Community Communication and Alternative Media Section
Call for Proposals
The Community Communication and Alternative Media (CAM) Section invites the submission of papers for IAMCR 2027, which will be held in São Paulo, Brazil, from 18 to 22 July 2027, hosted by the School of Communications and Arts at the University of São Paulo (ECA/USP) in partnership with the Associação de Apoio à Arte e Comunicação (ARCO).
The deadline for submission is 12 February 2027 at 23:59 UTC.
Download this call for papers as a PDF file
Central theme
The conference theme, “Multilateralism, Democracy, Diversity: Communication for a More Just World,” asks what communication can contribute at a time when international cooperation is under strain, democratic institutions are weakening and societies are becoming more divided. For CAM, these concerns raise questions about who can shape public debate, who controls the infrastructures through which communities communicate, and how locally grounded media practices can inform struggles for justice across borders.
Consult a detailed description of the main theme
The CAM Section brings together research on community, alternative and citizens’ media, media and digital activism, and communication practices rooted in civil society. Its remit spans do-it-yourself media, media made by and with communities of place or interest, Indigenous and First Nations media, and the communication practices of social movements. It also encompasses digital resistance and technopolitics, social media protest, countercultural expression and culture jamming, media monitoring and watchdog initiatives, and participatory media in the third sector alongside public-service and commercial media. These practices take shape through print and radio, face-to-face organising and public demonstrations, mobile phones and online networks.
CAM asks how marginalised groups make communication technologies their own, how citizens’ media endure, and how older forms of media activism coexist with newer ones. We examine the social, economic, political and legal conditions under which these practices operate, the kinds of journalism they produce, and the relationship between journalism and activism. We welcome work that develops theories and methods suited to these practices and tests what concepts such as networked publics, participatory democracy and active citizenship can explain.
We particularly welcome research undertaken with grassroots communities, groups facing systemic exclusion, and movements for social and environmental justice. We are interested in how communities respond to ecological crises, how migrants, refugees and diasporas build connections across languages and cultures, and what higher education can learn from community communication. This includes how market pressures on universities affect community-engaged teaching and research.
Community Media, Democratic Voice and Solidarities Across Borders
The CAM Section invites submissions from scholars and practitioners across its mandate, including work beyond the conference theme. For São Paulo, we especially welcome work on the themes below, although papers that are related to our Section’s larger remit are also encouraged. We welcome contributions grounded in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America, as well as South–South dialogue with communities and researchers in Africa, Asia and other regions.
- Democratic voice and public accountability. How do community radio, alternative journalism, and social movement media increase participation, hold institutions accountable, and deal with disinformation, polarization, and authoritarianism? Under what conditions do the publics involved have any influence on the decisions affecting them?
- Solidarities across borders and community perspectives on multilateralism. How do community media networks, diasporas, and social movements share knowledge, organize transnationally, and highlight community concerns in regional or global discussions of communication rights, migration, and climate justice?
- Digital sovereignty and community control. What contribution can community-owned networks and other forms of collective infrastructure make in response to platform power? How are communities negotiating the use of their data, languages, and knowledge in AI systems, and what would meaningful community involvement in governance entail?
- Diversity, decolonisation and the politics of listening. How do Indigenous, Afro-descendant, migrant, and other historically marginalized communities maintain languages, assert the right to representation, and challenge what knowledge is included? What can participatory and collaborative research learn from their approaches?
- Environmental justice and the sustainability of community media. How do communities communicate about land, extractivism, and climate disruption in their own terms? What forms of financing, policy support, community ownership, and pedagogy help to make community media sustainable?
We encourage formats that invite active participation, including roundtables, film screenings and exhibitions. Please contact a CAM co-chair (see details below) to discuss proposals for these and other formats.
Joint sessions
In 2027, the Section will be hosting joint sessions with the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) and with the Participatory Communication Research section (PCR).
