IAMCR newsletter October 2026
Míle buíochas (a thousand thanks) to all who joined us at the conference in Galway. It was certainly an invigorating experience to host, and I hope that you had a rewarding experience at the conference and during your time in Ireland.
The Galway conference was one of the largest IAMCR conferences to date, with over 1700 participants, and marked a continuation of the growth in submissions of the association, which has been particularly evident in recent years. One of the challenges for the association will be to decide how we want to manage this increased demand. What are the values that underpin the association that we will want to see reflected in its activities, and in particular its face-to-face meetings?
For my part, I've always been struck by how collegiality and intellectual rigour go hand-in-hand at IAMCR. The conference is large, but can feel intimate, particularly through the efforts of our sections and working groups. It is largely through those same sections and working groups - and the efforts of literally hundreds of volunteers - that we are able to develop a coherent conference programme that engages and inspires. I hope that we have been able to sustain that model with this year's conference, aided by the convivial relationship between 'town and gown' in Galway and the vibrant cultural life of the city.
We had a number of initiatives this year of which I was particularly proud. With generous support from the Urban Communication Foundation we hosted the inaugural Gary Gumpert event, in memory of the UCF's founder. That event, a one-day workshop in advance of the main conference, brought together scholars, community media practitioners, youth development workers, and policy makers, to examine the changing role of community media in creating social space. We also held a public panel event during the conference looking at issues of minoritised languages and media - a relevant topic for a city that has such a close relationship with the Irish language. (I hope that many of you brought home your Irish language guide, and perhaps will use a 'cúpla focail' the next time we meet!)
Somewhat incidental to our work in the association, but worth noting too, is the economic impact that an event like IAMCR has on the host city. Our best estimates are that the conference had an impact of close to €3.5m, supporting jobs particularly in the hospitality sector. The flipside of this, of course, for our members is the cost associated with attending and participating in physical conferences - which seems always to increase, but never decrease. These costs have an impact, of course, on issues of inclusion and diversity, but even in relatively well-off university systems it can be increasingly challenging to make the case for support for conference attendance, even as we ourselves know the benefits that flow from such participation. This is why initiatives like IAMCR's travel grants scheme are important, but so too are efforts at S&WG level to build spaces for engagement and collaborations between the annual in-person conferences, offering avenues for participation for those unable to attend the physical conference, while building on the goodwill and networks developed during those conferences. Here too, reflecting on the values that prompted the founding of IAMCR can help inspire us as we look to develop future activities.
It is, of course, vital to acknowledge the efforts of the many people who made the conference a success - not least the hundreds of volunteers within the organisation who ensure the scientific programme is designed and implemented. Close to five thousand submissions to our ExOrdo platform were reviewed and evaluated, sessions were convened and chaired, and S&WG activities were organised. Our conference staff, led by Chrissy and the team from Abbey Conferences, but including catering, janitorial, security, and facilities staff at the university. Ethan at our conferencing office, who supported our initial bid to host. And, vitally, the association's staff, led by Salvo and Valeria, who do so much year-round to ensure the association's success.
Andrew Ó Baoill
Chair, Galway Local Organising Committee