ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

February 12, 2026

LSE/online

Apps and AI are now part of everyday schooling: who are they really for? 

Homework platforms, learning apps, AI-driven assessments, classroom monitoring… Digital tools and AI are embedded in children’s school experience. 

While these technologies promise innovation, efficiency and personalisation, we must also urgently explore:

- children’s rights and wellbeing, what “good learning” actually looks like

- how decisions about classroom technologies are made

- and what it means to profit from compulsory schooling

At our upcoming public lecture, we will explore these topics by bringing together perspectives that are rarely in the same room: child rights advocates, investors shaping the learning technology market and academics.

Speakers: Dr Sandra El Gemayel, Jen Persson, Prof Julian Sefton-Green, Rhys Spence, Chair Sonia Livingstone

Public lecture, Thursday 12 Feb | 6:30-8pm (UTC) | in-person at LSE (with drinks reception) and online

Topic: EdTech at the crossroads of pedagogy vs profit

Register Here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/events/edtech

Hosted by the Digital Futures for Children centre, Department of Media and Communications at LSE & 5Rights

September 7, 2026

Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

Deadline: May 10, 2026

Joint Communication, Social Justice and Democracy IAMCR Working Group conference & ECREA 2026 pre-conference

Read more: https://iksz.fsv.cuni.cz/en/research/conferences/communicating-narratives-imaginaries-and-epistemes-hope

Political ideology, religious faith, science and art are all informed by visions of hope, the promise or prospect of a good state of affairs in the future. While hope is shaped by ideas of the present (and the past), it is mainly forward-looking, articulating visions of possible futures. Hope can be a powerful motivator for mobilisation and societal change. At the same time, aspirations for a better future may be instrumentalised or manipulated for political gain or financial profit. This conference focuses on the constructive force of hope, addressing visions, discourses, and practices of hope for democracy, peace and justice, as articulated in media representations and communicative practices. 

By focusing on hope, the conference aims to foster intellectual reflection and dialogue, through diverse approaches and methods, on how spaces, practices, cultures, and technologies of communication can give visibility to or help articulate claims and inform struggles for fairer societies, dignity, and freedom. 

A wide range of settings, fields and practices may serve as objects or loci of study (e.g., journalism, political communication, campaigning, activism, popular culture, art, history, education, religion), exploring how hope is represented, negotiated, rearticulated and performed by actors and groups in the social realm. 

We welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following thematic areas: 

• how societal phenomena, challenges, and crises (e.g., climate change, migration, war and conflict, extremism) are mediated and reconfigured  through narratives of hope at national and international levels; 
  
• how different actors, social groups, and institutions (e.g., media, political parties, education, religion, art) negotiate their visions of hope in mediated environments; 
  
• how visions of peace and justice are communicated in public discourse and through people’s struggles; 
  
• how history is mobilised in communicative practices and public debates in articulations of better presents and futures; 
  
• how space, time and technology inform narratives and imaginaries of hope;
  
• how imaginaries of hope are constructed in contexts of persistent curtailment of freedoms and rights, and increasing authoritarianism; 
  
• how viable democratic presents and futures are imagined, under dire conditions of ongoing conflict, violence, or war; 
  
• how struggles against injustice, oppression and authoritarianism inform, and are informed by, cultures and epistemes of hope. 
  

Abstract length and submission deadline 

Abstracts of 400–500 words should be submitted by 10 May 2026 via email to vaia.doudaki@fsv.cuni.cz 

Please note that this conference will be held in person only; no arrangements will be made for online participation. 

Decisions will be announced by 10 June 2026. 

Date and location 

Date: 7 September 2026 

Location: Centrum Voršilská, 5th floor, Charles University / Voršilská 144/1, Prague, Czech Republic 

The conference is scheduled for the day before the ECREA 2026 main conference begins. Brno, the host city of this year’s ECREA conference, is approximately a 2.5–3 hour train ride from Prague, with very frequent connections. 

Conference organisers 

This is a joint Communication, Social Justice and Democracy IAMCR working group conference & ECREA 2026 pre-conference. 

