News

International Communication Association

76^th ICA Annual Conference: Communication and Inequalities in Context

04-08 June 2026 • Cape Town, South Africa

The ICA 2026 conference theme invites critical reflection on the dynamics between communication and inequality and its tensions across different social, cultural and geographical backgrounds. As such, it is a call to engage with research exploring the deep divisions and existing interpersonal, institutional, and structural inequalities in our societies.

In a world shaped by the unequal distribution of political, economic, societal, cultural, and communication resources, considering the complex architecture of global inequalities remains a critical issue. Communication scholars have long recognized how structural divides shape all communication processes, from persistent barriers rooted in historical inequities to emerging forms of digital exclusion and fragmentation. Today, as disinformation, extremism, polarization, hate, oppression, and algorithmic discrimination pose global challenges, the specific contexts in which people encounter these phenomena –including political institutions, media systems, regulatory capacity, and social norms— may fundamentally shape their lived experiences. Thus, it becomes crucial to examine how and under what conditions these forces unevenly affect different communities and individuals across multiple domains of life and in various geographical and cultural settings. For example, communication barriers may impact disaster preparedness and response in vulnerable individuals; the increasing complexity of digital literacy requirements constitutes a significant threat to inclusion, and global internet governance and infrastructure decisions create and amplify disparities between and within different nations and communities.

More information: ICA26 - Theme - International Communication Association

ECREA will host one panel at ICA 2026 and invites high quality submissions of panel proposals that are focused on timely and innovative topics and are diverse in terms of methodologies, theoretical standpoints and/or nationalities of the presenters. As ECREA’s mission is advancing European scholarship, we especially encourage panel proposals which include a European perspective and a comparative research focus. This call for panel proposals is open to ECREA members of all ECREA sections and to all topics.

Please note the following information:

Panel submissions. Panels provide a good forum for the discussion of new approaches, ongoing developments, innovative ideas, and debates in the field.  If you plan to submit a panel, please submit the following details: (a) Panel theme or title, (b) a 75-word description of the panel for the conference program, (c) a 400-word rationale, providing justification for the panel and the participating panelists, (d) 75-word abstract of each paper, (e) names of panel participants (usually 4-5 presenters, plus an optional designated respondent), and (f) name of panel chair/organizer. In terms of diversity, we expect a strong panel proposal to (a) include contributions of at least two different countries, (b) feature gender balance, and, ideally, (c) include not more than one contribution from a single faculty, department or school. Panel proposals need to be original and may not have been submitted to ICA before or at the same time. Panels should consist of personal on-site presentations. Accepted panel presentations do not count towards the max. allowed individual paper presentations at the ICA conference.

Registering panelists. All panelists must be ECREA members by the time the conference takes place and agree in advance of submission to participate as panel presenters and to register for the ICA conference. ICA provides a registration waiver only for the panel convener, not for the other panelists. Also ECREA does not cover any travel expenses.

How to submit?

• Email to: info@ecrea.eu
• Submission deadline is 16^th of January 2026, 23:59 CET
• In case of questions please contact: info@ecrea.eu

ECREA-ICA Conference Review Committee:

Indrek Ibrus (Tallinn University)

Dina Vozab (University of Zagreb)

Malgorzata Winiarska-Brodowska (Jagiellonian University)

ECREA held its first webinar in a series on academic freedom, organised by the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) subcommittee of the ECREA Governing Body, on 11 November 2025. The inspiration for the webinars came from discussions held at ECREA on academia’s role in responding to mass atrocities and authoritarian threats. The webinars are imagined as a space where the community can discuss how we can support our colleagues, whose physical safety can be at risk if they are in zones of war or violence, or whose freedoms might be under attack from repressive governments or institutions, including academic institutions. It is our hope that this can help ECREA to develop a response to these issues, such as recommendations or other actions designed to support academics.

The first webinar focused on the experiences of Scholars in Exile. Invited speakers to the webinar are experts who have experienced exile, studied the issue of scholars in exile or have been engaged practically in offering solidarity and support to the exiled community - Dr. Bermal Aydin (independent scholar), Dr. Zeina Al Azmeh (University of Cambridge) and Dr. Olena Zinenko (IFHV Ruhr University and Karazin Kharkiv National University).

