Events
8th Global Empathy Conference 2026 (A Hybrid Event)
Friday 25 September 9:00 until 16:00
University of Sussex Campus : The ACCA Centre
Speaker: Various National and International Speakers, including Robin Banerjee as a Key Note
Join us in person or online as we bring empathy research and practice together.
Empathy is more than simply being kind. It is our capacity to understand another person’s perspective and emotional experience, while recognising that their experience may be different from our own.
Empathy plays an important role in our social and emotional lives. Research associates empathy with healthy relationships and prosocial behaviour, while neuroscience demonstrates that empathic responses engage brain networks involved in emotion, social understanding and perspective-taking.
Importantly, empathy is not simply something we either possess or do not possess. Research shows that empathy can be developed and strengthened through practice and training.
The 8th Global Empathy Conference brings together researchers, educators, healthcare professionals, practitioners, artists and community members to explore a central question:
How can we put empathy into practice in our everyday lives?
WHEN AND TIME
Friday 25th September 2026 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Saturday 26th September 2026 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts, University of Sussex
Hybrid Event — attend in person or online
WHY ATTEND?
The conference takes place during the University’s Welcome Week — what better way to begin a new academic year than by thinking about empathy for ourselves, for others and for the communities in which we live and work?
Across two days, participants will:
- Discover what research tells us about empathy, human connection, relationships and wellbeing.
- Explore the neuroscience of empathy and how different aspects of empathy engage brain systems involved in emotion and understanding others.
- Learn how empathy can be practised and strengthened. A 2024 meta-analysis encompassing 110 studies found that empathy training can improve different dimensions of empathy, with particularly promising results for behavioural empathy.
- Explore the role of empathy in healthcare. Research on empathic communication has found small but meaningful improvements in outcomes including patient anxiety, pain and satisfaction.
- Experience empathy in practice through interactive workshops led by experienced practitioners from the UK and USA.
- Hear diverse perspectives from around the world through presentations by researchers, educators and practitioners joining both in person and online.
- Experience empathy through creativity, with exhibitions and presentations exploring how art, photography, storytelling and other creative practices can help us understand another person’s experience.
- Connect with an international community interested in building more empathetic classrooms, workplaces, organisations and societies.
WHO SHOULD COME?
The conference is open to everyone with an interest in empathy and human connection, including:
- Students and young people
- Academics and researchers
- Teachers and educators
- Healthcare and medical professionals
- Businesses and organisations
- Community leaders and volunteers
- Artists and creative practitioners
- Anyone interested in developing empathy in their personal or professional life
No specialist knowledge of empathy is required. Be part of something that is innovative, global, new and designed to enable us all to create a better and more sustainable world
BE PART OF A GLOBAL CONVERSATION
Now in its eighth year, the Global Empathy Conference brings together people from different countries, disciplines, professions and lived experiences.This not-for-profit initiative is designed to create a space where research meets lived experience and where ideas can become practice.
Over two days, delegates will be invited not simply to talk about empathy, but to listen, reflect, participate and practise it.
Come with your experiences, your questions and your curiosity: Listen. Reflect. Connect. Practise Empathy.
REGISTER & GET INVOLVED
The 8th Global Empathy Conference is a hybrid event, enabling delegates to participate either in person at the University of Sussex or online from anywhere in the world.
As a not-for-profit initiative, your participation as a delegate will be greatly appreciated.
This password will be available for students and Sussex colleagues to register free of charge “StudentPass2026”.
Delegates who complete the post-conference feedback form will receive a Conference Attendance Certificate and an invitation to join the 9th Global Empathy Conference in 2027.
FURTHER DETAILS / ENQUIRIES
For further information about the conference, registration, presentations, exhibitions or online participation, please contact the Global Empathy Conference organising team.
admin@virtualschoolaustralia.com.au
WEBSITE / REGISTRATION
Registration:
https://8thGEC.eventbrite.com.au
Further information:
[https://www.virtualschoolaustralia.com.au/conferences]
By: Marcelo Staricoff
Last updated: Wednesday, 2 September 2026