As part of the 74th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), ICA is seeking to promote the scholarship and participation of First Nations scholars in both the conference and the association as a whole. Founded in 1950, ICA is the premier international academic association for scholars engaged in the study, teaching, and application of all aspects of human and mediated communication. It is organized into 33 Divisions and Interest Groups, each representing a subfield in the study of communication. The breadth of divisions and interest groups is our strength, showcasing our wide-ranging discipline in which different aspects of communication are linked not only by common processes and structures, but also by diverse theories and methodologies.
The 74th annual conference will be held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre at Broadbeach, Gold Coast, from 20-24 June 2024. The conference theme is Communication and Global Human Rights, with an aim to foster research, teaching, and collaboration about these topics.
ICA is keen to engage First Nations scholars in debates around communication in general, and, when applicable, Global Human Rights at the 2024 conference. We recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the sovereign people of Australia, and the Yugumbeh people as the traditional custodians of the lands on which the ICA conference is to be held. We welcome the participation of other First Nations researchers of the Pacific region and elsewhere to participate in the conference, such as the Māori people of Aoteoroa (New Zealand).
For the 2024 conference, the ICA will financially support the participation of up to ten First Nations scholars accepted to present at the conference, to cover travel to and accommodation on the Gold Coast, to a maximum of US $1,000 (AUD $1,600) per individual. One can propose a paper or panel that is applicable to the 2024 conference theme of Global Human Rights, or that relates to the call for papers from one or more of ICA's 33 Divisions and Interest Groups. Priority will be given to First Nations researchers from Australia in recognition of the Traditional Custodianship, by Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander people, of the lands on which the conference is being held.
If you wish to be a part of this academic gathering, please provide the Conference Organizers with a title, 400-word abstract of your contribution and its relationship to the conference theme, plus a separate 150-word summary of the description to appear in the conference program. Submissions may take the form of individual papers or pre-formed panels of up to five participants. If the latter, panels are expected to be gender balanced and to have a connected set of presentations. The submission deadline for this initiative is Friday, 15 December 2023. Outcomes will be formally advised by mid-January 2024. Selection of eligible papers will be based on the capacity of the work to advance communication research and scholarship based upon the ICA Guiding Principles.
NOTE: If you are a senior-level indigenous scholar and wish to volunteer to chair a panel in this initiative or attend as a mentor or respondent for early-career and student indigenous scholars, please contact us using the information below.
For further information on participation in the ICA 2024 conference as a First Nations researcher through this initiative, please contact Laura Sawyer, ICA Executive Director (lsawyer@icahdq.org) and Prof. Silvio Waisbord, President-Elect/2024 Conference Planner (waisbord@gwu.edu). Submissions must be received by 15 December 2023 to be considered and should be emailed to Dr. Waisbord and Ms. Sawyer with the subject line, "ICA24 First Nations Submission."