Participatory Communication Research Section

The work that is presented in the Participatory Communication Research Section is not based on any specific definition of participation. Rather, participation is a term used to refer to a number of social and planning processes occurring in many different places and in many different contexts. The Section addresses issues related to communication between community members and other stakeholders that are engaged in processes of social change. The sessions that the Section organizes at the IAMCR conferences are meant to work toward theoretical and methodological clarification. Therefore, both papers and statements discussing theoretical or methodological perspectives and/or documenting specific case studies are welcomed.

Topics cover a wide variety of issues that relate to research in relation to processes of communication that incorporate participation in an intrinsic way. This includes subjects and processes of democratisation, communication and information rights, ICTs for sustainable development, health communication, environmental communication, agricultural extension services, folk media and social movements, communication planning activities and interventions, national and cultural identities, community studies and the relationship between participation, empowerment and gender, community radio and participatory video production, non-formal participatory forms of education, participatory rapid appraisals, participatory action research, and so on.

Co chair: Ana Duarte Melo (University of Minho / CECS, Portugal) [Contact]
Co chair: Dorismilda Flores-Márquez (Universidad De La Salle Bajío, México) [Contact]
Vice chair: Piyu Gong (Jinan University, China) [Contact]
Vice chair: Arun John (University of Hyderabad, India) [Contact]
Vice chair: Ana Lúcia Nunes de Sousa (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) [Contact]

PCR Section contact email: iamcr.pcr [at] gmail.com


See the list of all current members of the Participatory Communication Research Section. For more information about a given member, go to https://iamcr.org/members-contact (accessible only to IAMCR members).


To join the Participatory Communication Research Section, login to your account and select My Sections and Working Groups from the menu. A number of IAMCR sections and working groups send notices and other information exclusively to their members. IAMCR members can join up to three sections or working groups.

Join the PCR section in social media: https://www.facebook.com/groups/iamcrpcr/

IAMCR's Participatory Communication Research Section invites proposals for IAMCR 2023, to be held in Lyon, France, from 9 to 13 July (Lyon23) with an Online Conference Papers (OCP23) component from 26 June to 5 July. The deadline for submission is 9 February 2023, at 23.59 UTC.
The Participatory Communication Research Section regularly issues newsletters with information of interest to its members. The December 2022 issue includes calls for papers for IAMCR 2023 and for a special issue of Conjunctions Journal, and season´s greetings from the section´s head.
The Participatory Communication Research Section regularly issues newsletters with information of interest to its members. The July 2022 issue includes information about the activities planned for the upcoming conference IAMCR 2022.
The Participatory Communication Research Section regularly issues newsletters with information of interest to its members. The June 2022 issue focuses on the upcoming conference IAMCR Beijing 2022, with information about submissions and a special session on China that the section is organising.
The Participatory Communication Research Section regularly issues newsletters with information of interest to its members. The January 2022 issue includes a reminder about the abstract deadline for IAMCR Beijing 2022, a call for reviewers for the IAMCR Beijing 2022 abstracts, and a call to join the PCR Facebook Group.
The Participatory Communication Research Section regularly issues newsletters with information of interest to its members. The December issue includes an announcement about the section´s change in composition and the recently launched call for papers for IAMCR 2022.
IAMCR's Participatory Communication Research Section invites the submission of proposals for papers and panels for IAMCR 2022, which will be held online from 11 to 15 July 2022. The conference will also have a national hub at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The deadline for submission is 9 February 2021, at 23.59 UTC.
The Participatory Communication Research Section issued its October newsletter, including information about the upcoming webinar “The evolution of popular communication”, and an overview of the section's participation in IAMCR 2021.
07 October, 2021 - The Participatory Communication Research Section sponsored a webinar to present the book "The Evolution of Popular Communication in Latin America”. Watch it at the IAMCR Webinars Channel on Vimeo.
The Participatory Communication Research Section regularly issues newsletters with information of interest to its members. The August issue invites the section members to keep digging into IAMCR 2021 and its contents which remain accessible until September.
The July newsletter of the Participatory Communication Research Section includes all the details about the section's participation at IAMCR 2021: Online Conference Papers programme, online video session, interactive forums and more.
The July newsletter of the Participatory Communication Research Section includes news about the upcoming conference IAMCR 2021, and recently released publications by section members.
The Participatory Communication Research Section (PCR) regularly issues newsletters with information of interest to its members. The April newsletter includes news about IAMCR 2021, a number of calls for papers and recently released publications.
The Participatory Communication Research Section (PCR) regularly issues newsletters with information of interest to its members. The January newsletter includes guidelines for abstract submissions for IAMCR 2021, and a call for reviewers.
IAMCR's Participatory Communication Research Section invites the submission of proposals for single papers and multi-paper sessions (the online conference equivalent of a panel in a face to face conference) for IAMCR 2021, which will be held online from 11 to 15 July, with a regional hub in Nairobi, Kenya. The deadline for submission is 9 February 2021, at 23.59 UTC.
The Participatory Communication Research Section (PCR) regularly issues newsletters with information of interest to its members. The December newsletter includes information about the call for papers for IAMCR Nairobi 2021, and an invitation to contribute for the development of a 2021 events calendar.
The Participatory Communication Research Section (PCR) regularly issues newsletters with information of interest to its members. The July newsletter includes information about the newly elected section head and an early balance of IAMCR 2020 online conference. Read it here.
Today, on 17 July 2020, the results of the PCR Section elections were announced at the IAMCR general assembly.
The two elected PCR co-chairs are Ana Duarte Melo (University of Minho / CECS, Portugal) and Dorismilda Flores-Márquez (Universidad De La Salle Bajío, México).
The IAMCR 2020 conference has opened the online papers segment. This part of the conference is only accessible to members.