The conference is endorsed by the International and Intercultural Communication ECREA section, and is hosted by the Culture and Communication Research Centre (CULCORC) @ the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism (ICSJ) (Charles University) 

Contact: Vaia Doudaki, vaia.doudaki@fsv.cuni.cz 

Scientific Committee 

Vaia Doudaki (Charles University, Czech Republic) 

Nico Carpentier (Charles University, Czech Republic) 

Ilija Tomanić Trivundža (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia) 

Andrea Medrado (University of Exeter, UK) 

Fernando Oliveira Paulino (University of Brasilia, Brazil) 

Tania Cantrell Rosas-Moreno (Loyola University Maryland, United States) 

May 5, 2026

Lusaka, Zambia

Deadline: February 20, 2026

In connection with the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) 2026 Global Conference, which will take place in Lusaka on 4 May, UNESCO and partners: University of Liverpool, Oslo Metropolitan University, the University of Sheffield, Tampere University, the University of Zambia, and the Worlds of Journalism Study invite scholars to submit abstracts for the WPFD Academic Conference to be held on 5 May 2026 in Lusaka.

At a time of declining global freedom of expression, rising conflict, digital disruption, and growing economic pressure on independent media, the academic conference will provide a platform for evidence-based research and interdisciplinary dialogue on the future of journalism, information ecosystems, and democratic governance.

Please submit your abstracts via this link: https://forms.gle/mT8YsCQGSoLcxpja7

The deadline for abstract submissions is 20 February.

For any further inquiries, please contact either:

Dr Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova, University of Liverpool, vpetkova@liverpool.ac.uk

Dr Brenda Bukowa, University of Zambia, hod.dmcs@unza.ac.zm

June 1, 2026

International Online Symposium

Deadline: April 1, 2026

Website: HERE

The growing complexity arising from the integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) into creative practices requires equally complex theoretical, conceptual, and methodological approaches across different disciplines and fields of research (Ruszev et al. 2025). Likewise, the functionalities of the new generative models, its multi-level adoption, and the expanding range of uses, establish a paradigm that goes beyond the generation of isolated outputs towards a complete reconfiguration of creative workflows (Santoso & Wijayanti, 2024; Valverde-Valencia, 2025).

In this context, the notion of workflow seems to call for a renewed approach, distinct from more traditional uses and definitions. Traditionally envisioned as a sequential organization to complete any type of work (Oxford UP; Cambridge UP), the concept has been expanded to accommodate the complexity of human-technology relationships within production processes, focusing on the design, coordination and adaptation of work processes through and with technology (Nicoll and Keogh, 2019). The emergence of Generative AI and its integration into creative practices requires a further expansion of this concept to encompass notions such as distributed agency (Celis Bueno et al. 2024) or Human-AI collaboration (Geroimenko, 2025), which frame these processes not as sequential but as dynamic and co-evolutionary (Moruzzi, 2023). Therefore, Human-AI creative workflows can be understood as an entanglement of relationships between actors, practices, and artifacts that includes mutual learning, feedback loops, iteration, strategies and social, ethical, and labour implications. However, this renewed interest in the concept of workflow also raises new questions: How is learning organized and performed in these iterative processes? How do the stages of creative work adapt when Generative AI plays a role in the process? How can the labour implications of these changes be addressed? How do we negotiate value and authenticity when creative agency is distributed? How can we redefine and reimagine the concept of workflows? And conversely, how this might change our understanding of creativity?

Considering these questions and the challenges posed by Generative AI in creative fields, this International Online Symposium on Human-AI Creative Workflows aims to bring together scholars, professionals and creative practitioners who are embracing complex approaches to the study of these topics. More specifically, we invite proposals that address, but are not limited to, the professional fields such as the Audiovisual Industry, Visual Arts, Videogames, Journalism, Music or Advertising while connecting with the following lines of interest:

• Educational approaches: Teaching-learning processes, contexts and strategies in Human-AI Creation and the role of AI Literacy.
  
• The political economy of Human-AI workflows: monopolisation of workflows (Young et al. 2025), Human-AI co-creation from the perspective of labour, shifts in industry dynamics, business models, and labour conditions.
  
