Digital Divide Working Group

Call for Proposals

The Digital Divide (DID) Working Group invites the submission of abstracts for its 2027 conference, to be held from 18 to 22 July 2027 in São Paulo, Brazil, 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 2027 central theme, Multilateralism, Democracy, Diversity: Communication for a More Just World, is a globally resonant and critically urgent call to action. It centers communication as the pivotal force in navigating three interconnected crises defining our contemporary moment: 1) the fraying of global governance, 2) the erosion of democratic institutions, and 3) the deepening of social fragmentation. By uniting these concepts, the theme invites a comprehensive, interdisciplinary inquiry into how media and technology either perpetuate global injustice or serve as instruments for building equitable systems.

The 2027, marking 70 years since the first IAMCR conference held in Paris in 1957, will serve as a platform to challenge hegemonies, prioritizing the decolonization of media studies and communication for social justice and create a truly inclusive space for global dialogue: a space that not only showcases the diversity and creativity of communication scholarship, but also strengthens collective capacities to imagine fairer, more sustainable, and democratic communicational futures.

Consult a detailed description of the main theme

DID focus and themes

The Digital Divide (DID) Working Group invites proposals that critically examine how digital inequalities shape whose voices are heard, who can participate in public life, and who sets the rules for digital communication. In dialogue with the conference theme, we particularly welcome research that connects these inequalities to global technology governance, democratic participation, and the representation of diverse languages, cultures, and ways of knowing.

The Working Group encourages submissions that examine how differences in connectivity, affordability, accessibility, and digital skills intersect with the concentration of power over platforms, data, and artificial intelligence. We also welcome work on how communities facing digital exclusion build and govern their own infrastructures, develop locally relevant technologies, and assert control over their data and knowledge.

The Working Group welcomes theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions across diverse contexts. We particularly encourage research grounded in Latin America and other regions of the Global South, including work that advances South–South dialogue.

Suggested topic areas

We welcome submissions on the following and related topics:

• Connectivity and infrastructure—Affordability, accessibility, and quality of access, including community networks and barriers to using digital public services.
• Digital inequalities and democratic participation— How unequal access and visibility shape civic engagement, public debate, and exposure to disinformation.
• AI and algorithmic inequality— Bias in automated systems, uneven access to AI, and the representation of different languages and communities in training data and outputs.
• Digital capital and unequal outcomes— How differences in skills, resources, and networks shape who can turn digital access into educational, economic, or civic opportunities.
• Data colonialism and data sovereignty— Data extraction, ownership, and control, including Indigenous and community-led approaches to data governance.
• Platform power and diversity—How content moderation, recommendation systems, and platform business models shape the visibility of minority-language media and marginalised communities.
• Digital and AI literacies, judgment and agency — How educational institutions, public organisations and communities develop people’s capacity to assess digital information, verify AI outputs and make informed choices, and how these capacities vary across social and linguistic contexts.
• Epistemic justice and digital research—Participatory and decolonial methods that examine whose knowledge is produced, recognised, and circulated through digital systems.
• Digital inclusion and sustainable development— How digital inclusion policies address social equity, public accountability, and the environmental costs of digital infrastructure.
• Multilateral governance and digital inequality — How international institutions, regional alliances, technical standards and cross-border policy negotiations shape the distribution of digital resources and influence over technology governance.
• Measuring digital inequalities and evaluating interventions—Indicators, comparative and longitudinal research, and evaluations that examine who benefits from digital inclusion initiatives, under what conditions, and with what outcomes.

Guidelines for abstracts

DID welcomes abstract proposals between 800 and 1,000 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.

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.

Formats

Individual papers and panel proposals comprising 4–5 papers addressing a common theme.

Panel proposals should provide a panel title, an overview explaining the shared research problem and the relationship between the papers, the organiser’s contact details, and the titles, author details and abstracts of the proposed papers. Panels should demonstrate coherence while allowing distinct perspectives on the common 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.

Abstracts should identify the research problem or question, explain the relevant theoretical framework, describe the research design or analytical approach, and state the contribution to digital divide research. Empirical submissions should report findings where available; work in progress should clearly identify its stage of completion. Conceptual and methodological submissions should explain their central argument and how it is developed.

Submissions may address any topic within the Digital Divide Working Group’s remit. Engagement with the conference’s central theme is welcome but is not a condition of acceptance.

Evaluation criteria

Submitted abstracts will generally be evaluated on the basis of:

• Technical merit
• Readability
• Originality and/or significance
• Use of or contribution to theory
• Depth of knowledge of the research, theory and/or literature related to the proposed topic as evidenced in the submission
• Relevance to the working group and current trends or controversies in its field

Acceptance of proposals may also be conditioned by programme diversity and balance criteria.

Languages

The Digital Divide Working Group accepts proposals in English only and can only arrange presentations in English at the conference.

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 other key dates to keep in mind. Dates are subject to change.

About the Digital Divide Working Group

Learn more about the work and scope of the Digital Divide Working Group

Contact the Working Group

For queries about the Working Group, its themes or submissions, please contact:

Co-chair: Dr. Uma Shankar Pandey

Surendranath College for Women, University of Calcutta, India usp@sncwcal.ac.in

Co-chair:Dr.BhanuBhaktaAcharya University of Ottawa, Canada bacharya@uottawa.ca

Conference website: https://iamcr.org/saopaulo2027