Bermal Aydin emphasised that the position of academics in exile is far from the romanticised image often depicted in literature or popular imagination. She described different kinds of pressures by which academics are forced into exile, as they are pushed into a precarious position by political pressures or pressured to a life reduced to “civic death”. When in exile, academics are often considered as cheaper temporary labour, and experience alienation or dehumanisation in the position of the “Other”. Furthermore, host universities tend to treat scholars in exile as “humanitarian projects”, which is often nothing more than a marketing tool to brand universities as diverse or inclusive. However, instead of offering superficial diversity, universities and academic communities should seek a profound plurality as proposed by Özdemir et a (2018).

Zeina Al Azmeh discussed the need to critically engage with the notion of scholars in exile and offer a diagnosis of what it means to be a critical scholar. Exile may bring creative potential for expanding critical thought and theory; however, one must not end up in the trap of romanticising this position. To describe this complexity, she develops the term “situational intellectual”, which acknowledges that scholars don’t have a stable identity and that their judgements are formed under various constraints and roles. She also discussed specific recommendations for the academic community to engage in dialogue with academics in exile, like offering publication opportunities, research fellow status, or micro-grant schemes, building strategic partnerships, addressing gender differences, recognising exile as an epistemological problem and advocating structural change which shifts from emergency and rescue logic to cooperation. 

Olena Zinenko discussed the position of the higher education system in Ukraine during the war, and multiple pressures on academic institutions that become, at the same time, places of knowledge production, but also spaces of shelter for scholars and students, and spaces under attack. She also discusses the uneasy role of critical scholars, e.g., feminist researchers who are sometimes misunderstood or unacknowledged. In relation to scholars in exile, they should not be seen only as victims, but scholars with agency who can produce knowledge and provide academic communication. She shares recommendations for scholars in exile not to lose agency: visible and recognised human rights position, bridges in media studies, policies to support cross-disciplinary studies, publication possibilities, an inclusive platform for safe, secure and independent discussion and networking, visibility of scholars, technical support for “travelling philosophers” and harmonisation of bureaucracy for scholars in exile.

Discussion with participants also tackled the main points expressed throughout the webinar - how to avoid victimisation, and how to transform solidarity to recognise and encourage agency, plurality and creative potential of knowledge production in exile. Different recommendations and actions from concrete situations were shared, e.g. from Ukraine, or Friends of Birzeit University publishing a call to the international academic community to react to scholasticide taking place in Gaza.

We are happy to announce that the new publication from the ECREA Book Series in European Communication Research and Education series has been published.

The Politics of Place edited by Andrew Spicer, Ruth Barton and Amy Genders is wide-ranging collection seeks to address these ‘layers of spatial complexity’ through a series of interconnected chapters investigating and analysing the importance of place, space and locality across the breadth of Europe from Greenland to Romania. Although the collection attends to the paradoxes and contradictions of space, place and locality revealed by detailed investigation, it is inspired by the desire to identify, and find ways of valuing, the various strategies, practices and specific productions that resist homogenisation, ones that encourage plurality and sustainable growth and which contribute to the European cultural ideal of unity in diversity.

Read more HERE.

We are happy to invite you to participate in the ECREA Summer School  that takes place on 3-9 August at Södertörn University, Sweden. The application deadline is 13 February, 2026, 23.59 CET.

Apply HERE.

The ECREA European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School is an opportunity for European doctoral students to present and develop their ongoing PhD projects and build valuable networks. It brings together members of the European research community to explore contemporary issues within media and communication studies within a supportive social setting. Our main aim is to provide you with support, insights, and guidance through a variety of activities, including individual feedback seminars with leading media and communication scholars.

The ECREA Ukraine Task Force, in collaboration with the Ukrainian Institute for Media and Communication, invites researchers in media, communication, and related fields to two practical webinars on submitting successful abstracts for conferences. The webinars will take place on December 12, 2025 and January 5, 2026 at 13:00 CET. Both webinars will last three hours with a break.

They will be led by Roman Horbyk, Research Lecturer at the University of Zurich (Switzerland), Director of the WarDS Lab, Visiting Researcher at Uppsala University (Sweden), and Chair of the ECREA Ukraine Task Force. 

These webinars are designed to help prepare successful submissions and get accepted to international conferences in Europe. In particular, they will prepare you for submitting to ECREA 2026 in Brno, Czech Republic (September 2026).

Topics include:

• What an ideal ECREA conference abstract looks like

• Key elements: research problem, originality, theory, method, contribution

• How to avoid common mistakes and attract reviewers’ attention

• How to adapt your idea to the specific sections and working groups of ECREA

• Working with academic English: terminology, clarity, conciseness, scholarly logic

• Live analysis of examples and Q&A

• Preparing your submission with a view toward a successful conference presentation
• Opportunity to receive individual mentoring from Roman Horbyk after the webinar: consultation on your abstract and recommendations before final submission

Format and Participation

Both webinars will take place online (Zoom).

