Welcome to the last month of 2023! I hope you are well, as we wrap up the calendar year (and the academic year in some regions of the world).
I am pleased to inform that we had a strong number of submissions for the 2024 Gold Coast conference. We received 5670 submissions – 4,630 in-person individual and 1,040 remote individual submissions. Also, we received a total of 246 session proposals, both in person (153) and hybrid (93). These are slightly below the record-breaking numbers of 2023 Toronto and 2022 Paris, but they are still very robust. I am very happy about this news, especially because as we continue to host our annual conferences around the world, it is important to maintain high levels of submissions and attendance. Strong interest in presenting and attending the 2024 conference suggest that we are on the right path.
We have reviewed a good number of exciting proposals for pre- and post-conferences as well as Blue Sky sessions on a wide range of topics of interest across divisions and interest groups. Just to highlight the themes of some proposals: various panels on the "computational turn" in communication studies, ethics and human rights, visual communication, intelligent communication, area/regional media and communication studies, and disability communication.
For the past weeks, the ICA staff and the Division/Interest Group planners have been working on the review process. As you can imagine, there are many moving parts in this process, which requires regular communication and consultation among staff and planners. We greatly appreciate the time, care, and dedication of everyone involved.
As always, we welcome any suggestions about ways to improve the process. In the past, a few people asked about the timing of the review process, given that it falls at a time when many ICA members have several commitments and celebrate the holidays. While we are cognizant of the time crunch, it is important to remember that the timing is based on the need to have the decisions with enough time ahead of the conference (generally in May, except for this year in June). This is not only necessary to arrange conference logistics, but also to give plenty of time to colleagues who need to apply for visas. In the past, the visa application process has taken several months depending on the country of destination and country of residence and citizenship. In fact, in many instances, members received a response only a few days before they had to travel to the conference. So, we try to give members sufficient time to make plans once they hear about their visa application. Feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions that you would like the Executive Committee to know, as we continue to refine the submission process..
Finally, be on the lookout for upcoming information on tourism experiences.