• Agency and Authorship: How is the authorship framed in Human-AI Creativity? Negotiations of control and autonomy in collaborative workflows.
  
• Conceptual contributions: How to redefine the concept of workflow?; which novel theoretical frameworks can we deploy to examine this phenomenon?
  
• Case studies: Case studies on GenAI implementation in studios, newsrooms, agencies... Resistance, workarounds, and/or adoption patterns.
  

Submit your abstract

Registration

Format: 100% Online (Synchronous). A link will be provided before the symposium.

Cost: The attendance and participation to the symposium is free of charge. Registration is required.

Certification: The organizing committee of the symposium can provide a certificate of participation and attendance if needed.

Submission Details: We welcome submissions from diverse disciplines, including but not limited to communication, media studies, computer science, (digital) humanities, social sciences and the arts. Submissions should delve deep into critical insights, conceptual and theoretical frameworks, empirical research, or innovative methodologies aligned with the conference themes.

Abstract length: 300-500 words, excluding references.

Bio: Brief author biography, max. 100 words.

Language: Proposals have to be submitted in English.

• Key dates
  
• Abstract submission deadline: 1st of April, 2026
  
• Notification of acceptance: 2nd of May, 2026
  
• Conference date: 1st of June, 2026
  

Programme

To be announced.

Contact

For more information, or if you encounter any problems with the submission form, please contact alex.valverde@upf.edu

References

Cambridge University Press. (n.d.). Workflow, n. In Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/workflow

Claudio Celis Bueno, Pei-Sze Chow, & Ada Popowicz. (2024). Not ‘what’, but ‘where is creativity?’: Towards a relational-materialist approach to generative AI. AI & Society. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-024-01921-3

Geroimenko, V. (2025). Generative AI: From human–computer interaction to human–computer creativity. In Human-computer creativity: Generative AI in education, art, and healthcare (pp. 3–29). Springer Nature Switzerland.

Moruzzi, C. (2023). Creative agents: Rethinking agency and creativity in human and artificial systems. Journal of Aesthetics and Phenomenology, 9(2), 245–268.

Nicoll, B., & Keogh, B. (2019). The Unity game engine and the circuits of cultural software. In The Unity game engine and the circuits of cultural software (pp. 1–21). Springer International Publishing.

Oxford University Press. (n.d.). Workflow, n. In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/2899020370

Ruszev, S., Trifonova, T., & Guerrero-Solé, F. (2025). Authorship and creativity in the era of AI: Towards a transformation of contemporary media narratives. Hipertext.net, (31), 1–10.

Santoso, B., & Wijayanti, R. (2024). Human–AI collaboration in creative industries: Workflows in media production and community-driven platforms. Transactions on Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Cognitive Systems, 9(11), 11–26.

Valverde-Valencia, À. (2025). Introducing the concept of relational processes in human–AI creativity. Hipertext.net, (31), 55–66.

Young, C., Joseph, D., & Nieborg, D. (2025). Workflow monopolies: A platform historiography of Unity in the immersive app economy. Platforms & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/29768624251376562

June 10-12, 2026

Malmö, Sweden

Deadline: February 27, 2026

Welcome to the 20th anniversary of the Swedish STS Conference that will be held at the Niagara building in Malmö, 10–12 juni 2026.

It's hosted by Malmö University in collaboration with Lund University. 

The Swedish STS Conference is an open, widely advertised, biennial conference, organised since 2006. It is an interdisciplinary meeting place for researchers interested in issues related to technology and science in society as approached from social science and humanities perspectives, and while it gathers researchers at all levels of their careers, it is planned and coordinated to particularly appeal to doctoral students and early career researchers, with special sessions and events catering to the concerns of junior colleagues.

Conference theme

The theme Cross-Pollinations, Contamination, Collaboration invites contributions that address pressing global challenges such as climate change, artificial intelligence, warfare, infectious diseases and migration. The conference explores how cultures, technologies and disciplines interact in ongoing processes of exchange, how contamination shapes interdependence and accessibility, and how collaborations across boundaries can foster innovation and societal change. A particular strength of the STS field is its ability to critically examine both successes and failures of science and technology across their entire life cycle – from inception to everyday use and eventual decline.

