Literacy Research Association Convenes Global Scholars in Honolulu to Shape the Future of Education

Annual conference will explore how AI, multilingualism, Indigenous knowledge, Hip Hop, migration, trauma and emerging technologies are reshaping what literacy means.

TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Literacy Research Association prepares to gather in Honolulu, we extend our care to communities across Hawaiʻi affected by the recent storms. We also mourn the passing of LRA Past President P. David Pearson and honor his extraordinary legacy of scholarship, mentorship, and leadership in literacy research.

This December, more than 1,000 literacy scholars, educators, and advocates will convene, as they have for over seven decades, for the 76th Annual Conference of the Literacy Research Association. A singular question will serve as the primary focus for this assembly: How does literacy create new possibilities when it travels across people, communities, languages, technologies, cultures, and histories?

Registration is now open for researchers, educators, community leaders, and literacy advocates who want to help shape how literacy research responds to AI, migration, multilingualism, cultural change, and emerging forms of learning. 

Join literacy experts from around the world from December 2–5, 2026 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, 2005 Kālia Road, Honolulu, HI 96815. 

Hotel accommodations are available through the LRA conference room block. Detailed session schedules and program information are available through the LRA 2026 online conference program via All Academic. Connect with LRA on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, and Facebook and get quick, real-time updates from the conference.

Explore a Transformative Theme: Redefine the Future of Literacy Research

The LRA 2026 theme is "Manifesting Quantum Imaginaries: Re-searching Literacies as a Transcontextual Enterprise." The theme uses quantum imaginaries as a metaphor for exploring how literacy moves, connects, and changes across contexts—not as a claim that quantum science itself is a theory of literacy.

The conference program features Reading Hall of Fame inaugural addresses, and includes keynote speeches, presidential sessions, and workshops for practitioners. These events span contexts such as primary and secondary education (encompassing kindergarten through high school), post-secondary instruction (college-level studies and beyond), informal community learning, emerging technologies, and the swiftly evolving domain of artificial intelligence. 

"Literacies are never confined to a single place," said Patriann Smith, LRA 2026 President-Elect and Conference Chair. "They travel across communities, languages, technologies, and generations. This conference asks what new possibilities emerge when we view literacy through that lens." 

Attend a Featured Keynote: Trauma, Language, Literacy and the Global South

A major conference highlight will be the featured keynote address by Suresh Canagarajah. Canagarajah is the Evan Pugh University Professor at Penn State University and internationally renowned scholar of language, literacy, multilingualism, and translingual practice. 

His keynote, "Disturbances that Entangle Anomalous Texts: Trauma Literacy in the Global South," will examine how language and literacy shape the ways individuals and communities understand, negotiate, and transform experiences of trauma. Through the conference's theme, he will explore how literacy can enable healing, resilience, and social transformation across diverse global contexts. He will connect questions of language, identity, colonialism, conflict, and community to the ongoing pursuit of more just and humane futures. 

The LRA 2026 program will also feature a keynote speech by esteemed professor at Teachers College - Columbia University, Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz. 

View a Film: Hip Hop, Literacy and the "Hour of Chaos"

A special conference session, Presidential Session 8, will bring Hip Hop artists, scholars, and activists together for a screening and discussion of a new film. The film, "In the Hour of Chaos: Hip Hop Art & Activism with Public Enemy's Chuck D," features Public Enemy's Chuck D and a corresponding 2026 book.

H. Samy Alim, Samuel Lamontagne, and Tabia Shawel directed the film, which reflects artists, activists, and scholars sharing their thoughts on 50 years of Hip Hop culture. They discuss its ongoing importance in society, culture, and politics. 

The session in Honolulu will gather directors Alim, Lamontagne, Shawel, along with Joan Morgan, Jeff Chang, Casey Philip Wong, and Emile YX? from Black Noise. They will have a film screening, discuss the book, and join a panel. They will talk about Black radical movements, Hip Hop feminisms, how culture spreads worldwide, technology, education, and the future of Hip Hop and literacy studies.

Examine Presidential Sessions: Research, Practice, and Community 

The LRA 2026 Presidential Sessions will feature leading scholars, educators, artists, and community leaders, addressing some of the most consequential questions facing literacy education today. Across four major areas of inquiry, the LRA 2026 Presidential Sessions will examine how literacy research is responding to a rapidly changing social and technological landscape: 

• Transnationalism, immigration, race, and belonging through discussions of transnational, immigration, and Black literacies.
• Community, relationality, and Indigenous knowledge systems, with a focus on multilingual solidarities, Hawaiian literacies, and intergenerational connections.
• Technology, Hip Hop, and educational innovation, examining digital literacies, cultural activism, and adolescent achievement.
• Critical literacy, artificial intelligence, and identity, addressing responsible AI, research-policy-practice partnerships, and community-based approaches to literacy and learning.

"The future of literacy research and of education cannot be shaped by any one discipline, institution, or perspective," Smith said. "It takes researchers, educators, artists, community leaders, and learners coming together to ask different questions and connect ideas across contexts. LRA 2026 is an invitation to do exactly that—and to leave Honolulu with new questions, new partnerships, and new possibilities for flourishing and for the field."

About the Literacy Research Association

The Literacy Research Association (LRA) is a community of scholars, educators, and literacy professionals dedicated to advancing research and disseminating knowledge about literacy, language, communication, and learning. For more than seven decades, LRA has supported research and dialogue that informs literacy scholarship, education, policy, and practice.

