New Zealand will host the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) conference in 2024, the first time in almost 30 years the event will take place in the Southern Hemisphere.
More than 1,000 international and national delegates are expected to convene in Ōtautahi Christchurch at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre in July 2024, delivering an estimated NZ$1.6 million (US$1 million) to the local economy.
The conference will be hosted by Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) academics, putting Indigenous knowledge at the centre of communication research. UC’s bid for the conference was submitted in partnership with mana whenua (the local tribe), with the support of ChristchurchNZ and Tourism New Zealand.
The conference theme, Whiria te tangata | Weave the people together: Communicative projects of decolonising, engaging, and listening, invites reflection on the terms and models appropriate to describe contemporary communication, including the political and moral goals embedded in them.
UC’s formal partnership with local iwi Ngāi Tūāhuriri also contributed to the successful bid. UC is also home to the country’s first journalism school and is the only institution in the country to offer a Māori communications major.