Collaboration is central to STS practice, often requiring interdisciplinarity and engagement across the traditional divide between natural sciences and the humanities. This conference will highlight how such collaborations can generate new methods, perspectives and models for engagement, while also interrogating the values that underpin them – who participates, what counts as legitimate knowledge, and how boundaries are maintained or transgressed. Without cross-pollination, contamination and collaboration with wider society, science risks losing relevance and legitimacy. 

Conference website: Swedish STS conference 2026: Cross-Pollinations, Contamination, Collaboration | Malmö University

April 13-17, 2026

IUC, Dubrovnik

Call for participation in the post-graduate course and research conference 

The third wave of autocratization is spreading in democracies and deepening in existing autocracies around the world which now outnumber democracies 91 to 88 for the first time in 20 years - only 29 countries remain liberal democracies (V-Dem, 2025, March). Global freedom has also declined for the 19th consecutive year, primarily in relation to political rights and civil liberties including freedom of expression. 

The current expansion of autocratization is unfolding in the digital network society (Castells 2006, 2019), a global space connected by various digital communication networks, in which communication technologies and services have penetrated all societal domains and become unavoidable for most social interactions (Bolin & Hepp 2017). This  transformation of communication structures makes the present autocratization wave different from the previous ones in terms of its practices, strategies and participating actors. This major communicative shift has been largely neglected in important studies of autocratization in the 21st century.

Attempts to repress media freedom appear before visible changes to institutions of government and elections in later stages of autocratization and provide an early warning. Democratic indicators that have substantially declined over the last decade are all related to media freedom or freedom of expression, and government censorship of media along with media capture have significantly risen, while academic and artistic freedom as well as journalistic safety have deteriorated. Another important element is increased political polarization, fuelled by the dynamics of the hybrid media system, as well as the incursion of AI into the communication mix of both editorial media and social media.

The course & research conference will discuss new research on autocratization and the media in a comparative fashion. 

Course directors:

• Zrinjka Peruško, University of Zagreb
  
• Carmen Ciller, University Carlos III - Madrid
  
• Susanne Fengler, Technical University Dortmund
  
• Göran Bolin, Södertörn University
  
• Epp Lauk, University of Tartu
  
• Paolo Mancini, University of Perugia
  
• Slavko Splichal, University of Ljubljana
  
• Miklós Sükösd, University of Copenhagen

This 14th "slow science" IUC-CMS is an interdisciplinary research conference & post-graduate course open to academics, doctoral and post-doctoral students in media, communication and related fields engaged with the issue of media and media systems, that wish to discuss their current work with established and emerging scholars and get relevant feedback. 

Invited research conference participants will deliver keynote lectures with ample discussion opportunities. In this unique academic format, student course attendees will have extended opportunity to present and discuss their current own work with the course directors and other lecturers and participants in seminar form (English language) and in further informal meetings around the beautiful old-town of Dubrovnik (UNESCO World Heritage) over 5 full working days (Monday to Saturday). 

The working language is English. 

Participation in the course for graduate (master and doctoral) students brings 3,5 ECTS credits, and for doctoral students who present their thesis research 6 ECTS. The course is accredited and the ECTS are awarded by the Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb (www.fpzg.unizg.hr). All participants will also receive a certificate of attendance from the IUC.

Enrolment

To apply, send a CV and a motivation letter to zrinjka.perusko@gmail.com Students who wish to present their research should also send a 300 word abstract. The course can accept 20 students, and the applications are received on a rolling basis. After notification of acceptance you need to register also on this web page  https://iuc.hr/programme/1844. 

The IUC requires a small enrolment fee from student participants. Participants are responsible for organizing their own lodging and travel. Affordable housing is available for IUC participants. Stipends are available from IUC for eligible participants, further information at  https://www.iuc.hr/iuc-support.php. For information on these matters please contact the IUC secretariat at iuc@iuc.hr. 

