Category: Conferences

CFP ICA Virtual Preconference: Media and Communication in Global Latinidades (2026)

Conferences

Call for extended abstracts: Media and Communication in Global Latinidades, International Communication Association VIRTUAL Preconference, 3 June 2026. Deadline: 15 February 2026.

This preconference examines the production, distribution, and consumption of media and communication in global Latinidades. It follows up to the six preconferences held in the context of the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 Annual Meetings of the International Communication Association – on “Digital Journalism in Latin America” in 2019, on “Digital Media in Latin America” in 2020, on “Digital Media in Latinx and Latin America” in 2021, and on “Media & Communication in Global Latinidades” in 2022-2025.

This 8th edition will continue to center on media and communication practices of the Latinx and Latin American experience globally. Despite its long history, research about Latinx and Latin American topics — largely made by Latinx and Latin American researchers worldwide — tends to be underrepresented in communication scholarship in general, and in ICA in particular. As such, the preconference will address the theme of media and communication in local, global and/or transnational Latinx and Latin American experiences, such as those related to issues of access, practices, representations, markets, technologies, and more.

CFP The Politics of Intercomprehension (Belgium)

Conferences

Call for extended abstracts: The politics of intercomprehension, Université de Mons, Mons, Belgium, 18-19 June 2026. Deadline: 15 January 2026.

Studies of language acquisition, language education and other contexts of multilingualism present intercomprehension as the phenomenon of understanding, or being understood, through different modes of communication. It is a transdisciplinary and “polyhedral concept”: researchers employ distinct formulations, but all play with the (inter)action of understanding in contexts of difference. This has real political stakes, though they have not always been acknowledged. What does it mean to understand a message, as it relates to power and recognition? What does it mean to understand a person, or to understand each other? Is understanding always necessary? And when (and for whom) is it a privilege? The aim of this two-day conference is to tug at the ideological threads woven into intercomprehension and unfasten it from its purely linguistic interpretation to achieve a transdisciplinary understanding. We hope that this gathering of different academic and activist perspectives will engender a more inclusive framing of the concept.

In the Global North, linguistic intercomprehension is understood as the process of an interlocutor understanding unknown languages within the same linguistic family as their primarily used languages. It has been lauded as a practice subversive to monolingual norms and aligned with European values, without much contextualization of the colonial ontology underpinning European frameworks of multilingualism and multiculturalism. Projects of minority language revitalization have increasingly promoted intercomprehension as a tool for democratic collaboration, but its consequences for linguistically-isolated communities (e.g. Euskera in Euskal Herria, which does not belong to the same linguistic family as neighboring minority languages) has not been explored. What are the benefits and limitations to such practices? How does increased technological intervention transform these practices? Furthermore, we invite contributions that critically explore how politics of intercomprehension are enacted for vulnerable groups, particularly when understanding and intelligibility are transformed into responsibilities rather than rights. For instance, situations of migration and (im)mobility offer unique contexts to further understand how intercomprehension happens when people are mixed together or forced apart.

Organizers invite participants to analyze the relationships between intercomprehension and different conceptualizations of multilingualism. Of particular interest is the moral and ideological work that surrounds this intersection. For example, does the application of intercomprehension practices signify a more democratic future for language users, or are its liberatory aspects overstated, as Jürgen Jaspers warned with translanguaging (2018)? Moreover, the ontological limits of linguistic intercomprehension seem to be restrained to human multilingualism. How can the “animal turn” in sociolinguistics (Cornips: 2025) contribute to theorizing intercomprehension as a distributed and emergent property between sociomaterial actors, human and non-human?

This conference welcomes creative approaches to questions such as these to understand the political and ideological contours of a multilingual future based in intercomprehension.

CFP International Conference on Religion and Intercultural Dialogue 2026 (Indonesia)

ConferencesCall for abstracts: International Conference on Religion and Intercultural Dialogue, 19-20 May 2026, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia. Submission deadline: 29 April 2026.

The (ICRICD-26) aims to be the all-so-necessary rocket fuel of progress for the field of Religion and Intercultural Dialogue by providing everyone from students and educators to researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals, the inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and radical ingenuity that they need to be able to go out there and achieve big things. From invigorating keynote speeches and research presentation sessions to pathbreaking workshops, debates, networking sessions, exhibits, and more, the (ICRICD-26) will prove to be the accelerant of progress that the world will attribute all success in Religion and Intercultural Dialogue to in the years to come.

Although there is a certain degree of progress that is in existence in the discipline of Religion and Intercultural Dialogue at present, the pace of progress isn’t something that anybody engaged in the field is proud of. Every reason for this slower-than-expected speed of development can be summed up as being a result of this one major hindrance to progress – the lack of motivation and the absence of a motivating factor.

