2009 International Association of Media and Communication Research 
Congress, Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco-UNAM, Mexico City,
Mexico, July 21- 24, 2009

Community Communication Section

Call for papers

‘If we are all communicating, is anyone listening?’ – John
Downing (2007)

Community-based media has a close – and contested – relationship
with information rights.  The overarching theme of IAMCR 2009 is
‘Human Rights Communication’, incorporating ‘freedom of
expression’ and ‘universal access to information and knowledge’.
IAMCR’s Community Communication section is therefore an important
opportunity to explore and debate the role of community and alternative
media from a rights perspective. Can community media advance
communication rights? How do we ensure that communities, groups and
individuals are given the means not only to speak, but to be heard?
We seek in- depth and cutting- edge research papers on issues of media
access, participation and evaluation of outcomes; media projects
undertaken by marginalized and under- represented groups; the
development and support of public and community- based media
institutions and infrastructures; the production and distribution of
community and alternative media; and theoretical and historical
contributions to the field.


About the Community Communication Section

IAMCR’s Community Communication section is the premier international
forum for community and alternative media studies. This is the place for
research on media practices that differ significantly from government
and market- dominated paradigms. Community and alternative media
originate, circulate and resonate from the sphere of civil society, yet
may interact with both state and market. Community media serve specific
cultural or geographic communities. The field includes do- it- yourself
media, media for social change, and a wide range of non- government and
non- commercial practices using all kinds of communication
technologies.


Guidelines for Participants

*Individual or co-authored papers: Applicants must submit a 500 word
abstract that describes the topic of their paper and its significance,
the theoretical framework,  and research methods.  

*Panel proposals: The panel coordinator must submit a well- defined
statement of purpose, a complete list of panel participants, and full
abstracts for each presentation.  

All submissions should include a  paper title, as well as authors'
names, institutional affiliations  and full contact information (mailing
address, email address, and  telephone numbers).  

Submissions in the authors’ native language must  also include an
English translation.  Submissions should not be submitted to more than
one IAMCR  division. 

Please send abstracts via the IAMCR 2009 conference website:
http://www.iamcr2009mexico.unam.mx/english/form.html
For further information or assistance, please contact the Community
Communication Section Chair, Per Jauert, on pjauert[at]imv.au.dk. 


Submitting to the Right Section

Please consider carefully which IAMCR section is most appropriate for
your paper. We cannot guarantee acceptance if your paper has been sent
to the wrong section in the first instance (as places are extremely
limited). Please contact the Community Communication section committee
well before the deadline if you are unsure. 
●	Researchers examining community media for development purposes 
should apply to the Participatory Communication Research section. 
●	Researchers studying ethnic community media within a Diaspora 
framework should apply to the Diaspora and Media working group.
Visit www.iamcr.org for more information about IAMCR sections and
working groups.


Deadlines

Submission of abstracts:  January 31, 2009
Submission results announced:  March 15, 2009



Dr Ellie Rennie
Research Fellow
Institute for Social Research
ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation
+61 3 9214 5303
0404 808 900