ECREA

2007 is the European Year for Equal Opportunities for All, with a focus on equality, diversity and 'a just society' (see http://equality2007.europa.eu/).

While the EU advances as a comprehensive decision-maker and power broker, by all accounts it continues to remain a 'remote', complex and non-transparent political entity. Although the EU is seemingly proceeding with its integration project, at the same time the ways and the methods through which this is happening are either incomprehensible or disputable or both. Indeed, to its own citizens, the EU risks becoming an 'empty signifier'.

This symposium aims to assess the roles of media and communication in fostering equal opportunities, civic participation and diversity in Europe, as well as its potentials for addressing the European democratic deficit, particularily the perceived disconnection between the economic and political elites and large parts of EU citizens. At the same time, the symposium will critically discuss and interrogate the role of media and communication relating to issues of equality, diversity, civic participation and democracy beyond the nation state, on the basis of theoretical and/or empirical research.

Media and communication can be seen to fulfill different roles in this regard; as a medium (information provision), as a mediator (deliberative processes, activism), as a political actor (the media and media-professionals), as a citizenship right (communication rights), as a tool for or indicator of enhancing equal opportunities, but also as a battlefield for meaning on what it entails to be a European citizen or what Europe means.

Original Call for papers::http://www.ecrea.eu/events/about/id/11

Download Final Programme: pdf
Download Book of Abstracts: pdf

This ECREA-Event is organised by: ECREA's Gender and Communication section, Communication and Democracy section, Political Communication section and Journalism Studies section

With the kind support of: The European Journalism Centre and Vesalius College (VUB)

Key-Information:

	Registration is free for ECREA-members, non-members should become an ECREA member
	Deadline for online registration is 15/09/2007 (after that on site registration!)
	Deadline for full papers is 15/09/2007, send to ECREAsymposium2007@hotmail.com as txt, word format, on first page title, author(s) and affiliation. No more than 9000 words (Refs. included).
	Accomodation or travel expenses are not refunded