New Media International Conference in India

By Morgan Sigrist

IIJ Assistant & Ambassador

The Institute for International Journalism in the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, Scripps College of Communication, and Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam Tirupati, in India, are organizing an International academic conference in India. The conference is scheduled to be held from November 20-22, 2013 in Tirupati, a popular tourist destination. The conference is titled “Changing Landscape in Communication with New Media Technologies: Issues and Challenges”, and will focus on themes of social engagement, education and public health, and political discourse.

The key objective of the conference is to understand how new media

And mobile technology can be used to enhance our understanding of the issues of interest and to provide effective and innovative solutions. Participants from different parts of the world will help stimulate discussion about these issues and will provide a platform where the significance of media technology can be discussed from different perspectives. 

The organizing coordinator in India is Professor Dr. Vijaya Lakshmi, who also is a SUSI 2012 alumnus. The Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) on Journalism and Media is an annual summer institute of international journalism scholars and media experts from universities and academic institutions from around the world. The SUSI summer institute is funded by an annual renewable grant from the U.S. Department of State's Study of the U.S. Branch in the Office of Academic Exchange Programs.

“ Different countries at different stages of development may have different range of salient issues. For example, for developed countries, social engagement and political discourse may be more important issues, whereas for developing countries, fundamental issues like education and public health may have more importance. Bringing together scholars from different countries and sociopolitical environments may create great opportunities for mutual learning,” said Dr. Jatin Srivastava, one of the conference directors.

Dr. Srivastava observed that new media technology is increasingly becoming a dominant tool to address various social, political, and economic issues; this will provide a common frame of reference to participants to think about these problems and evaluate media and technology-based solutions.

The conference is inviting abstracts and articles from academicians and practitioners from countries all over the world; these submissions may cover qualitative or quantitative research and may also be about media based initiatives like campaign and new media products.