IAMCR - International Association for Media and Communication Research

Call for contributions to a round table on "Communication as a Human Right: Policy challenges, public interest narratives and visions for the future" jointly organized by the Working Group on Global Media Policy and the Emerging Scholars Network.

Jean d’Arcy, the father of the right to communicate, said some three decades ago that we need about 100 years until the right to communicate is fully realized and studied globally. In order to contribute to this debate, and adopting an inter-disciplinary as well as inter-generational approach to the study of communication as a human right, the Emerging Scholars Network and the Working Group on Global Media Policy of the IAMCR invite interested scholars and advocates to submit abstracts for a jointly organized round table on: "Communication as a Human Right: Policy challenges, public interest narratives and visions for the future".

The idea of communication as a human right is intertwined with multiple threads of research and advocacy, such as but not limited to: legal and juridical studies, social work and equality, identity and inter-group communication, globalization and development studies, colonial and post-colonial studies, feminist studies, political sciences, deliberative democracy, and social movement studies. Taking into consideration this rich disciplinary landscape, but with a special focus on the promotion of human rights through communication and the recognition of communication as a fundamental right, we invite contributions that address one (or more) of the following themes:

1. Historical investigations addressing the nexus between communication and human rights in past and contemporary policy narratives and practices;
   
   
2. Comparative analyses of different policy trends towards the framing, recognition and promotion of communication as a fundamental human right;
   
   
3. Case studies and examples proving/refuting the treatment of communication as a human right in media policies and communication governance;
   
   
4. Possible solutions/attempts to reconcile such debates and address contemporary challenges: visionary proposals for carrying forward the one hundred years of debate foreseen by D’Arcy.

The Emerging Scholars Network and the Working Group on Global Media Policy of the IAMCR are particularly interested in fostering theoretical as well as empirical work by emerging scholars on the theme, and intend to do this by establishing ongoing and interactive debates across generations of scholars. For this reason, the roundtable will feature six emerging scholars, each addressing one of the above mentioned topics through short interventions; two senior discussants will respond to these contributions involving the audience.

Interested contributors are invited to submit a proposal of no more than 500-words stating clearly in which way, and on what ground (theoretical and methodological), they intend to tackle the nexus between communication as a human right and policy challenges.

Submissions should include your name, affiliation, and email address, and should be sent by February 16, 2009 to Stefania Milan at stefania.milan[AT]eui.eu. The final list of panellists will be announced by March 29, 2009.