In this issue...
Welcome to the IAMCR newsletter
This newsletter is being sent to all IAMCR members. Read on for news about IAMCR, the IAMCR 2021 conference, and matters of interest to the global media and communication research community.
IAMCR Nairobi 2021
Once again, IAMCR’s annual conference will be held online. With no flights, visas or passports necessary, at least our second online conference in a row is giving us a new way of experiencing the conference theme: Rethinking borders and boundaries.
There will be six ways of participating in the conference:
- Plenary sessions
- Online Conference Papers (OCP)
- OCP Interactive Forums
- Section & Working Group Online Video Sessions
- Special and Partner Online Video Sessions
- Flow 34 Virtual Cinema and Podcasts
Read the article How to participate in IAMCR 2021 >>
Registration
Registration will take place at two different times and when you should register depends on whether or not you will submit a paper to Online Conference Papers.
- If you will submit a paper to Online Conference Papers you will be automatically registered at the same time you submit your paper – from 20 April until 7 June. If the paper has more than one author, only the author submitting the paper can register at this time. To submit your paper and register, go to https://iamcr.org/nairobi2021/register-submit.
- If you will not submit a paper your registration period opens on 11 June and remains open until the conference begins on 11 July.
Registration will be free for all IAMCR members. If you are submitting a paper to Online Conference Papers there is an additional US$ 25 submission fee.
IAMCR 2021 "no travel grants"
IAMCR has a long tradition of offering travel grants to support members who would otherwise be unable to attend our annual conferences. With the global pandemic restricting travel and obliging IAMCR to hold its conference online, we can’t offer members a chance to travel to IAMCR 2021, but maybe we can help IAMCR go to you...
We are offering up to 24 no travel grants to IAMCR members in low and middle income countries who will organise IAMCR no travel events during IAMCR 2021.
NEW! IAMCR webinar series
On 19 March, IAMCR launched its new Webinar Series with the inaugural webinar "Digital Divide and Digital Inclusion", addressing the issue of digital gaps and integration opportunities with presentations from Russia, Singapore, Italy and the United States. Read a short report >>
Two more webinars are planned for April:
- BRICS Short Film Fest (16 April) - Sponsored by the Visual Culture Working Group the webinar will include five short films from BRICS countries followed by presentations from the directors. More information and registration >>
- The Journalism Research and Education Section’s Books – Launch (30 April) - The authors/editors of nine recent books will present their work on different areas of journalism from around the world, and participants will join the discussion. More information and registration >>
The series is an initiative to open channels for engagement and participation in addition to our annual conference, keeping IAMCR members connected and engaged with regular dialogue about issues of importance to the international media and communication research community.
Webinars are free for IAMCR members but pre-registration is required and spaces are limited. You can always find information about upcoming webinars on the IAMCR website. If you want to propose a webinar, see the article Interested in organising a webinar?
Jay Blumler Commemorative Session
Outside of the webinar series, another online activity for IAMCR members will be the recording of a special session commemorating the contributions of Jay Blumler, who died on 30 January 2021 at the age of 96. He was a Fellow and Past President of ICA (1989-90), Emeritus Professor of Public Communication at the University of Leeds, Emeritus Professor of Journalism at the University of Maryland, author of 15 books and many articles on political communication, election campaigns, public service broadcasting, comparative research, democracy in cyberspace, and much more.
The special session will be presented during IAMCR 2021 but a limited number of IAMCR members will be able to join the recording on Zoom on 11 May. Like the webinar series, spaces are limited and pre-registration is required. Get more information and register for the Register for Jay Blumler Commemorative Session >>
Awards Update
Communication for Development Research Fund
IAMCR members Sneh Gupta (India) and the team of Solomon Oyeleye and Ifedolapo Ademosu (Nigeria) have been announced as the winners of the 2021 UNICEF/IAMCR Communication for Development Research Fund. The two awards, worth up to USD 4,000 each, are for small research projects that advance our understanding of how Communication for Development (C4D) contributes to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Sneh Gupta, a PhD scholar at the University School of Mass Communication, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprashta University in New Delhi, will receive funding for her project “Empowering adolescent girls through digital interventions in rural Rajasthan: A case study of Girls Effect’s Chhaa Jaa (Go Forth and Shine) programme”. Solomon Oyeleye and Ifedolapo Ademosu, both of Caleb University, will get funding for their project “Trust and mistrust in a pandemic: evaluation of acceptance of COVID-19 communication tools in use in Nigeria”.
Deadline for three other awards – 30 April
Three other awards, the UCF/IAMCR Urban Communication Research Grant, the IAMCR 2021 award in memory of Stuart Hall, and the New Directions for Climate Communication Research Fellowship, all have 30 April as their application deadlines.
Co-sponsorships
IAMCR co-sponsors conferences, seminars and other activities around the world and online organised by our Sections and Working Groups, national and regional ambassadors, and partner associations and universities. A few recent and upcoming events include:
20-28 February, 2021 - IAMCR co-sponsored the Second AMCAP Doctoral Spring School, organised by the Association of Media & Communication Academic Professionals (AMCAP-Pakistan) in collaboration with Punjab Higher Education Commission. Read an interview with Dr Saadia Ishtiaq Nauman, coordinator of the Doctoral School >>
April & May, 2021 - IAMCR will co-sponsor the eleventh annual “What is…?" conference. The conference has adapted a new formula for 2021 and will be held online as a Speaker Series. "What is Communication?" (2021) will investigate instantiations and permutations of communication via models of exchange, modes of inquiry, and meanings of community. Registration for "What is Communication?" is free but advanced registration is required. More information and registration at whatis.uoregon.edu.
3 July, 2021 - The Gender and Communication Section will hold an online symposium titled "Being Marginal- Performing Raced and Gendered Labour". For more information, see the call for papers (https://iamcr.org/s-wg/gen-symposium) or contact the organisers.
Publications
Journal of Information Policy
The Communication Policy & Technology Section (CPT) supported the publication of a special issue of the Journal of Information Policy on “Communication Rights in the Digital Age”, edited by CPT members Minna Aslama Horowitz, Hannu Nieminen and Amit Schejter, and including many articles by CPT members and colleagues. The special issue, as well as all 10 volumes of the Journal of Information Policy are freely available via https://www.jstor.org/journal/jinfopoli.
Information, Communication & Society
A special issue of Information, Communication & Society that originated from a pre-conference of the Digital Divide Working Group held during the 2019 IAMCR conference in Madrid, Spain is now available. Read the introduction and access the rest of the issue online.
Recent books by IAMCR members
IAMCR's members' books section features recent books by our members. Visit the section to see all of the recent publications >