Venue Information

The Inter-University Centre was founded in Dubrovnik in 1972 as an independent, autonomous academic institution with the aim of promoting international co-operation between academic institutions throughout the world. Courses are held in all scientific disciplines around the year, with participation of member and affiliated universities.

Additional Information

For further information about academic matters please contact the organizing course director: professor Zrinjka Peruško zrinjka.perusko@gmail.com, Centre for Media and Communication Research (www.cim.fpzg.unizg.hr), Department of Media and Communication, Faculty of Political Science (www.fpzg.unizg.hr), University of Zagreb (www.unizg.hr). 

The pre- and post-conferences programme for the European Communication Conference 2026 (ECC2026) is now available. Delegates are invited to apply to a diverse range of pre-conferences addressing key and emerging topics in communication and media research. These events offer an opportunity for focused discussion, networking, and collaboration. Full details of the individual calls for abstracts and participation requirements can be found at:https://ecrea2026brno.eu/pre-post-conferences-call-for-abstracts/.

June 1, 2026

Online

Deadline: April 1, 2026

The growing complexity arising from the integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) into creative practices requires equally complex theoretical, conceptual, and methodological approaches across different disciplines and fields of research (Ruszev et al. 2025). Likewise, the functionalities of the new generative models, its multi-level adoption, and the expanding range of uses, establish a paradigm that goes beyond the generation of isolated outputs towards a complete reconfiguration of creative workflows (Santoso & Wijayanti, 2024; Valverde-Valencia, 2025).

In this context, the notion of workflow seems to call for a renewed approach, distinct from more traditional uses and definitions. Traditionally envisioned as a sequential organization to complete any type of work (Oxford UP; Cambridge UP), the concept has been expanded to accommodate the complexity of human-technology relationships within production processes, focusing on the design, coordination and adaptation of work processes through and with technology (Nicoll and Keogh, 2019). The emergence of Generative AI and its integration into creative practices requires a further expansion of this concept to encompass notions such as distributed agency (Celis Bueno et al. 2024) or Human-AI collaboration (Geroimenko, 2025), which frame these processes not as sequential but as dynamic and co-evolutionary (Moruzzi, 2023). Therefore, Human-AI creative workflows can be understood as an entanglement of relationships between actors, practices, and artifacts that includes mutual learning, feedback loops, iteration, strategies and social, ethical, and labour implications. However, this renewed interest in the concept of workflow also raises new questions: How is learning organized and performed in these iterative processes? How do the stages of creative work adapt when Generative AI plays a role in the process? How can the labour implications of these changes be addressed? How do we negotiate value and authenticity when creative agency is distributed? How can we redefine and reimagine the concept of workflows? And conversely, how this might change our understanding of creativity?

Considering these questions and the challenges posed by Generative AI in creative fields, this International Online Symposium on Human-AI Creative Workflows aims to bring together scholars, professionals and creative practitioners who are embracing complex approaches to the study of these topics. More specifically, we invite proposals that address, but are not limited to, the professional fields such as the Audiovisual Industry, Visual Arts, Videogames, Journalism, Music or Advertising while connecting with the following lines of interest:

• Educational approaches: Teaching-learning processes, contexts and strategies in Human-AI Creation and the role of AI Literacy.
  
• The political economy of Human-AI workflows: monopolisation of workflows (Young et al. 2025), Human-AI co-creation from the perspective of labour, shifts in industry dynamics, business models, and labour conditions.
  
• Agency and Authorship: How is the authorship framed in Human-AI Creativity? Negotiations of control and autonomy in collaborative workflows.
  
• Conceptual contributions: How to redefine the concept of workflow?; which novel theoretical frameworks can we deploy to examine this phenomenon?
  
• Case studies: Case studies on GenAI implementation in studios, newsrooms, agencies... Resistance, workarounds, and/or adoption patterns.
  

BiD (special issue)

Deadline: September 30, 2026

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to invite submissions for Issue 57 of BiD,  titled  "Digital Communication and Social Practices under Algorithms: Challenges and Opportunities":

Predictive artificial intelligence and personalization algorithms in recommendation systems have become key mediators of everyday activities on digital platforms. These systems process personal data to offer lists of content that, in theory, adapt to citizens’ tastes and interests. By shaping cultural and informational consumption, this process introduces dynamics that are largely invisible to users, who often perceive it as “useful” and “accurate” due to the high level of personalization.

