September 7, 2026

Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

Deadline: May 10, 2026

Joint Communication, Social Justice and Democracy IAMCR Working Group conference & ECREA 2026 pre-conference

By focusing on 'hope', the conference aims to foster intellectual reflection and dialogue, through diverse approaches and methods, on how spaces, practices, cultures, and technologies of communication can give visibility to or help articulate claims and inform struggles for fairer societies, dignity, and freedom.

Read more: https://iksz.fsv.cuni.cz/en/research/conferences/communicating-narratives-imaginaries-and-epistemes-hope

Political ideology, religious faith, science and art are all informed by visions of hope, the promise or prospect of a good state of affairs in the future. While hope is shaped by ideas of the present (and the past), it is mainly forward-looking, articulating visions of possible futures. Hope can be a powerful motivator for mobilisation and societal change. At the same time, aspirations for a better future may be instrumentalised or manipulated for political gain or financial profit. This conference focuses on the constructive force of hope, addressing visions, discourses, and practices of hope for democracy, peace and justice, as articulated in media representations and communicative practices. 

By focusing on hope, the conference aims to foster intellectual reflection and dialogue, through diverse approaches and methods, on how spaces, practices, cultures, and technologies of communication can give visibility to or help articulate claims and inform struggles for fairer societies, dignity, and freedom. 

A wide range of settings, fields and practices may serve as objects or loci of study (e.g., journalism, political communication, campaigning, activism, popular culture, art, history, education, religion), exploring how hope is represented, negotiated, rearticulated and performed by actors and groups in the social realm. 

We welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following thematic areas: 

• how societal phenomena, challenges, and crises (e.g., climate change, migration, war and conflict, extremism) are mediated and reconfigured  through narratives of hope at national and international levels; 
  
• how different actors, social groups, and institutions (e.g., media, political parties, education, religion, art) negotiate their visions of hope in mediated environments; 
  
• how visions of peace and justice are communicated in public discourse and through people’s struggles; 
  
• how history is mobilised in communicative practices and public debates in articulations of better presents and futures; 
  
• how space, time and technology inform narratives and imaginaries of hope;
  
• how imaginaries of hope are constructed in contexts of persistent curtailment of freedoms and rights, and increasing authoritarianism; 
  
• how viable democratic presents and futures are imagined, under dire conditions of ongoing conflict, violence, or war; 
  
• how struggles against injustice, oppression and authoritarianism inform, and are informed by, cultures and epistemes of hope. 
  

Abstract length and submission deadline 

Abstracts of 400–500 words should be submitted by 10 May 2026 via email to vaia.doudaki@fsv.cuni.cz 

Please note that this conference will be held in person only; no arrangements will be made for online participation. 

Decisions will be announced by 10 June 2026. 

Date and location 

Date: 7 September 2026 

Location: Centrum Voršilská, 5th floor, Charles University / Voršilská 144/1, Prague, Czech Republic 

The conference is scheduled for the day before the ECREA 2026 main conference begins. Brno, the host city of this year’s ECREA conference, is approximately a 2.5–3 hour train ride from Prague, with very frequent connections. 

Conference organisers 

This is a joint Communication, Social Justice and Democracy IAMCR working group conference & ECREA 2026 pre-conference. 

The conference is endorsed by the International and Intercultural Communication ECREA section, and is hosted by the Culture and Communication Research Centre (CULCORC) @ the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism (ICSJ) (Charles University) 

Contact: Vaia Doudaki, vaia.doudaki@fsv.cuni.cz 

Scientific Committee 

Vaia Doudaki (Charles University, Czech Republic) 

Nico Carpentier (Charles University, Czech Republic) 

Ilija Tomanić Trivundža (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia) 

Andrea Medrado (University of Exeter, UK) 

Fernando Oliveira Paulino (University of Brasilia, Brazil) 

Tania Cantrell Rosas-Moreno (Loyola University Maryland, United States)