UCT’s Centre for Film and Media Studies selected to host regional hub of ICA Conference

The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Centre for Film and Media Studies (CFMS) has been selected as one of 11 regional hubs of the forthcoming International Communication Association (ICA) Conference. Cape Town will be one of four regional hubs in Africa – the others are Cairo, Nairobi, and Port Harcourt. The annual ICA Conference is due to take place from 21 to 26 May 2022 in Paris, France, and is one of two major events that attracts the world’s leading media and communications scholars.

The other major annual conference is hosted by the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). The ICA traces its roots to 1950 when it was established as the then-National Society for the Study of Communication. This year will be the 72nd edition of the annual ICA Conference.

Global stage

On being selected to host the regional hub, Associate Professor Tanja Bosch of the CFMS and current president of the South African Communications Association (SACOMM) said, “This will definitely raise the profile of the CFMS. It certainly makes us and our work much more visible on a global stage.”

Associate Professor Bosch will be attending the conference in person in Paris. She will be joined by two of her colleagues from the CFMS – Professor Herman Wasserman and Dr Liani Maasdorp. All three of them will present papers that have been accepted for the conference.

“It will give local media and communications scholars a fantastic opportunity to be part of the energy and atmosphere of the ICA Conference.”

The concept of regional hubs was born from the acknowledgement that not everyone may be able to attend the conference in person due to travel restrictions resulting from the COVID19 pandemic. The selection as regional hub host followed a competitive process, which started with a response to a call for proposals by the ICA.

Opportunity for local media and communications scholars

The CFMS will be hosting the regional hub of the annual ICA Conference in conjunction with SACOMM. The regional hub will host local face-to-face events, virtual social meet-ups, and a virtual panel. The local organising committee now has its work cut out to develop the programme and to finalise the list of attendees by the end of April.

“Given how prestigious the ICA’s work is, it is highly significant that we have been selected to host the regional hub because it will give local media and communications scholars a fantastic opportunity to be part of the energy and atmosphere of the ICA Conference in Paris even if they are not physically able to be there,” Bosch said.