Media and communication experts gather in Ōtautahi Christchurch

Christchurch welcomes 1,300 global communication experts

Christchurch hosted IAMCR 2024, a landmark event blending global media research with indigenous knowledge. Welcoming 1,300 international delegates from over 61 different countries, the conference celebrated Aotearoa’s bicultural heritage, with collaboration from iwi, universities and international scholars.

The theme of IAMCR 2024 was Whiria te tangata | Weave the people together: Communicative projects of decolonising, engaging, and listening. It invited reflection on the terms and models appropriate to describe contemporary communication, including the political and moral goals embedded in them.

Media and communication research explores the influence and impact of the media and new information technology. It shows how communication and media work in a broader social context.

Keynote speakers included Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Distinguished Professor at Whare Wānanga o Awanuiarangi), who is a global authority on indigenous methods in the social sciences, and Selina Tusitala Marsh (Auckland University), one of New Zealand’s leading Pacific scholars was also a key speaker.

How did IAMCR find success through collaboration?

The conference was an example of collaboration at its best, hosted by Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) and delivered in collaboration with local iwi, Ngāi Tūāhuriri and senior academics from seven New Zealand universities.

UC Professor Donald Matheson, Chair of the Local Organising Committee, says IAMCR 2024 has put Ōtautahi Christchurch and Aotearoa New Zealand on the map and will lead to further research projects and other valuable connections.

A diverse range of collaborators worked together to bring the IAMCR to life – from identification, bidding, securing the win, to planning and implementation.

“It takes the sum of all doing their parts well to get the results like IAMCR,” Professor Matheson says.

“The theme of the conference lends itself perfectly to this, ‘Whiria te tāngata - Weaving people together’, the strength that comes through common purpose.”

Aotearoa New Zealand's unique bicultural history and position make it an ideal location for this conference. It is also a land of immigrants spanning from the first waka 1000 years ago to recent Pacific and Asian immigration. This history underpins strong connections across the Pacific and a shared legacy of addressing colonial impacts on health, environment and security.

UC’s position of being the only tertiary institution in Aotearoa to have a formal Te Tiriti partnership with local iwi Ngāi Tūāhuriri also contributed to the successful bid.

Why IAMCR highlighted early-career excellence

IAMCR 2024 was a conference of emerging scholars, with about 40 percent of participants still doing their research degrees. This added energy and ensured there were a lot of new ideas discussed.

IAMCR offered awards and grants for participating members including 25 travel grants, awards for excellent papers dealing with climate change communication, urban communication, or rural communication services.

Communication and policy professionals were invited to come along for a day or two of the conference to connect with research.

What were the economic and legacy benefits of the IAMCR conference for Christchurch?

Conference Innovators managed the project locally using multiple venues and hotels, including Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, Crowne Plaza Christchurch, Distinction Christchurch Hotel, Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square, and Tūranga Christchurch Library, with social events happening across central city hospitality spaces such as Riverside Markets.

Professor Matheson says the economic and legacy impacts of the event can’t be underestimated. “Christchurch will feel the positive effects of hosting these international guests not only during the event, but for years after.”