Gratitude, as a personal strength and collective virtue, lies at the heart of the development and sustenance of social relationships. The development of gratitude in children is a gradual and socially embedded process that integrates moral virtue, prosocial behaviour, and emotional understanding. While gratitude may begin as a reactive sentiment expressed in response to received kindness, its mature form involves recognising a benefactor’s good intentions and experiencing a desire to reciprocate meaningfully. Importantly, the cultivation of gratitude does not occur in isolation; it is shaped through proximal processes in daily interactions with parents, teachers, peers, and the broader cultural context. In the current landscape, cultivating gratitude becomes a vital counterbalance. It fosters a sense of connectedness across individuals, families, schools, and communities, acting as a powerful mechanism for positive child socialisation and human development. 

Research across disciplines has increasingly explored gratitude not only as an individual disposition but as a cultural practice, a therapeutic tool, an evolutionary adaptation, and a bridge for intergenerational and intercultural dialogue. Despite this growing body of research, systematic and sustained efforts to understand and integrate gratitude across diverse contexts remain limited, particularly regarding its developmental course. 

The Global Conference on Developing Grateful Communities 2026 aims to bring together scholars, educators, practitioners, policymakers, and community leaders from around the world to deliberate and document various perspectives, practices, and approaches to gratitude.

Objectives 

• • Share and advance research, interventions, and practices focused on the development of gratitude

  • Promote a holistic learning experience around gratitude 

  • Build a global network focused on integrating gratitude and positive values into developmental, educational, and community settings to foster resilient, grateful communities

 1. Developmental Trajectories and Socialisation of Gratitude examines the dynamic process by which gratitude emerges, changes, and is nurtured from infancy through adulthood. It explores the role of parents, peers, and family relationships in positive emotional socialisation and the development of grateful cognition, language, and emotional pathways. 

• Cognitive, affective and social pathways of development 

• Influence of Positive Childhood Experiences 

• Dynamics of Family and Peer Relationships 

• Parenting and Positive Emotion Socialisation

2. Gratitude in Education and Community Building focuses on the practical and institutional applications of gratitude and positive values in creating supportive, ethical, and just social environments. It also examines how gratitude can inform public policies, promote justice, equity, and belongingness, and support restorative justice practices in diverse communities facing conflicts, migration, and rapid social change. 

• Pedagogical methods to foster prosocial behaviour 

• Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) in schools

• Educational policies for promoting values, equity, and belongingness

• Restorative justice, non-violence, and conflict resolution

• Community well-being and Peace-building (Migration, enculturation, and peace-building) 

3. Cultural, Environmental, and Global Perspectives on Gratitude broadens the scope to include the influence of diverse systemic and cultural contexts on the expression and significance of gratitude. In addition, the theme highlights the emerging area of eco-gratitude, focusing on how individuals and communities cultivate gratitude toward nature, the environment, and the climate. 

• Anthropological and cross-cultural approaches to gratitude

• Eco-gratitude: Relationship with nature, environment, and climate

4.  Gratitude Practices in Clinical and Counselling Settings is dedicated to the therapeutic and practical utility of gratitude, exploring evidence-based interventions in counselling and clinical settings. It investigates the tangible positive outcomes of gratitude for physical and mental health, well-being, and managing life with disability or special populations. 

• Health outcomes: Mental health, physical well-being, and resilience

• Gratitude within disability studies and special needs populations

• Gratitude interventions in counselling and clinical settings

5. Gratitude, Positive Psychology, Moral and Character Development explores gratitude as a foundational component of moral character within the broader framework of Positive Psychology. It brings together perspectives on how grateful dispositions strengthen social connectedness and promote cooperation. By integrating empirical and theoretical work on the development of inner strengths, prosocial motivation, and reflective awareness, the theme highlights gratitude’s role in fostering a flourishing, values-oriented life. 

• Character strengths and the framework of Positive Psychology

• Pro-social behaviours: Altruism, sympathy, guilt and forgiveness

• Pathways to flourishing, thriving, and self-gratitude

• Mindfulness, compassion, and small acts of kindness in daily life

• The phenomenology of grateful experiences: Awe, flow, and reflection

6.  Science and Methodology of Gratitude highlights scientific and methodological advances in the study of gratitude, including efforts to refine its measurement, clarify its underlying mechanisms, and examine how contemporary contexts shape grateful experiences. It brings together interdisciplinary approaches that deepen our understanding of gratitude as a dynamic and empirically grounded construct. 

• Psychometrics and research methodologies for studying gratitude

• Neural correlates of gratitude, morality, and positive affect

• The impact of media and technology on gratitude and well-being