Communicating science for a better post-COVID world – An IAMCR pre-conference

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Update: This was initially planned as a hybrid pre-conference. On 16 May Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in Suzhou, host of the pre-conference, announced that due to a recent outbreak of COVID 19 in the city the conference will be online only.

Date

Sunday, 10 July 2022

Pre-conference website

Register, see the call for papers and get the most up-to-date and complete information on the preconference website.

Location

The conference will be in hybrid mode (online and in-person), physically located at the Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), Suzhou, China. International participants can choose online participation via Zoom.   

Description

Download the call for papers

With the COVID-19 threats gradually fading worldwide, the pandemic has brought much for us to reflect on regarding science, health, risk, and digital communication. On one hand, the disaster highlights the importance of science and health communication in promoting preventive behaviors, vaccination, and fighting misinformation. Still, on the other hand, the public health crisis also showcases how science and health communication are constrained in a world shaped by polarization, conspiracy theories, and different contextual situations. If we want to communicate science and health information effectively for a better post-COVID world, we must advance a compelling research agenda to understand better how science and health communication scholarship is influenced by the social environment it is deeply embedded in.

This pre-conference event will feature keynote and parallel speeches covering science communication solutions to a polarized world, public engagement with science through social media platforms, theoretical development to reflect the different prevention strategies against COVID-19 across cultures and contexts research opportunities brought up by the pandemic. The pre-conference will consist of some keynote speeches and four to five panels, drawing on speakers from inside and outside China, from developed and developing countries. These panels will include discussions on the forum's calls for papers (extended abstracts) in the following aspects:

  • Reconsidering public scientific literacy in a public health crisis
  • Collectivism and its public health implications
  • Identifying (and healing) social polarization for a post-COVID world
  • Constructive communication with social media platforms
  • Climate change mitigation with communication strategies
  • Metaverse: A communication research bonanza and a new PR slogan
  • Mobilizing the science community for communication in the new era
  • Exploring science communication as an organizational communication
  • Misinformation, conspiracy, and infodemiology across cultures  
  • Discovering new forms of collective movements amidst the pandemic

Proposal submission guidelines 

We invite submissions of proposals that fall into any of the above categories. Abstracts between 300 and 500 words IN ENGLISH are requested and should be submitted via the conference website at https://iamcr2022pre.scievent.com. Please include the proposal title, abstract, keywords, and all author information (title, affiliation, and email address). We intend to publish a special issue in an English journal based on the selected papers from this preconference.

Key dates

Pre-conference registration opens:  1 March 2022 
Abstract submission deadline: 15 April 2022, at 23.59 UTC
Acceptance decision made: 1 May 2022
Date of preconference: 10 July 2022

Registration and participation

All participants must register online. Registration is free and can be done online on the conference website https://iamcr2022pre.scievent.com.

Participation is open to all interested people - on-site for China-based participants and online for international speakers and audiences via Zoom.    

Organiser

School of Communication, Soochow University

In partnership with

  • Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU)
  • IAMCR's Environment, Science and Risk Communication Working Group

More information

Download the call for papers

Pre-conference website

Contacts: Dr. Zheng Yang / Dr. Yeheng Pan