Participation is free of charge and available through registration. Registered participants will receive the Zoom link and other details in advance. 

Working language: Ukrainian.

Exactly twenty years ago today, on 25 November, ECREA was officially established. To mark this anniversary, we have been publishing memories from former members of the Executive Board and management teams of the S/N/TWGs since the beginning of November. You can view them HERE.

As part of the celebrations, we are also sharing an interview with the current president, Pille Pruulman-Vengerfeldt.

What is your favorite memory from your time with ECREA?

There are so many. I love the moments you step at any ECREA conference space and you get the first hugs from people you love and who are brought together because of ECREA.

What contribution has ECREA made to the academic community in Europe and beyond?

ECREA has created a safe haven for media scholars where their research is celebrated and valued. I believe ECREA has created academic spaces that are safe, constructive, supportive and engaged. 

What would you like to see ECREA achieve in the next 10 years?

Find ways in which even more people could be part of the constructive academic community. Lift the value of media and communication research not only as a supporting act, but as the theory-building, social-problem-solving, and creative research area we are. Celebrate the diverse academic journals we have so that publishing in European journals is considered prestigious and relevant to everyone's careers.

If you could describe ECREA in one word, what would it be? 

Community.

If you could give ECREA a birthday present, what would it be? 

Hundreds of institutional members that see and value the ECREA mission for what it is and for the support the community can provide.

But I am also giving this handmade birthday card to celebrate the love, the messiness, the interconnectedness and creative spirit that is ECREA.

The call for pre-conferences at the European Communication Conference 2026 (ECC2026) is still open! Researchers are invited to design their own thematic events to be held in Brno, Czech Republic, from 5–7 September 2026, just before the main conference.

Organizing a pre-conference is a great opportunity to bring together scholars with shared interests, highlight emerging research areas, and foster collaboration and networking in a focused setting. Pre-conferences can take diverse formats – from traditional paper sessions to workshops, roundtables, or hands-on methods events – and organizers are free to define their own theme, structure, and schedule.

To apply, send a 500–800-word proposal (PDF or Word) to info@ecrea2026brno.eu by 30 November 2025. More information about requirements and logistics is available at https://ecrea2026brno.eu/call-for-pre-conferences/. For any questions, contact info@ecrea2026brno.eu.

Founded on 25 November 2005 in Amsterdam, ECREA has grown into a lively community of communication scholars across Europe and beyond. Throughout November, we are celebrating this anniversary by sharing memories and reflections from our community in each weekly issue of the ECREA Digest.

You can check the memories HERE.

We are still collecting contributions — if you have a memorable moment to share, please write to info@ecrea.eu.

Join us in celebrating!

ECREA has established a new Task Force to map European open access journals in the field of media and communication studies.

The initiative aims to identify and highlight publishing quality beyond large international publishers, while strengthening the visibility of independent, green open access, and community-driven journals across Europe. Through this initiative, ECREA seeks to advance equitable knowledge sharing and challenge the dominance of large commercial publishing models.

The main outcome of the Task Force will be a comprehensive list of relevant journals, to be made openly accessible in spring 2026.

In this process, we are particularly interested in hearing from members involved in journals that operate outside major profit-driven publishing houses – whether through editorial work, reviewing, or institutional publishing initiatives. By gathering this information, we aim to showcase the diverse and often underrecognised efforts of ECREA members who contribute to more sustainable, inclusive, and accessible forms of scholarly publishing.

You can provide input via this form. Deadline: January 7, 2026

Members of the Task Force include Maarit Jaakkola (leader), Herminder Kaur, Jelena Kleut, Tanya Lokot, Tereza Pavlickova, Andra Siibak, and Pille Pruulmann Vengerfeldt.

The ECREA Book Series Committee invites the submission of open access book proposals for the Palgrave Studies in European Communication Research and Education.

The ECREA Book Series aims to provide a diverse overview of the work of ECREA members and working groups, showcasing a diversity of topics and areas within the field of contemporary media and communication research, and addressing this diversity from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, and through promoting collaborative research of our members, either within or between ECREA Sections, Networks and Temporary Working Groups (S/N/TWGs). We are also committed to supporting open-access research publications and knowledge exchange in the academic community.

The selection procedure consists of two steps:

Step 1: Editors propose a topic for the volume. The proposals should contain: the names, affiliation, and a brief CV (maximum of 1 A4 page) for each of the editors, the title of the proposed volume, and a rationale (maximum of 1,000 words). 

