Northwestern Qatar Scholars Advance Global Conversations at ICA 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Faculty, researchers, students, and academic leaders from Northwestern University in Qatar joined communication scholars from around the world at the 76th Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, held June 4–8 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Centered on the theme, "Communication and Inequalities in Context," ICA 2026 explored how communication both reflects and shapes inequalities across social, political, economic, cultural, and technological spheres. The conference provided a platform for scholars to examine the challenges and opportunities facing communication research at a time of rapid global transformation.

Northwestern Qatar was represented in close to twenty sessions through a wide range of paper presentations, panel discussions, leadership roles, and scholarly collaborations, reflecting the university's continued commitment to advancing research and knowledge production focused on the Global South.

Faculty members contributed research spanning media and technology, journalism studies, digital cultures, political communication, artificial intelligence, migration, identity, and social change. Their participation highlighted the breadth of scholarship emerging from Northwestern Qatar and its growing contribution to international conversations in communication and media studies.

"ICA remains one of the most important venues for scholarly exchange in our field," said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern University in Qatar. "It provides an opportunity not only to share research, but to engage with colleagues from around the world on questions that are increasingly urgent for our societies and our institutions."

The conference also provided opportunities for undergraduate and graduate researchers to engage with leading scholars, receive feedback on their work, and participate in conversations shaping the future of communication research.

Dean Kraidy participated as featured speaker in the 76th opening plenary, as part of the association's flagship annual conference. The plenary, themed "Inequalities and Knowledge Production in Communication: Inroads and Challenges Ahead," examined structural inequities shaping communication research, including the representation of Global South perspectives, barriers within academic publishing, and emerging digital divides. 

Hosted on the African continent for the first time, the session underscored the importance of broadening global participation in knowledge production and advancing more inclusive approaches to communication scholarship, priorities that closely align with Northwestern Qatar's mission and Dean Kraidy's own scholarly contributions to the field.

A significant aspect of Northwestern Qatar's presence at ICA 2026 was the contribution of the Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South (#IAS_NUQ), whose initiatives continue to create platforms for dialogue across regions, disciplines, and intellectual traditions.

Through its Arab Information and Media Studies (AIMS) initiative, supported by Andrew Carnegie Foundation, #IAS_NUQ co-organized the ICA 2026 preconference, "Echoes and Overlaps in Arab and African Thought on Media and Culture: Forging New Directions for Research."

Held prior to the main conference, the preconference brought together scholars from Africa, the Arab world, and beyond to examine intellectual traditions that have often been studied separately despite their historical connections and shared concerns. Discussions explored how Arab and African approaches to media, communication, and cultural studies can inform one another and contribute new perspectives to the field.

The initiative reflects #IAS_NUQ's broader mission of fostering evidence-based scholarship and supporting intellectual exchange centered on the histories, cultures, societies, and media of the Global South. By creating spaces for dialogue across regions and academic traditions, the Institute contributes to ongoing efforts to diversify communication scholarship and broaden the range of perspectives represented within the discipline.

The preconference was organized by Clovis Bergère and Marwan M. Kraidy of Northwestern Qatar in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Cape Town and the University of Colorado Boulder. It built upon conversations initiated at ICA 2025 and forms part of a longer-term effort to strengthen scholarly networks connecting Arab and African media and communication researchers.

Beyond the preconference, Northwestern Qatar scholars participated in numerous ICA sessions, sharing research findings and engaging with peers from institutions around the world. Their work reflected the university's commitment to rigorous scholarship, interdisciplinary inquiry, and engagement with contemporary global challenges.

For Northwestern Qatar, participation in ICA 2026 reinforced the university's role as a multidisciplinary community of evidence-based storytellers focused on the Global South. Through research, teaching, and public scholarship, the university continues to contribute to conversations that deepen understanding of communication, culture, technology, and society across diverse global contexts.

As communication scholars confront questions of inequality, representation, technological transformation, and social change, Northwestern Qatar remains committed to advancing research that is globally engaged, intellectually rigorous, and attentive to the experiences and perspectives of communities across the Global South.

The university community including leadership, faculty, staff, postdoctorates, and undergraduate students will also have a major presence at IAMCR Galway 2026, leading key conversations and engagements under the theme “Peripheries and Connections: Media, Communication, and Transformation.” For details on NU-Q at IAMCR, please visit: https://www.qatar.northwestern.edu/special-events/conferences/iamcr.html

For NU-Q’s presence at the ICA conference, please visit: https://www.qatar.northwestern.edu/special-events/conferences/ica.html