ECREA in Prague

Almost 1,400 delegates from 58 countries, 711 individually presented papers, 111 posters and 52 panels. Plus a group of students and their special internet television channel covering the event. That was the 6th European Communication Research and Education Association Conference, which took place in Prague Congress Centre from 9th to 12th of November.

ECREA organizes large-scale international conferences every other year. For the first time in its history, the European media studies academics‘ rendezvous was hosted by a Central/Eastern European country. „Honestly, we are really pleased with the way it’s turned out,“ said Irena Reifová, head of the Local Organising Committee.

The conference was praised even by the most distinguished members of the ECREA board, such as the President of the whole organisation, Mrs. Claudia Alvares: „I think it is a brilliant conference and everybody is very satisfied, which is very rare. There were always complaints at all conferences that I have attended in the past, but this one is going surprisingly smoothly. “

Thanks to journalism students from Charles University’s Institute of Media Studies and Journalism, the conference had its own television coverage. The mobile video journalism course TV crew consisted of nine students, who produced interviews, reports and other special content for the YouTube channel of the ECREA.

„We use tablets and smartphones,“ František Géla, a PhD student, said, in explanation of the uniqueness of the course called ‚Personal and Mobile Videojournalism‘ taught by Dr Martin Lokšík.

Students conducted interviews with the participants of the event, including keynote speakers. One of the most charismatic interviewees, Peter Dahlgren, who is the professor emeritus at the Department od Communication and Media at Lund University in Sweden, shared his views on media and civic cultures in Western so-called Late Democracy.

Equally impressive was the interview with Slovenian professor Sabina Mihelj, whose major areas of expertise include media and nationalism. She discussed today‘s media coverage of migration and war, and also spoke about Cold War media and communist television across several Eastern European countries.

As a bonus, the ‚cub reporters‘ were granted permission to cover the official party held for the media academics in the National House of Vinohrady.

The next ECREA conference will take place in Swiss Lugano in 2018. As
stated by ECREA President Claudia Alvares, it will be very difficult for
organisers „to live up to Prague’s marvelous organisation“.

The bar is set quite high.

​Text vznikl v rámci kurzu Angličtina pro žurnalisty Kabinetu jazykové přípravy.

Foto credit: František Géla