The ECREA Book Series Committee evaluates the proposals, decides on proposals to be accepted for Step 2, and provides recommendations for the structure of the books.

Step 2: If selected, the editors launch a call for abstracts (if needed) and then select abstracts and submit an extended book proposal. The extended proposal should include the expanded rationale for the book (up to 2,000 words); a list of the chapter titles in the volume along with an abstract (up to 250 words) for each chapter; the names, affiliations and a short bio (3-4 lines) of all the contributors, including editors and authors; and expanded abstracts for at least one but no more than three chapters, depending on the readiness level. The ECREA Book Series Committee evaluates the proposals, and, if necessary, provides recommendations for additional authors and perspectives for the chapters. Step 2 is competitive; at the end of the process, the ECREA Book Series Committee selects only one proposal to be published as an open access book in the Palgrave Studies in European Communication Research and Education.

 

WHAT are we seeking?

ECREA Book Series Publications need to have a clear theme or focus. 

We are looking for timely and cutting-edge topics from the field of communication, as covered by ECREA, and related to ECREA's main focus (see article 3 of the ECREA Articles of Association).

ECREA Book Series Publications aim to promote European media and communication research. We are seeking proposals that have a strong European dimension either by virtue of inclusion of regionally and ethnically diverse voices and cases, or by virtue of comparative research. Proposals should attempt to bridge the divides between regional and linguistic academic communities and strive to secure regional (East/West/North/South) balance of contributors and/or analysed cases. Proposals can include a limited number of authors who are not ECREA members and provide insights beyond European perspective (see details below). 

ECREA Book Series Publications aim to promote collaborative research. The series publishes edited volumes based on collaborative empirical research and/or theoretical contributions. Single author monographs or monographs from a limited number of authors or authors based at the same institution will not be considered for publication. Handbook proposal will also not be considered, as the Book Series focuses on publishing empirical research and theoretical contributions, and is not aiming to publish volumes with purely methodological guidelines or reference materials (i.e., handbooks or encyclopaedias/glossaries). 

Proposals resulting from work within ECREA S/N/TWGs as well as those resulting from collaboration between ECREA S/N/TWGs are particularly encouraged. Proposals resulting from S/N/TWGs events or international projects are welcomed if the thematic coherence and the European dimension of the topic are apparent. Proposals where the work comes from members of one institution or predominantly form one national academic community are not considered for publication.

We are seeking original, previously unpublished work. Inclusion of previously published work is accepted under condition that the work has previously not been published in English or was published in now mainly inaccessible outlets. In such cases, editors of accepted proposals will be required to acquire permissions to translate or republish the work (without any extra costs to the Book Series).

WHO is invited to submit?

The book series primarily promotes the work of ECREA members although a degree of openness towards non-ECREA members is also considered if the added value to the Book Series is evident. 

At least 50% of the chapters need to originate from current ECREA members (individual members, or members through an institutional membership). At least 50% of the editors need to be current ECREA members. These conditions need to be met at the latest when the proposal is accepted.

Please note that ECREA Executive Board members cannot be editors of the books in ECREA book series but can serve as authors of the chapters. The Book Series editors cannot contribute to the content of the books in the ECREA book series in any way. Please see Title IV of the ECREA Internal Regulations for more details on eligibility and selection procedure.

What is the DEADLINE for submissions?

The initial edited volume proposals for Step 1 of the CfP should be submitted to the series editors by email to info@ecrea.eu by 31 October 2025 (deadline extended).  

Generally, selection of proposals from Step 1 to proceed to Step 2 will take place by mid-December 2025, and extended proposals for Step 2 will be requested by March 2026 with the final selection of the book proposal for publication expected by May-early June 2026. 

HOW to submit a proposal?

The proposals in Step 1 should contain: the names, affiliation, and a brief CV (maximum of 1 A4 page) for each of the editors, the topic and the title of the proposed volume, and a rationale (maximum of 1,000 words). 

Proposals selected for Step 2 will be invited to submit an extended proposal for their edited volume. The extended proposal should include the expanded rationale for the book (up to 2,000 words); a list of the chapter titles in the volume along with an abstract (up to 250 words) for each chapter; the names, affiliations and a short bio (3-4 lines) of all the contributors, including editors and authors; and expanded abstracts for at least one but no more than three chapters, depending on the readiness level.

QUESTIONS and queries?

Should you have any further questions concerning the Book Series call, please contact the Book Series Editors at info@ecrea.eu.