Build Stronger Geographic Literacy Through Community

Not only do humans shape places, but they also learn from them. The National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) Conference occurred in Tempe, Arizona, from October 18–20, 2024 (Figure 1). There, Arizona State University (ASU) houses the Decision Center for a Desert City, which considers how to plan urban communities in the face of increased water shortages (Gober et al., 2016; Zhang, Murray, and Turner, 2017). While in Tempe, geography educators met keynote speaker David Hondula—ASU Professor and Phoenix’s Director of Heat Response and Mitigation—who discussed how communities can better plan for extreme heat (Keith et al. 2021; Braun, Hondula, and Fraser 2022; Dzyuban et al. 2022). For NCGE, the Arizona desert was a fitting context for an organization in the midst of adapting to challenges of its own.

NCGE is a dynamic, multilayered place, gathering people from across the United States and around the world (cf. Thomas et al. 2008; Larson 2021). NCGE “takes place” both virtually and in-person, among individual classrooms and offices, as well as at the annual conference. Each tiny act by geography teachers produces new lessons to bring the discipline forward.

Members of NCGE and the Geography Educators of Nebraska (GEON) are already brainstorming ideas for the October 17–19, 2025, Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. For the time being, I want to acknowledge some accomplishments of 2024. Following through with these efforts will hopefully chart a promising future for the geographic perspective.