Developing Grateful Communities

A Global Conference

Bridging Children, Youth, Families & Communities Together !

10-12 December 2026

Bengaluru, India

Concept Note

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 across the globe to deliberate and document various perspectives, practices and approaches on gratitude.

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 - to highlight studies, interventions, and best practices that specifically foster gratitude and well-being, with a particular emphasis on child development, family dynamics, and socialisation processes within schools and communities.
- Promote a Holistic Learning Experience Around Gratitude within the Context of Positive Psychology - to explore gratitude as a key mechanism for building positive character strengths and contributing to the larger field of positive psychology, offering a well-rounded and actionable learning experience.
- Build a Global Network Focused on Developmental Well-being and Positive Values - to establish a committed group of professionals dedicated to integrating gratitude and other positive values into developmental, educational, and community settings to foster resilient, grateful communities

Themes and Subthemes

1. Developmental Trajectories and Socialisation of Gratitude. This theme 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. This theme 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. This theme 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. Dedicated to the therapeutic and practical utility of gratitude, this theme explores 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. This theme 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. This theme 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

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