Participation of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Arts at the Jubilee Conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research – IAMCR

Participation of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Arts at the Jubilee Conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research – IAMCR

On the coast of the Caribbean - in Cartagena de Indias - Colombia, where eternal summer surrounds the Marquez spirit, from 16 to 20 July 2017, scientists from all over the world met at a recent conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research - IAMCR. The motto of the traditional academic forum this year was "Transforming culture, politics and communication: new media, new territories, new discourses."
The sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the Association was marked with this main theme. Over 1,400 approved reports, presented in 15 sections and in as many working groups, outlined the main research topics and guidelines. Plenary sessions and special sessions represented a unique platform for scientific debates on the state of play and the future development of media and communications.
A film festival, presentation of new books by leading publishers, informal events accompanied the academic fiesta. The organizers had invited Jaime, the brother of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as a guide on the places of the Nobel laureate. It is in Cartagena - Gabo, as it is called in Latin America, has started his journalist career. Here are some of the prototypes of his works. His home looks to the endless sea, and further on is the San Felipe fortress and the beaches of Boca Grande. The centuries-old colonial architecture of the Old Town, the picturesque colorful houses, the wooden balconies remarkably resembling the ancient Bulgarian buildings - are part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. And nearby is the luxury of the skyscrapers. The great contrasts of the smell of money and the urban poor coexist with the Latinos' carelessness. The weather is hot, humid, the city lives at night.
The Bulgarian participation in this world scientific forum was related to two reports: "The Media Image of Political Populism in Bulgaria" and "Media Literacy and Political Populism in the Context of Media Ecology", presented in co-authorship by Academician Lilia Raycheva and Associate Member Dobrinka Peicheva - both of them members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Arts and the IAMCR. In their reports, the authors presented the results of their participation in Action COST IS 1308 of the European Commission: "Populist Political Communication in Europe: Understanding the Challenges of Mediated Political Populism over Democratic Policies".
At the closure of the Science Forum, all participants paid tribute to recently deceased Dennis McQueale. President of IAMCR prof. Janet Uasko raises important questions about academic freedom of insufficient financing of science, for horizons of media studies in the new communications environment.
The next annual IAMCR conference with the motto "Reconsideration of Sustainability" will be organized in 2018 in Oregon, USA.