers of academic writing. We also encourage participation from faculty members and university administrators interested in establishing a new writing centre.
Language
English and Japanese
Program
The program is to be posted here as soon as it is completed.
Call for Proposal
We invite proposals on the theme of “Dialogue and Community,” as well as those that explore broader learning opportunities relevant to Writing Centers in Japan and beyond. In addition to writing center practitioners and writing instructors, we encourage graduate and undergraduate student tutors to consider presenting.
Themes:
- How can we build a sense of community at our writing centers?
- How can we improve opportunities for dialogue and exchange among writers, tutors, tutor trainers, faculty, staff, and administrators?
- How can writing centers build connections within the wider university?
- How can we build community, collaborate, and learn from each other across writing centers in Japan and beyond?
Other topics include, but are not limited to:
- Bilingual and multilingual tutoring
- Institutional collaborations and partnerships
- Promotion and outreach
- Discipline-specific writing
- Diversity, inclusion, accessibility
- Tutor development and training
- Measuring writing center effectiveness and impact
- Online/multimodal tutoring
- AI and writing centers
- Teaching of academic writing
The Program Committee invites proposals for oral presentations, workshops, and poster sessions. Proposals may fall into the following categories:
- Research-based: present findings of completed studies or works in progress
- Practice-based: share case studies, strategies, responses to challenges, lessons learned
- Experience-based: reflect on personal experiences to highlight issues and insights
- Workshops: hold an interactive session with clear learning objectives
Presentations can be made in English or Japanese. Sessions will be 30 minutes in length, including up to 10 minutes of Q&A. Sessions may be led by up to 3 presenters. Presenters are welcome to use presentation software, such as PowerPoint; however, they will need to bring their own computers and adapters.
In the spirit of the writing center, if any applicants feel that they would benefit from discussing their ideas prior to submitting an abstract, please feel free to contact us at wcajapan@gmail.com.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit your proposal here: Proposal Submission Form
- Language of proposals and presentations: either English or Japanese
- Proposal Submissions: 200 to 300 words in English, or 500 to 800 characters in Japanese
- Summary to be used for the symposium program: 100 words in English or 250 characters in Japanese
- Please include a title for your paper as well as your name, affiliation (if applicable), and email address
Deadline for Submissions: Friday, January 9, 2026 by 17:00 (Japan Standard Time)
Notification: by Friday, January 16, 2026
Registration for General Audience
The link for the symposium registration form for the general audience will be posted here by the end of December. Attendance is free of charge.
Contact
E-mail: wcajapan*gmail.com (Please change * to @)