This personalization, as part of the broader phenomenon of platformization, has transformed the communication industry and altered sociocultural habits, at times limiting the diversity of perspectives on issues such as politics, culture, health, and lifestyles, among others. It also raises questions about privacy and about how these technologies influence the ways in which identities and communities are constructed.

This special issue section seeks contributions that critically analyze the interactions between citizens and recommendation systems on digital communication platforms, exploring how these algorithms shape experiences, sociocultural practices, and creative processes. Beyond identifying risks, it is essential to reflect on the capacities and tools that enable people to interact with these technologies in a conscious and critical manner.

Understanding these dynamics requires studying the systems themselves, but also strengthening algorithmic literacy as an essential competence for questioning and managing the logics that govern personalization, avoiding a passive relationship with systems that influence cultural, informational, and social decisions.

We invite the submission of contributions that delve into the following thematic axes. Nevertheless, research that goes beyond these points and analyzes the social role of algorithms and predictive systems in practices of cultural consumption and communication will also be considered.

Proposed thematic axes:

- Algorithmic literacy: the set of knowledge (formal, informal, and non-formal) that users develop to interact and coexist with recommendation algorithms, considering the actors involved in this learning process and the competencies required.  

-Tactics of evasion and algorithmic shaping:  analysis of the active strategies that citizens use to interact with algorithms and influence the content they receive, as well as to avoid exposure to unwanted content.

-Bias, discrimination, hate speech, and normalization of patterns: how algorithms can reinforce social stereotypes or normative patterns (such as canonical bodies or gender roles) and expose users to objectifying content or hate speech, including racism, xenophobia, and LGBTIQphobia, exacerbating discrimination and disadvantage in cases of intersectional bias. 

-Algorithms and migratory and ethnic experience:  understanding how algorithmic personalization conditions the representation and sense of belonging of migrants, as well as ethnic communities. 

- Algorithms in opinion formation and polarization:  analysis of algorithmic influence on the configuration of political and social opinions. 

-Modification of citizens’ everyday practices:  algorithmic influence on consumption practices and habits, such as exercise and diets, as well as fashion, brand consumption, the idealization of relationships, the commodification of authenticity, personal vulnerability, among others.

-Creativity and algorithm-mediated cultural production: analysis of how recommendation systems influence content creation, transform creative processes, and redefine authorship in digital environments. 

We warmly encourage colleagues across communication, media studies, digital sociology, cultural studies, and related fields to submit their work and to share this call within their networks.

Submission Process and Key Dates

Full Paper Submission Deadline 30/09/2026 in the journal system:

https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/bid/about/submissions 

No payment from the authors will be required.

This forthcoming special issue is open access, and welcomes original research articles in English, Spanish, and Catalan.

Link to the journal full text of the CFP: https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/bid/announcement/view/982

Please note that this invitation does not guarantee publication, all full manuscripts will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process.

We look forward to your submissions.

The special issue editors, 

Fernanda Pires (fernanda.pires@uab.cat - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
,

Celina Navarro (celina.navarro@uab.cat) Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)  

Liana Pithan ( liana.pithan@gmail.com - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul)

Deadline: February 15, 2026

Call for Chapter Proposals

We are preparing a proposal titled Aging and Communication: Rethinking Later Life in a Digitized Society. The book is edited by Francesca Comunello, Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol, Simone Mulargia, and Cora van Leeuwen, and builds on the work of the ECREA Temporary Working Group on Aging and Communication.

The volume aims to strengthen European scholarship on aging and communication by critically examining media representations of later life, digital ageism, communication practices of older adults, and their participation in civic and public life. It takes a critical and intersectional approach, highlighting older adults as active communicators and agents shaping media cultures.

Abstract deadline: 15 February 2026

Notification of acceptance: 1 March 2026

More information on the attached PDF. If you are interest in submitting your proposal, please contact the editors: ecrea.aging.communication@gmail.com