CFP ICA Preconference: Rethinking Global Discourses of Racial Inequality (South Africa)

ConferencesCall for abstracts: Preconference: Rethinking Global Discourses of Racial Inequality, 4 June 2026, Cape Town South Africa. Submission deadline: 15 February 2026.

Organizers invite submissions for an in-person pre-conference titled, “Rethinking Global Discourses of Racial Inequality,” at the International Communication Association’s 2026 meeting, jointly organized by the Language & Social Interaction (LSI), Intercultural Communication (ICC), and Ethnicity & Race in Communication (ERIC) divisions.

This pre-conference responds to the current global moment, marked by intersecting discourses of racism, resistance, justice, and empowerment. Across societies, renewed attention to racial inequalities has sparked calls to reimagine the conceptual and methodological tools we use to study how race is constituted, normalized, and contested in communication practices.

Their aim is to create an interdisciplinary and supportive space where all participants (particularly students and early-career scholars) can share their work, receive constructive feedback, and build networks for collaboration across divisions and disciplines. By bringing together scholars from LSI, ICC, and ERIC, organizers seek to advance cross-divisional dialogue and develop innovative approaches to understanding and transforming global discourses of race and inequality.

CFP Theorizing Communication in, of, and from the Balkans (Online)

ConferencesCall for participants: Theorizing Communication in, of, and from the Balkans, 27-28 May 2026. Interest form due: 20 January 2026 (Extended to 30 January)

Responding to the academic dominance of Western theorizing of communication, this summer intensive aims to “come back to basics” and activate Balkan place-based knowledges to wonder together: What counts as communication in the first place and in this place? Who and what communicates? What forms of communication feel un/familiar and un/necessary? How is communication shaped by and how does it shape creative, educational, civic and political activities and processes, difference and belonging, community building and resilience, and (responses to) local and global crises and conflicts?

This summer intensive will welcome participants to inhabit together the in-betweens of the Balkans as a rich borderlands locale for communication theorizing, so that we can chart new
place-based questions and paths for exploring them. We hope to foster a multinational, interdisciplinary, and intercultural scholarly community around shared interests in questions of
communication in the region. Organizers think of communication very broadly and welcome scholars and practitioners of any academic background who are actively engaged in analyzing, creating, and/or theorizing from and with Balkan (Southeastern European) perspectives and experiences.

In this two-day intensive, participants will first learn about culture-centered approaches (CCAs) and borderlands theorizing as models to elevate context-specific ways of knowing and being and how they are expressed and negotiated with/in communication. Workshops during the first day will focus on methodologies for culture-centered theorizing, such as ethnography, narrative and arts-based research, and critical realist analysis of media. During the second day, we will gather in participatory working groups to further explore how such approaches can be adapted or redefined in and from Balkan contexts. Participants will be able to connect with fellow academics regarding ongoing or future research projects and submit work emerging from the intensive to upcoming publications, including an edited volume.

CFP LRI Workshop for Early-Career Researchers: Oral Communication and Plurilingualism (Italy)

ConferencesCall for papers: 8th LRI Workshop for Early-Career Researchers: Oral Communication and Plurilingualism, Merano, Italy, 11-12 June 2026. Submission deadline: 15 January 2026; extended to 1 February..

The Linguistic Colloquium Language, Region, Identity aims to foster scientific exchanges within the Alpine region and beyond. It is specifically targeted at early career researchers (PhD students and post-docs). The colloquia, jointly organised by a team from six universities and research centres in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, intend to offer a forum for discussing current and recently concluded projects. The biennial editions are organised around three keywords: language, region and identity.

Each Linguistic Colloquium workshop has a specific topic of interest. The 8th edition will address topics related to oral communication and plurilingualism. In contexts characterised by territorial multilingualism and/or increasing levels of linguistic diversity, language manifests itself as a complex dialogical process involving multiple resources – registers, varieties, and discourses – which speakers select to engage in processes of meaning-making, identity negotiation, and to act upon their realities.

With this in mind, organizers welcome contributions that deal with orality and spoken language, focusing in particular on oral communication in connection with:
• communicative acts within a specific genre of private or institutional communication, e.g., family talk, communication at school and university, with public authorities, medical practitioners, etc.;
• the linguistic features of spoken language from a phonetic-phonological, lexical, morphological, syntactical, pragmatic, or interactional point of view; this may also include the contrast between different languages and varieties or between spoken and written languages;
• the teaching and learning of oral competences in formal and informal contexts;
• the positioning of speakers from a sociolinguistic or variational linguistic perspective;
• translanguaging and mediation practices among plurilingual speakers in private or institutional settings;
• oral communication and spoken language in experiences of mobility and migration;
• methodological, epistemological and/or ontological challenges in research on oral communication and spoken language.

