News

ECREA is happy to announce that the Call for Papers and the Pre-Conferences for 11th European Communication Conference (ECC) have been published.  

The conference will be organised by the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University (MUNI) from 8 to 11 September 2026 in Brno, Czech Republic, under the theme “Shifting Grounds: Paths, Connections, and Futures”.

This theme captures the urgency and potential of communication in shaping multiple possible futures. It invites us to consider how diverse perspectives, methods, and innovative solutions can help navigate today’s global crisis – from environmental breakdown and geopolitical conflicts to digital disruption and democratic backsliding – ensuring that communication research remains relevant, responsible, and contributing to a better, inclusive, and equitable future.

Proposals for papers/panels/rountables and posters can be submitted to all ECREA sections, temporary working groups and networks via the ECREA ECC 2026 submission platform until 8 January 2026. Please note that this deadline is final and will not be extended. 

The conference will support independent pre-conferences. The call for pre-conferences has now been published. 

Information on the individual calls and submission deadlines can be found on the conference website: https://ecrea2026brno.eu.

ECREA is happy to announce that the new Temporary Working Group has been established.

TWG on Media and Intimacy aims to establish a collaborative forum for media and communication researchers, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and exchange on the dynamic ways in which media structure, allow expression of, and govern intimate life.

You can check the profile here: https://ecrea.eu/page-18277.

We encourage all interested ECREA members to formally join the TWG, in order to receive and circulate important updates on events and publications. Please access your profile on the intranet, click on “update profile” and select the new TWG.

We are pleased to announce that the official ECREA Bluesky account has been launched.

The account will be used to share important announcements, including information about ECREA events and the upcoming ECC conference in Brno.

Join us here: https://bsky.app/profile/ecreaeu.bsky.social.

As part of the General Assembly, the Annual Report 2024 was approved. Here is a summary of the most interesting highlights:

• In 2024 ECREA held the its 10th European Communication Conference 
  
• The conference was also our largest - it received a total of 2,583 paper submissions and 1,113 accepted to the program.
  
• 52 submissions for panels, 37 accepted.
  
• 15 submissions for roundtables, 5 accepted.
  
• Total of 1,533 paying participants, of which 1,299 were ECREA members, 230 non-members and 419 PhD students. 
  
• Conference attracted participants from 27 countries, largest from Germany, followed by Netherlands, Slovenia and outside of Europe 32 attendees from USA 
  
• AI was the most searched phrase on the conference mobile app
  
• 2024 was the year of elections, a new Governing Body and Daily Governing Body was elected as well as members of the management Teams of Sections, Networks and Temporary Working Groups.
  
• In 2024 ECREA gave out 10 YECREA grants to attend to support attending the conference
  
• For the first time Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) scholarships were offered to 11 participants which helped to widen access to ECREA conference
  
• ECREA membership increased
  
• ECREA has 25 thematic sections, 5 temporary working groups, 3 networks
  
• A total of 132 students applied for a spot in the European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School marking a historical record.
  
• 18 Ukrainian scholars attended the ECREA conference in Ljubljana in September 2024, the highest level of participation recorded yet by ECREA
  
• ECREA sent 54 digests in 2024. It is successful also among ECREA non-members – in December 2024 it had 1160 additional subscribers.

Richard Kilborn, Honorary Professor at Stirling has passed away after a short illness. Professor Kilborn worked closely with ECREA for many years and was one of the co-founders of the ECREA Summer School. Many in the ECREA Governing Body and the wider ECREA community knew and worked with Richard quite closely. Richard will be sorely missed, but fondly remembered for his kind spirit, intellectual brilliance, his landmark scholarship and research, and his remarkable support for colleagues, early career researchers, students and the international and local communities.

Richard’s family invites all who knew him to a Celebration of Life in his honour. Details about the event can be found in a public post on Richard Kilborn’s profile, where you may also leave your condolences: https://www.facebook.com/richard.kilborn.1

The Daily Governing Body  of the Governing Body (composed out of Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, Herminder Kaur, Małgorzata Winiarska-Brodowska and Tetyana Lokot ) organised a General Assembly in the period 16-20 June 2025. The General Assembly was organised with a use of on-line voting tool.

The agenda was as follows:

• Approval of the minutes of the previous General Assembly (26 September 2024)
  
• Approval of the minutes of the previous extraordinary General Assembly (27 January 2025)
  
• Approval of the ECREA Executive Board Report for 2024 (including the ECREA accounts)
  
• Approval of the ECREA budget for the budget year 2025
  
• Approval of Summer School International Director nominated to the Governing Body
  
• Approval of Sections/Networks/TWGs representatives elected to the Governing Body
  
• Any other business
  

ECREA Working Members (individual members and coordinators of institutional members) had the right to vote.

36 out of 128  institutional coordinators voted (28 %) and 132 out of 501 individual members voted (26 %) at the General Assembly. In total, considering that institutional coordinator’s votes are weighted to 5 votes, 312 votes out of 1141 were expressed (27 %).

The decisions and votes of the General Assembly of 16 -20 June 2025 are as follows: https://vote.electionrunner.com/election/XRkWC/results

We’re happy to announce that a dedicated sup-page for the ECREA Workshop Series: Methods for Media and Communication Research has been launched. There you’ll find information about both past and upcoming workshops. ECREA members will also find a link to access instructors’ presentations and workshop recordings.

You can find the page HERE.

We at ECREA are deeply concerned about the state's pressure on the academic community in Serbia. Detaining students and professors, repressing peaceful protests, and mounting administrative and financial pressure on universities pose a significant threat to freedom of assembly and the university's autonomy. We urge the Serbian government to withdraw regulations threatening academic freedoms and secure the right to peaceful protests.

On the occasion of Academic Freedom Day, ECREA expresses its support for academic freedom and condemns all attempts to cut freedoms, which, unfortunately, are taking place worldwide. Academic Freedom is one of the core values of higher education and research, and this value needs more protection and care than ever. Academic freedom encompasses research, education and communication with internal and external stakeholders. We call for our members to continue drawing attention to the situations where academic freedom is being challenged.

ECREA will convene the 2025 ordinary General Assembly from 16–20 June. This Assembly will gather in an online space. Links to documents and voting tool will be shared with members when the General Assembly is opened the latest.

During the Assembly, ECREA members will be asked to approve the Annual Report 2024 as well as the budget for 2025, and also to approve the Summer School International Director and Sections/Networks/TWGs representatives elected to the Governing Body at the end of 2024.

The Agenda Draft is as follows:

1. Approval of the minutes of the previous General Assembly (26 September, 2024)
2. Approval of the minutes of the previous extraordinary General Assembly (27 January, 2025)
3. Approval of the ECREA Executive Board Report for 2024 (including the ECREA accounts)
4. Approval of the ECREA budget for the budget year 2025
5. Approval of Summer School International Director nominated to the Governing Body
6. Approval of Sections/Networks/TWGs representatives elected to the Governing Body
7. Any other business

If you wish to amend the agenda of the General Assembly, please, contact ECREA Administrator at info@ecrea.eu no langer than 16 May 2025 (30 days prior the General Assembly).

WHO CAN VOTE

Following our statutes (see https://www.ecrea.eu/Statutes), each individual member has one vote, and each coordinator of an institutional member holds five votes. If you are an ECREA member through an institutional membership and you are not the institutional coordinator, you cannot vote but need to communicate with your institutional coordinator. If you do not know who your institutional coordinator is, please ask ECREA’s General Secretary Herminder Kaur (generalsecretary@ecrea.eu) and ECREA Administrator (info@ecrea.eu) in cc.