IAMCR - International Association for Media and Communication Research

IAMCR president, Annabelle Sreberny, and Aimée Vega Montiel, Chair of the Local Organising Committee of IAMCR's 2009 conference in Mexico have confirmed that the conference will proceed as planned from 21-24 July 2009. They also announced that in recognition of the difficulties encountered by some conference participants, the deadline for registering at reduced early registration fees will be extended to 15 July.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is not recommending any travel restrictions, since limiting travel would have very little effect on stopping the H1N1 virus from spreading and would be highly disruptive to the global community. WHO has raised the level of the H1N1 influenza alert to phase 6, which means that it is spreading, while the overall severity has weakened.

The overall assessment means that, by following some basic measures, people can minimize the risks of infection. All the sanitary measures recommended by WHO are still current in Mexico. Based on reports from WHO and the Mexican authorities, there is evidence that the Mexican outbreak is slowing down.

In addition, other countries are now seeing increasing numbers of cases not associated with travel to Mexico, which shows that the severity of the virus can change over time and differ by location or population.

Based on these reports, and with due regard to the safety of all our members, the IAMCR Executive Board and the Local Organising Committee confirm again that our conference in Mexico City will go ahead as planned.

In recognition of the difficulties in travelling to Mexico that are still imposed in some countries, we are extending the early registration date till July 15, 2009.

Salud!

Annabelle Sreberny                                        Aimée Vega Montiel
President, IAMCR                                           Chair of the Local Organising Committee

Website of IAMCR's 2009 conference in Mexico