CAM/ESN - Papers submitted to this session should have as a primary author/presenter an individual who identifies as an emerging scholar and relate to one or more of the themes above.
If you are interested in this session, see the ESN call for papers and submit your proposal following the procedures outlined there.
Guidelines for abstracts
Abstracts for in-person presentations in CAM sessions should be 500–800 words, and must be submitted through IAMCR's submission system from 9 December 2026 through 12 February 2027 at 23:59 UTC. Abstracts submitted by email will not be considered.
Proposals are accepted for both single Papers and for Panels with several papers (in which you propose multiple papers that address a single theme). Please note that there are special procedures for submitting panel proposals. You can find the detailed procedures when submitting your abstract online in the abstract submission system.
It is expected that each person will submit only one abstract. However, no author’s name should appear on more than two abstracts, either individually or as co-author. Authors may not submit more than one abstract to any given section or working group nor may they submit the same abstract, or a version with minor variations in title or content, to more than one Section or Working Group. Such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be rejected. Authors submitting the same work to multiple Sections or Working Groups may be removed entirely from the conference programme.
Student submissions
The CAM Section is a postgraduate-plus section. Student submissions are accepted only from postgraduate students (master’s level) and above. All student submissions must be properly identified as such in the submission platform, including the student's level of study.
Evaluation criteria
Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Rigour and technical quality.
- Clarity and readability.
- Originality or significance of the proposed contribution.
- How the proposal applies, develops or challenges theory.
- Knowledge of the relevant research, theory and literature.
- Relevance to CAM and to current debates in the field.
The Section may also consider the diversity and balance of the programme when making final selections.
Languages
CAM accepts abstracts and, for accepted contributions, full papers in English, French and Spanish. We group papers by theme and may include more than one language in a session. Where possible, the Section will arrange informal interpretation, including whisper translation. Presenters are asked to include text on their slides or other supporting materials in an official conference language different from the one they will speak.
Statement on use of AI tools
IAMCR does not encourage or condone the use of generative AI tools to prepare abstracts submitted for consideration for our conferences. IAMCR values originality, integrity, and transparency in academic work, and believes that human-authored contributions best support rigorous and innovative scholarship in media and communication research. Should an author choose to use a generative AI tool in the preparation of an abstract, we require that they include a clear statement within their submission disclosing the tool's use. This statement must specify: (1) the name of any AI tool used; (2) how the tool was used in preparing the abstract, and; (3) the reason for using the tool. Failure to disclose the use of generative AI in accordance with these guidelines may impact the evaluation and acceptance of the submission.
Intention to attend
Each abstract submitted to IAMCR represents a real cost to the Association and contributes to the workload of volunteer reviewers and organisers. As the number of submissions each year far exceeds the available presentation slots, we ask authors to submit only if they genuinely intend to attend and present their work at the conference if accepted.
Accepted papers must be presented in person by the authors designated as PRESENTING authors in the submission platform. For co-authored papers, at least one of the authors must attend and present the paper. Only authors or co-authors of an accepted paper are permitted to present it. If none of the authors is able to attend and present, the paper will be removed from the conference programme.
Deadlines and key dates
The deadline to submit proposals is 12 February 2027, at 23:59 UTC.
Other key dates to keep in mind. Dates are subject to change.
About the Community Communication and Alternative Media Section
Learn more about the work and scope of the Community Communication and Alternative Media Section
Contact the Section
Vinod Pavarala, Co-Chair
School of Digital Media & Communication, Mahindra University, India
vinod.pavarala@mahindrauniversity.edu.in
Andrew Ó Baoill, Co-Chair
School of English, Media and Creative Arts, University of Galway, Ireland
andrew.obaoill@universityofgalway.ie
Amparo Cadavid, Vice-Chair
School of Communication, UNIMINUTO, Colombia
amparo.cadavid@consultingecho.com
Juan Ramos Martín, Vice-Chair
School of Communication and Language, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia
juanramosm@javeriana.edu.co
