Conference on Building Community–Shaping Change, July 13 -14, 2014 at Hyderabad, India

New Delhi: 20/03/2014: The current socio-political environment across the globe is characterized by significant transformations. Geopolitical change has seen the breaking down of some the world’s walls and the erecting of others, changes to traditional loci of power and to social structures in the context of mobility and migration. Regions have emerged as new geopolitical forces as well as social reference points – both inside nation-states and as clusters of several countries.

Community, citizen and alternative media are becoming more relevant in this context as they connect the local with the national and global, and relate to realities of migration, mobility, and new community formations. From local community radio, to trans-border diaspora media, to regional networks and online communities, these diverse media forms create new social and mediated spaces. From participatory theatre to mobile phones, from community newspapers to video activism, they explore diverse media platforms to build community and shape change.

A Pre-conference by the ‘Role of Community, Citizen and Alternative Media in Regional Transformation’ is being organised by the Community Communication Section of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) and the UNESCO Chair on Community Media at University of Hyderabad in collaboration with UNESCO, the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), Ideosync Media Combine and the Ford Foundation on July 13 -14, 2014 at Hyderabad, India.

Interested academician and practitioners of community media can submit a proposal with a brief summary of 300-500 words by 15 April 2014 to BuildingCommunity@iamcr.org.  The Organising Committee will review all proposals and make a selection by 15 May 2014.  This 2-day event will be held as a pre-conference to the annual IAMCR conference. The themes and debates from this event will be presented (and discussed further) at the Community Communication Section of the IAMCR.