ISGS10 brings together over 300 gesture researchers for three days of innovation and community

Over 300 researchers from more than 30 countries came together in Nijmegen for ISGS10, the 10th conference of the International Society for Gesture Studies. The event took place July 9–11, 2025, and was hosted by the Multimodal Language Department at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, with support from the Donders Institute and the Centre for Language Studies.

“The conference has been very intense, but also so exciting. I’ve utterly enjoyed seeing so many people from the gesture community brought together in one place. We’ve reached out to the max to fill them with content to advance gesture research worldwide,” says Aslı Özyürek, Conference Chair and Director of the Multimodal Language Department at Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.

Conference highlights

• Global participation: attendees represented institutions across Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, and beyond.
• Keynotes and sessions: five keynotes and 18 themed sessions featured 63 presentations on topics from sign language typology to AI-driven gesture recognition.
• Hands-on learning: pre-conference workshops offered training in multimodal annotation, machine learning, and interactive data visualization.
• Celebrating pioneers: Susan Goldin-Meadow was named Honorary President of ISGS.
• Student awards: the Best Student Poster Award went to Šárka Kadavá and Door Spruijt for Exploring the Kinematics Trajectory from Gesture to Sign.

A strong sense of community

The formal program was just one part of the experience. Informal discussions during poster sessions, coffee breaks, and social events helped spark new ideas and collaborations. The organizing team and professional interpreters played a key role in creating a welcoming and inclusive environment.

Looking ahead

The next ISGS conference, ISGS11, will take place in Hong Kong in 2027. We look forward to continuing the conversation and building on the momentum from Nijmegen.