Faculty, researchers, students, and academic leaders from Northwestern University in Qatar (NUQ) participated in the 76th Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, held June 4-8 in Cape Town, South Africa. The event, which centered on the theme “Communication and Inequalities in Context,” addressed how communication both reflects and influences inequalities across social, political, economic, cultural, and technological domains.
The ICA conference, hosted on the African continent for the first time, provided a platform for communication scholars worldwide to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the field amid rapid global changes. NUQ’s presence was notable, with representatives contributing to nearly 20 sessions through paper presentations, panel discussions, leadership roles, and collaborative research efforts. Their work spanned diverse topics including media and technology, journalism studies, digital cultures, political communication, artificial intelligence, migration, identity, and social change.
Marwan M Kraidy, dean and CEO of NUQ, highlighted the importance of the conference as a premier venue for scholarly exchange. He emphasized the opportunity to engage with global colleagues on pressing societal and institutional questions. Kraidy also took part in the opening plenary session, which focused on “Inequalities and Knowledge Production in Communication: Inroads and Challenges Ahead.” This session examined structural inequalities that shape communication research, such as limited representation of Global South perspectives, barriers in academic publishing, and emerging digital divides. The choice of Cape Town as host city underscored the conference’s commitment to expanding global participation in knowledge production and fostering more inclusive approaches to communication scholarship.
A key component of NUQ’s involvement was through the Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South (#IAS_NUQ), which advances dialogue across regions, disciplines, and intellectual traditions. Supported by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, the Institute co-organized the ICA pre-conference titled “Echoes and Overlaps in Arab and African Thought on Media and Culture: Forging New Directions for Research.” This event convened scholars from Africa, the Arab world, and beyond to explore intellectual traditions that have often been studied separately despite their historical and cultural connections. Discussions focused on how Arab and African approaches to media, communication, and cultural studies can inform each other and contribute fresh perspectives to the field.
NUQ’s active engagement at ICA 2026 reflects its ongoing commitment to promoting research that foregrounds Global South perspectives and shapes the evolving international discourse in communication and media studies. The university’s involvement highlights its role in fostering critical conversations on inequality and knowledge production within academia.