About the Conference
Extension and Community Outreach are essential in bridging the gap between academic institutions and the communities they serve, fostering a dynamic exchange of knowledge, resources, and support. At its core, these initiatives embody "learning by doing," empowering individuals and communities through education, capacity-building, and skill development. Extension and Community Outreach are pivotal in addressing pressing local, regional, and global challenges, driving sustainable development, and improving the quality of life in diverse settings.
This conference was named before as “International Extension Innovation Conference” happened last August 28-30, 2024. This conference will delve into how transformative extension services can empower communities, address global challenges, and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). It is an essential opportunity to bring together key stakeholders to discuss and develop actionable strategies to strengthen the capacity of communities to respond to climate change, improve livelihoods, enhance health, and promote education.
Extension services have long been recognized as a key driver of sustainable development, particularly in rural, marginalized, and vulnerable communities. By promoting knowledge sharing, education, and skills development, extension programs empower individuals to make informed decisions and adopt best practices that lead to improved livelihoods and resilience.
However, the complex challenges of the 21st century—such as climate change, food insecurity, poverty, health crises, and environmental degradation—demand a more holistic and transformative approach to extension. This is where advanced transformative extension services come into play: they go beyond traditional methods, incorporating participatory processes, modern technologies, and cross-sectoral collaboration to create sustainable and meaningful impact.
International Conference on Transformative Extension and Community Outreach (ICTECO) 2025 seeks to explore how these advanced practices can enhance community engagement and lead to enriched, resilient, and sustainable societies. This event will provide a platform to assess the current landscape of extension services, identify gaps, and propose innovative solutions that address emerging challenges in the areas of agriculture, health, environment, education, and economic development.
Experts, practitioners, researchers, and community leaders from all over the world will come together for this conference, which will provide a forum for cooperation, conversation, and information sharing. This event will inspire innovative ideas and partnerships that broaden the vision and reach of transformational extension services by highlighting research and best practices. This is a priceless chance to study the most recent developments in extending techniques, exchange best practices, and create cross-sector alliances that might increase the accessibility and efficacy of extended services. Ultimately, we can better prepare communities to flourish in a world that is becoming more linked and dynamic by broadening our collective vision and capacities.
Objectives
The following are the objectives of the conference:
- Provide a platform for professionals, researchers, and practitioners in extension services to share insights, research findings, and best practices from diverse perspectives;
- Emphasize research-community-based initiatives and activities of the extension; to provide improved PPAs that stimulate and advance economic growth;
- Foster collaboration and partnerships among participants to address global challenges collectively, leveraging the expertise and resources of a diverse international community in alignment with the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals; and
- Reflect on current extension practices, assess their impact, and identify areas for improvement, with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of extension services internationally.