Patriann Smith
Email: psmith@literacyresearchassociation.org
Website: https://literacyresearchassociation.org/
Literacy Research Association

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Literacy Research Association Convenes Global Scholars in Honolulu to Shape the Future of Education

Literacy Research Association Convenes Global Scholars in Honolulu to Shape the Future of Education

Literacy Research Association Convenes Global Scholars in Honolulu to Shape the Future of Education

Literacy Research Association Convenes Global Scholars in Honolulu to Shape the Future of Education

Literacy Research Association Convenes Global Scholars in Honolulu to Shape the Future of Education

SÃO PAULO, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hongzhou Smart, a Chinese OEM/ODM kiosk manufacturer and self-service terminal solution provider, showcased its financial self-service kiosk portfolio at FEBRABAN TECH 2026, held August 24–26 at Distrito Anhembi in São Paulo. At Booth B101, the company presented integrated solutions for evolving financial-service needs while engaging with financial institutions, technology partners, operators and potential customers from across the Americas.

Digital Finance Drives Demand for Smarter Self-Service Solutions

Digital transformation is reshaping how financial institutions deliver services, with digital banking, payments, identity and other technologies creating demand for more flexible and connected service models. FEBRABAN TECH 2026, organized by the Brazilian Federation of Banks, brought together leaders from finance, technology and other innovation-driven sectors under the theme "Intelligent Agents, Human Leadership", reflecting the sector's focus on technology, innovation and the changing financial-services landscape.

Against this backdrop, Hongzhou Smart participated with financial self-service solutions designed to connect physical service points with digital workflows. Its portfolio covers currency exchange machines, ATMs, bank account opening kiosks, Mobile Money ATMs and other self-service terminals. The company's participation highlighted how customized kiosk technology can support financial institutions and operators as they adapt services to different markets and operating requirements.

Customized Hardware and Software Integration for Evolving Financial Services

At FEBRABAN TECH 2026, Hongzhou Smart demonstrated its financial-grade self-service terminals with an emphasis on integrated hardware and software customization. Its currency exchange machine solutions can support real-time exchange-rate connections and more than 15 currencies, while hardware, software functions and workflows can be adapted to project requirements.

The displayed terminals drew significant interest from financial institutions, technical experts, system integrators, and potential partners on site, which underscored a shifting focus—moving beyond standardized hardware toward software, business processes, and comprehensive system capabilities in custom self-service kiosk solutions.

As financial services undergo digitalization, self-service terminals have evolved from standalone devices into digital touchpoints within the financial service workflow. Given the variations in financial operations across different countries, the ability to customize both the hardware and software of financial self-service solutions is crucial. And Hongzhou Smart is prepared to meet this evolving demands.

In early August, prior to the exhibition, a delegation of approximately 20 representatives from a major Mexican bank visited Hongzhou Smart. They evaluated the company's financial self-service terminals and manufacturing capabilities, focusing particularly on currency exchange technology and the integration of hardware and software. Following the visit, the two parties continued their in-depth discussions.

To date, Hongzhou Smart has deployed over 300 currency exchange kiosks in major airports and shopping centers across more than ten countries—including the United States, Hungary, Austria, France, Italy, Malaysia, Australia, etc.—serving millions of international travelers and local consumers annually.

FEBRABAN TECH Opens New Connections Across the Americas

The exhibition also extended into broader customer engagement across the Americas. Conversations at and around FEBRABAN TECH 2026 indicated growing interest in custom self-service kiosk solutions, with customers increasingly evaluating software integration, customized workflows, local market requirements and complete hardware-and-software solutions alongside the terminal itself.

A U.S. customer who traveled to Mexico to meet the Hongzhou Smart team before continued to Brazil to inspect the company's equipment during FEBRABAN TECH 2026. Discussions focused on a customized money exchange machine combining hardware and software to address specific operational requirements.

Beyond São Paulo, Hongzhou Smart conducted meetings and visits with customers and potential partners in Mexico, Brazil, the United States and other markets in the Americas. The company said these interactions are helping it better understand regional requirements and identify opportunities for localized financial self-service applications.

For overseas customers, Hongzhou Smart provides one-stop OEM/ODM support covering hardware and software customization, backed by its own factory and professional team. Its project support includes a 12-month warranty, remote technical support, and software and hardware operation and maintenance training.

With more than 20 years of experience in self-service kiosk manufacturing, Hongzhou Smart has designed, manufactured and delivered more than 450,000 self-service terminals to more than 115 countries as of March 2026. FEBRABAN TECH 2026 serves as a key gateway for the company to gain insights into fintech trends across the Americas and explore market opportunities.

About Hongzhou Smart

Hongzhou Smart is a Chinese self-service kiosk and ATM manufacturer specializing in one-stop OEM/ODM hardware and software turnkey solutions. Its product portfolio covers self-ordering kiosks, forex change kiosks, self-checkout kiosks, financial self-service terminals, ATMs, bank account opening kiosks, Mobile Money ATMs, parking payment kiosks and other customized self-service equipment.

Media Contact:
Shenzhen Hongzhou Smart Technology Co.,Ltd
No. 5, Lingbei 4th Road Fenghuang Community Fuyong Sub-District, Baoan District, 518103, Shenzhen China
Email: sales@hongzhougroup.com
Tel: +86-15915302402
www.hongzhousmart.com 

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Hongzhou Smart Showcases Financial Self-Service Solutions at FEBRABAN TECH 2026