GELYDA's international conference in South Korea was a great success!. Please check back soon for more information about the event.

Welcome to

The Global Extended Learning and Youth Development Association
(GELYDA)

Scholarship, Evidence Based Practice and Policy of Development, Learning and Well-Being

The Global Extended Learning and Youth Development Association (GELYDA-pronounced GELIDA) is a new international membership organization dedicated to understanding, supporting, and improving expanded opportunities for learning, development, and thriving in schools, afterschool and summer programs, and communities.

Extended learning and development is an essential educational, public health and public safety concern, a fact that should bring it to the fore of policy, practice and research in every locality, country, and global community.

Download the Complete GELYDA Statement

Check out the Second issue of Extensions: STEM Learning below!

Team Spotlight: Dr. Bettina Dahl Søndergaard Visits ISRY

On February 10, 2026, GELYDA Advisory Board member Dr. Bettina Dahl Søndergaard was hosted by Association Chair Dr. Gil Noam for a presentation titled “Project- and Problem-Based Learning at Aalborg University – with Examples from Virtual Reality on How to Make STEM Concrete.” The event was held at the Institute for the Study of Resilience in Youth (ISRY), at Harvard University and McLean Hospital, a teaching unit of Harvard Medical School.

The convening brought together international perspectives on innovative STEM education, highlighting how Aalborg University’s recognized project-based learning (PBL) model can inform and

strengthen out-of-school STEM learning, particularly in mathematics. Dr. Søndergaard serves as Associate Professor of PBL at the Aalborg UNESCO PBL Centre in Engineering Science and Sustainability at Aalborg University (Denmark) and as Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Bergen (Norway), reflecting the strong cross-national collaboration underpinning this exchange.