The Digital Divide Working Group of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites proposals for IAMCR 2023, to be held in Lyon, France, from 9 to 13 July (Lyon23) with an Online Conference Papers (OCP23) component from 26 June to 5 July.
The deadline for submission of proposals is 9 February 2023 at 23h59 UTC.
See the CfPs of all sections and working groups >
Conference themes
IAMCR conferences have a main conference theme that is explored from multiple perspectives throughout the conference in plenaries and other moments, including the programmes of the thematic sections and working groups. Additionally, each section and working group also defines some of its own themes, which are described in their individual calls for proposals. Proposals for contributions to the conference are submitted to the sections and working groups and may focus on an aspect of the main conference theme as it relates to the concerns of the section or working group, or address a theme identified by the section or working group.
Main theme – Inhabiting the planet: Challenges for media, communication and beyond
The main theme for IAMCR 2023, “Inhabiting the planet: Challenges for media, communication and beyond”, is concerned with possibilities for rethinking communication research agendas at a time when the irreversible effects of climate change is compounded by stark geopolitical, sociocultural and religious tensions in human communities. At this juncture, urgent reflection and research is needed on how we can hope to flourish today and in the future, and also how media and communication tools and environments can be positive forces and spaces for change.
Five sub-themes of this central theme have been identified: Humanity and progress; democracy; media, information and communication; cities and territories; and environmental accountability.
Consult a detailed description of the main theme and its sub-themes
The overarching conference theme in 2023 is “Inhabiting the planet: Challenges for media, communication and beyond”. The theme is centered around two key questions: what it means to be human in a digital world; and what it means to build a common future. In this vein, IAMCR 2023 will approach challenges related to five interconnected topics: humanity and progress; democracy; media, information, and communication; cities and territories; environmental accountability.
Within this context, the Digital Divide Working Group is particularly interested in exploring the role digital technologies, digital literacy, and digital capital play in creating a common future for all, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, location, social and economic status of users, age, gender, and other factors. In the modern globalized world, digital access and digital skills are no longer approached as something optional; they have become vital factors in professional and personal lives of people. Digital inequalities can lead to digital and further social exclusion, digital poverty, and the rise of new forms of digital divides such as algorithms or epistemic divides in network and information society. In this vein, securing common opportunities and a common future for all requires closer attention to bridging already existing and newly emerging digital gaps in society, as well as across national and geographical borders. At IAMCR 2023 conference, we specifically welcome papers approaching new forms, types, and levels of the digital divide, enriching our understanding of what digital divide is beyond ‘three levels’ of access, use, and benefits people can receive from the online realm. We also welcome theoretical and empirical case studies highlighting best practices in overcoming digital gaps in policy-making, social activism, or scholarly contexts, including a growing body of work on digital capital as a new type of intangible capital people increasingly need today.
For the 2023 annual IAMCR conference we invite paper proposals on any of the following key topics:
- Digital inclusion and social inclusion: building common future for all
- Digital literacy as a theoretical and empirical concept
- Digital divide and democracy
- Digital capital as a new intangible capital
- Cross-cultural research into digital inequalities
- Digital divide in the countries with different economic, social, political and cultural
- profiles
- The role of digital divide in communication across cultures, ethnicities and regions
- Digital inequalities in the multi-platform environment
- Digital inequalities and digital journalism
- New digital inequalities: going beyond ‘three levels’ of the digital divide
- Digital inequalities in the pandemic and post-pandemic time: representations, manifestations, effects
Contributing to the conference: Lyon23 and OCP23
There will be two ways of joining IAMCR2023:
- If you are not able to or don’t want to join the face-to-face conference in Lyon but do want to submit an online-only paper, submit your abstract to OCP23 only. If accepted, you’ll later submit your full paper to the online platform, which will be open for discussion from 26 June to 5 July.
- If you do want to join the face-to-face event, submit your abstract to Lyon23 and OCP23. If accepted you’ll submit your paper to the online platform and present it at the face-to-face conference.
Guidelines for abstracts
Abstracts submitted to the Digital Divide Working Group should have between 300 and 500 words and must be submitted online here. Abstracts submitted by email will not be accepted.
It is expected that authors will submit only one (1) abstract. However, under no circumstances should an author submit more than two abstracts as a single author or as the lead author of a co-authored paper and no author will submit more than one abstract to the Digital Divide Working Group. The same abstract or another version with minor variations in title or content must not be submitted to more than one section or working group. Any such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be rejected.
Proposals are accepted for both single Papers and for Panels with several papers (in which you propose multiple papers that address a single theme). Proposals for panels can only be submitted to Lyon23 and OCP23. Panel submissions must include an abstract for each paper submitted here and a description & supplemental information submitted via this form on the conference website.
The deadline to submit abstracts is 9 February 2022 at 23h59 UTC.
See important dates and deadlines to keep in mind
Languages
The Digital Divide Working Group accepts abstracts in English.
For further information about the Digital Divide Working Group, its themes, submissions, and panels please contact:
Co-chair: Anna Gladkova gladkova_a@list.ru (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia)
Co-chair: Massimo Ragnedda massimo.ragnedda@northumbria.ac.uk (Northumbria University, UK)
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