Communicating, Imagining and Enacting Hope
The conference Communicating Narratives, Imaginaries and Epistemes of Hope, which took place on 7 September 2026 in Prague, brought together scholars from Europe, Asia and America to reflect on the constructive force of hope and how communication, media, art and civic practices can shape visions of societal change, democracy, peace and justice.
The event was organised as a joint conference of the Communication, Social Justice and Democracy (CJD) IAMCR Working Group and an ECREA 2026 pre-conference. It was financially supported by the IAMCR Sections & Working Groups Fund and hosted by the Culture and Communication Research Centre (CULCORC) at the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism (ICSJ), at Charles University in Prague.
The one-day event brought together 54 participants, including members of IAMCR and European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) as well as scholars from beyond these associations. It featured one keynote session with two speakers and 36 research contributions across eight thematic sessions.
The keynote session featured Associate Professor Ilija Tomanić Trivundža of the University of Ljubljana, a former ECREA president and vice-president, and Professor Nico Carpentier of Charles University, a former IAMCR president and ECREA vice-president. The two scholars explored the conceptual entanglement of hope, change and critique and their role in shaping visions and practices of social transformation.
The eight thematic sessions that followed covered a broad range of topics addressing hope through different theoretical lenses, cases and methodologies. These included visions of sustainable futures in public discourse, young people’s voices in digital environments, artistic and cultural expressions of hope, democratic practice and public disillusionment, peace and conflict communication, civic engagement, and the relationship between media, protest and political imaginaries.
Discussions continued beyond the individual presentations, with participants exchanging perspectives on how hope can be communicated through narratives and representations, expressed through artistic practices and civic engagement, and, more broadly, performed, negotiated and translated into collective practice.