Different languages and varieties in the Alpine region will provide the focal points of the workshop; however, the workshop is also open to related topics and projects, including overarching dimensions such as language ideologies and Artificial Intelligence in connection with spoken language and orality.

CFP: IN SITU Final Conference (Latvia)

Conferences

Call for papers, IN SITU: Final Conference, Culture Matters Here. Cultivating Creative Place-based Innovation in Non-urban Communities, Valmiera, Latvia, 11-13 May 2026. Deadline: 8 December 2025 (extended to 15 December).

IN SITU final conference Latvia 2026This event will be a catalyst for networking, exchange, and knowledge-building among participants, furthering understanding of the issues and opportunities for rural creative work, and contributing to a more supportive environment for cultural and creative actors in non-urban areas.

Organizers invite scholars, researchers, artists, cultural practitioners, activists, policymakers, and decision-makers from across the world and a wide variety of disciplines to submit proposals for presentations of papers and projects. They welcome participation by the large community of the European Rural Pact, including the Community Group on Culture and Creativity in Rural Areas. A special geographical focus will be placed on innovative and sustainable cultural and creative practices in remote areas and peripheral corners of Europe.

All submissions should offer an original contribution to the vital topic of place-based innovation and the transformative power of the creative and cultural sector in forging more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable communities in rural and non-urban areas. Participants will also share key insights from their research, highlight project results, and look ahead to future plans. Additionally, the event will host the premiere of the IN SITU documentary, offering an inside look at Labs and case studies

CFP U Cambridge: Translating Conflict and Refuge (UK)

ConferencesCall for papers: Translating Conflict and Refuge: Language, Displacement, and the Politics of Representation, University of Cambridge, England, 24 April 2026. Submission deadline: 5 December 2025.

Linguistic barriers exacerbate the already formidable challenges of responding to humanitarian crises, particularly—but not exclusively—in conflict zones. In the past decade alone armed conflicts worldwide have inflicted untold suffering on large populations and often resulted in mass displacement. Addressing the needs of those affected by war and violence necessitates the involvement of large numbers of translators and interpreters, many of whom are frequently untrained volunteers. In addition to the immediate crisis response, people with, or seeking, refugee and/or asylum seeker status require sustained access to translation and interpreting support in host countries, both in order to access basic services and to enable their integration into local communities.

This event will bring together translators, interpreters, scholars, NGO representatives, and volunteers to develop a deeper understanding of the complex demands and realities involved in translating conflict and refuge. The aim is to create a space for meaningful exchange as well as to generate concrete opportunities for collaboration.

CFP Interactional Competences and Practices in a Second Language

ConferencesCall for papers: Interactional Competences and Practices in a Second Language, Newcastle University, UK, 24-26 August 2026. Deadline: 21 November to 20 February 2026.

The fifth ICOP-L2 conference will be hosted by Newcastle University in the North-East of England and by the University’s Applied Linguistics & Communication (ALC) research team. ALC at Newcastle has a long and proud history of research in social interaction research, and L2 interaction more specifically, dating back over 20 years.

A Call for Papers will be circulated in mid-September.

CFP Culture Matters Here (Latvia)

ConferencesCall for papers: Culture Matters Here: Cultivating Creative Place-Based Innovation in Non-urban Communities, Valmiera, Latvia, 11-13 May 2026. Deadline: 8 December 2025.

The IN SITU Final Conference, “Culture Matters Here. Cultivating Creative Place-based Innovation in Non-urban Communities,” will take place in Valmiera, Latvia, from 11-13 May 2026. Organised within the project IN SITU – Place-based Innovation of Cultural and Creative Industries in Non-urban Areas, the conference will be a dynamic forum for exploring cutting-edge research and practices in place-based innovation and creativity of the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) in non-urban areas.

This conference is co-organised by the Latvian Academy of Culture and the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra in cooperation with the European Network of Cultural Centres, Culture Action Europe and all the IN SITU project partners, and in conjunction with our local associates, Valmiera County Municipality and Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences. The IN SITU project receives support from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme (Grant Agreement no. 101061747).

This event will be a catalyst for networking, exchange, and knowledge-building among participants, furthering understanding of the issues and opportunities for rural creative work, and contributing to a more supportive environment for cultural and creative actors in non-urban areas. Organizers invite scholars, researchers, artists, cultural practitioners, activists, policymakers, and decision-makers from across the world and a wide variety of disciplines to submit proposals for presentations of papers and projects. They welcome participation by the large community of the European Rural Pact, including the Community Group on Culture and Creativity in Rural Areas.

All submissions should offer an original contribution to the vital topic of place-based innovation and the transformative power of the creative and cultural sector in forging more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable communities in rural and non-urban areas. Participants will also share key insights from their research, highlight project results, and look ahead to future plans. Additionally, the event will host the premiere of the IN SITU documentary, offering an inside look at their Labs and case studies.