List All News Articles7th International Conference on Communication and Media Studies was held at EMU
Published Date: Sunday, 7 April 2024
The 7th International Conference on Communication and Media Studies organized by Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, Research and Communication Center for Peace (CRCP) was held with the theme "Peace-ing it Together: Reconsidering Communication, Community and the Media in the Anthropocene."
Researchers and academics from Northern Cyprus, Southern Cyprus, Turkey as well as Estonia, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Nigeria, Finland, Palestine and Pakistan made numerous presentations on topics such as peace journalism, animal rights, ethnographic studies for peace building, global warming, climate change and their representation in the media.
Two Keynote Speakers at the Conference
Prof. Kaarle Nordenstreng and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mashoed Bailie were the keynote speakers at the three-day conference held in the Purple Hall of the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies. Prof. Kaarle Nordenstreng attended the conference online and made a presentation on "Embracing the World Out of Order". Prof. Nordenstreng explained the concept of anthropocene, which describes the negative impact of human activities on the geological conditions and processes of the planet, and stated that the world has evolved from the colonial era to a multi-polarized state with anti-colonial movements. Summarizing five trends in media policies from the 1970s to the 2010s, Prof. Nordenstreng underlined the need for journalism and media studies to keep peace on the agenda despite the war between Ukraine-Russia and Gaza-Israel.
The second day of the conference started with the opening speech of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mashoed Bailie. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bailie delivered a keynote speech titled "Food For Thought: Fueling the Debate in Critical Media Studies". Assoc Prof. Dr. Bailie reminded that critical media studies, feminist studies and cultural studies, which are fed by critical political economy, provide a good position to understand human destruction of the planet and the environment, and that we all have a blind spot as a result of our socialization. This blind spot can lead us to the contradictory situation of eating cow or lamb meat while petting our dog or cat.
One of the guests of the second day was journalist Plestia Alaqad. Plestia Alaqad, a graduate of EMU Faculty of Communication, Department of New Media and Journalism, who demonstrated a successful example of journalism in the war between Israel and Palestine, connected online and made a presentation.
Prof. Dr. Aliefendioğlu: "The work of CRCP is very important for peaceful voices and efforts"
Commenting on the conference, Chair of CRCP Prof. Dr. Hanife Aliefendioğlu emphasized that the existence and work of CRCP is important in this period of increasing social, geographical and economic fragility in the region, which threatens peaceful voices and efforts.
Prof. Aliefendioğlu also expressed her happiness that Prof. Dr. Sevda Alankuş, the founder of CRCP, was awarded by the Journalists' Association of Turkey for her contributions to peace journalism.
Prof. Dr. Ersoy: "Peace Studies is the Mission of the Faculty of Communication"
Prof. Dr. Metin Ersoy, Dean of EMU Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, stated that the conference, which is traditionally hosted by EMU Faculty of Communication, was productive and successful. Prof. Dr. Ersoy stated that the culture of peace is very important at EMU Faculty of Communication and underlined that peace studies are carried out at the faculty and that this is a part of the faculty's mission. Stating that they are proud to be the center of such events, Prof. Dr. Ersoy emphasized that conferences and different events on peace communication have been organized at the Faculty of Communication for about 20 years. Prof. Dr. Ersoy also stated that they respectfully commemorate Prof. Dr. Johan Galtung, one of the important names of peace studies and peace journalism, who passed away recently.
