IAMCR 2027 São Paulo
IAMCR

Global Media Policy Working Group

Call for Proposals

The Global Media Policy (GMP) 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

GMP focus and themes

Global media policy is at the heart of the IAMCR 2027 central theme––’Multilateralism, Democracy, Diversity: Communication for a More Just World’. In our call we invite papers that address the overarching question: How can we reimagine global media policy so it prioritizes, supports, and enacts multilateralism, democracy, and diversity?

At highlighted in our Global Communication Governance at the Crossroads (2023) collection, the shared premises, approaches, and institutions that underpin global policy have been under serious strain for some time––and the situation has only worsened with overlapping changes of entrenched inequalities, colonial legacies shaping emerging technologies, infrastructures, and social futures, torsions in geopolitics, and erosion of the bases of public participation. Alongside these trends is a widespread irruption of dissent, protest, creative social action, everyday innovation, and new modalities for exercising voice.

The Global Media Policy Working Group welcomes papers that directly tackle the conditions, prospects, and challenges for reimagining global media policy. We encourage contributions that start from new conceptual grounds, rethink power relations, question fundamental assumptions, envision new models, and identify pathways towards alternative policy and governance arrangements. 

In particular, we welcome contributions focussing on these topics in relation to reimagining global media policy:

  •   Analysis, diagnosis, and conceptualizations of the state of play of global media policy, when it comes to the keywords of communication and human rights;
  • What actors and interests need to be involved in a just and democratic system of global media policy? Are these adequately registered in research, and visible and represented in the formal and informal structures, settings, relations, and accountabilities of global media policy?
  • What areas, groups, and topics in global media policy merit better frameworks and attention if we want to achieve rights and equitable participation? 
  • How well is global media policy grappling with the imperatives and complexities of the ‘infrastructural turn’? How well do the new and refurbished concepts of sovereignty (digital, AI) and capability respond to these transversal governance challenges?
  • What are the priorities for decolonizing global media policy? How much momentum is there––and where do the promising movements, shifts, and potential catalysts for transformation lie?
  • What is the role of regions––and a new critical approach to regionalism––in global media policy?
  • How can global media policy respond to and be shaped by the ‘global from below’ of people’s everyday uses of technologies such as emergent AI?

All submissions need to clearly and directly outline their relevance to the 2027 GMP WG theme of reimagining global media policy. We especially welcome innovative, critical, and bold critiques, proposals, and ideas, with potential to shift and reframe the conversation, vocabularies, research, and policy agenda.

Guidelines for abstracts

Abstracts for consideration by the GMP WG should be between 800 and 1000 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.

Proposals are accepted for both single papers and multi-paper sessions. Please note that there are special procedures for submitting multi-paper sessions. You can find the detailed procedures when submitting your abstract online in the abstract submission system.

If your abstract is accepted, you will need to submit your full conference paper (up to 8000 words) by the IAMCR deadline, to be included in the programme. This deadline will be published in the IAMCR website.

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 GMP WP, especially the 2027 theme of reimagining global media policy

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

Languages

Abstracts in English, French or Spanish are welcome. Presentations are also welcome in any of the three languages, but we recommend researchers to prepare their slides in English to facilitate comprehension and discussion.

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 Global Media Policy Working Group

Learn more about the work and scope of the Global Media Policy Working Group

Contact the Working Group

For further information about the Global Media Policy Working Group and this year’s theme please contact:

Organisers