SCCCA hopeful of hosting IAMCR Conference in 2021
From left to right: Bruce Girard (CEO), Gerard Goggin (Secretary General), Elske van de Fliert (Treasurer), Janet Wasko (President), Kioko Ireri (Chair, Department of Journalism) and Dr. Joseph Nyanoti (Journalism Faculty) pose for a photo session after a 2-hour meeting at Universidad Complutense Madrid in Madrid, Spain. PHOTO: Courtesy
By Kioko Ireri
The School of Communication, Cinematic and Creative Arts (SCCCA) is hopeful of hosting the 2021 edition of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR).
This is after Dr. Kioko Ireri, Chair Department of Journalism and Corporate Communication held successful talks with the IAMCR Executive Board members during this year’s conference held in Madrid, Spain, from 7-11 July. He was accompanied by Dr. Joseph Nyanoti, a faculty member in the department.
They held a two-hour talk with Janet Wasko (President and from School of Journalism University of Oregon), Bruce Girard (CEO), Gerald Goggin (Secretary General), and Elske van de Fliert (treasurer). Earlier, the Executive Board had unanimously accepted a concept paper to host the conference submitted in January 2019 by the department.
After the Madrid talks, the Journalism Department will submit a full proposal by end of October. The Executive Board is expected to do a site visit in April 2020, ahead of the conference. IAMCR held its first conference in 1957 in Paris, France. Nairobi will be the second African city to host the conference after Durban, who hosted it in 2012. The conference attracts an average of 1,500 participants.