June 30 - July 1, 2023

Bled (Slovenia)

Deadline: February 1, 2023

The jubilee, 30th international symposium on public relations research, will be held in-person on June 30 and July 1, 2023 at Hotel Rikli Balance in Bled (Slovenia). Submission deadline for paper abstracts and panel proposals is February 1, 2023.

BledCom 2023 will be a bit different: there will be more keynotes, more formats for presentation and more time to debate. We can announce the first two confirmed keynote speakers: David Haig, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and Steve Shepperson-Smith, President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).

This year we will not only celebrate the 30th BledCom's anniversary but also the 15th European Communication Monitor's (ECM) anniversary, with a panel discussion moderated by Ansgar Zerfass (University of Leipzig). The panelists will be Ralph Tench (Leeds Beckett University), Dejan Verčič (University of Ljubljana and Herman & Partners) and Tina Cipot (President of the Public Relations Society of Slovenia and Head of Corporate Communications, Lidl Slovenia).

The theme of the 30th conference is "Public Relations and Sustainability". The main purpose of public relations is the synchronization of organizations with their environments – natural, social, cultural, political and technological. Crises and change are the driving forces behind the profession, and as the first become more frequent and the second accelerates the role of public relations in making organizations and societies sustainable increases. Sustainability is the ability of a system (an individual, a group, an organization, society, the planet) to maintain continuity over time. According to the Brundtland Commission (the World Commission on Environment and Development, United Nations), sustainability means ”meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”

BledCom invites abstracts that are between 500 and 800 words (including title and keywords) with up to 5 references. We welcome ALL papers that are relevant to public relations and communication management and not just papers that discuss the conference theme. We also welcome panel proposals. Please submit paper abstracts and panel proposals via email to bledcom@fdv.uni-lj.si by February 1, 2023 (Midnight CET).

Decisions will be made by March 4, 2023 after peer review. Full papers not exceeding 6.000 words will be due by September 16, 2023 for inclusion in the conference proceedings.

BledCom 2023 Call for Papers is available here: https://www.bledcom.com/30th-jubilee-bledcom-on-public-relations-and-sustainability