he ABLA 2010 Conference will take place against the background of the European Year of Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. Figures of the 2009 Eurobarometer on poverty and social exclusion show that 37% of European poor people think that their poverty is due to the fact that they do not have the necessary level of education, training or skills. Ten years after Heads of State and Governments committed to a major drive against poverty in the EU, 2010 marks the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. Why is ‘language’ not mentioned in the ‘barometer’ nor listed among the key themes? Questions arise: e.g. how can one ‘include’ people and groups into structured systems that have systematically ‘excluded’ them in the first place? It was the late Edward T. Hall (2009) who pointed out that also in multinationals high level managers find themselves either ‘in the box’ or ‘out of the box’, based on their cultural backgrounds and the language they speak. In education and training, language plays a crucial role. Which role does language play in 'inclusion' and 'exclusion'?

The main purpose of this gathering is to provide a meeting place for applied linguistic researchers and practitioners where they can generate ideas on language related issues, foster a stronger and larger community, and disseminate as well as promote research in applied linguistics. We especially welcome active participation from junior researchers and graduate students who are interested in language learning, language professions, and the study of language issues in society.

The one-day event includes two plenary talks on the conference theme, parallel presentations on the conference theme and on other domains in applied linguistics, and a poster session on cooperative research projects. The conference will also host the annual assembly of ABLA members and conventions of the two research networks in ABLA. At its 2010 conference ABLA strives to bring together researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders who can shed light on language and communication barriers for inclusion, and how these barriers can be lifted. In the morning session, we particularly welcome contributions that deal with the theme of Inclusion and Exclusion and Language.