Annapurna Sinha, a Lecturer at Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia, was awarded a travel grant to present her paper "Participatory Approach to Women’s Literacy and Empowerment: Deliberations Between Civil Society and Grassroots Communities" to the Gender and Communication Section.
In this article she shares her experience with IAMCR and the Lyon conference:
Thanks to this year's generous travel grant, IAMCR 2023 was the second IAMCR Conference I could attend in person. The first was in 2019 in Madrid, Spain, where I participated as a PhD scholar from India. This year, it was only possible for me to travel to France from Indonesia to attend the conference with the travel grant. I am deeply grateful to the IAMCR travel grant committee and the entire IAMCR management for awarding me the grant that made my journey possible. This year's conference was special because everyone was meeting on-site after such a long gap, but for me, it was even more special because I was also meeting my mentors, friends, and fellow researchers from India after four years since I left India to start my teaching career in Indonesia.
The list of travel grant winners truly represents the diverse participation from all across the world. IAMCR promotes global inclusiveness in the truest sense, and I was amazed by the warm welcome of the travel grant awardees from different countries. I am grateful for the recognition, encouragement, and warmth that I received at the conference. IAMCR provides the best space for early career researchers and encourages innovative ideas, out-of-the-box thinking, and collaborative work.
I have been a member of IAMCR for seven years, and I consider myself fortunate that my abstracts have been selected every year for the prestigious conference since I joined IAMCR in 2017. However, I could not attend the initial conferences in Colombia and Oregon due to the lack of funds. I attended the IAMCR 2019 conference in Madrid with my fellowship savings. It was my first time attending the IAMCR conference in person, and I recognized the opportunities and exposure the conference provided us. Everyone was missing the on-site gathering during the COVID-19 period; however, the online conferences of previous years were an excellent opportunity for scholars like us to stay connected, especially those who might not be able to attend on-site conferences due to the lack of funding. Also, serving as a reviewer for different sections for the last couple of years has brought me closer to the teams and given me a chance to stay updated with newer research, in addition to the exposure of the conference week. This is also a way of giving back a bit of what we receive from IAMCR. This year, I presented my paper in the Gender and Communication (GEN) section, and I served as a reviewer for the Community Communication and Alternative Media (CCAM) section and Health Communication (HEC) working group, in addition to GEN.
Beyond the academic advancements, I am thankful for the opportunity to travel to the beautiful country of France, which filled me with so much joy and gave me cherished memories.
I would like to personally thank Nico Carpentier, the President of IAMCR, and Elske van de Fliert, the Treasurer, for their prompt responses to my queries and especially for the smooth handling of the fund transfer. I hope IAMCR will continue to support early career scholars from low-income economies, and that many more scholars will find their deserving spots at IAMCR conferences. Thank you, IAMCR! Dr Annapurna Sinha, Lecturer, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Thank you, IAMCR!
Dr Annapurna Sinha
IAMCR travel grants are funded with a percentage of all IAMCR membership payments plus the voluntary contributions of IAMCR members and supporters.