ABOUT THE DIVISION
The Division for Global Communication and Social Change exists to encourage and debate research on issues of production, distribution, content and reception of communications media at global, "glocal", transnational, transcultural, international and regional levels. Within this purview it encompasses work across a wide variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, concerning issues of media/mediated communication in cultural, economic, political or social contexts, including strategic mediated communication for development, social change or social justice.
WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO
Latest News
The ICA Global Communication and Social Change (GCSC) Division marked its 20th anniversary at ICA 2026 with a dedicated panel and reception that brought together established and emerging scholars. The panel, “Global Communication and Social Change at 20: Lessons, Reflections, and Futures,” featured leading voices including Karin Wilkins, Silvio Waisbord, Florence Madenga, Radhika Gajjala, and Jack Qiu, and was chaired by Wenhong Chen and Dani Madrid-Morales. It offered a timely reflection on the division’s intellectual trajectory while setting out future research priorities. Celebrations continued at the anniversary reception, which provided an opportunity to reconnect with members, recognise collective achievements, and welcome new scholars, highlighting the strong and inclusive community that defines GCSC.
The GCSC Division recognised outstanding scholarship at ICA 2026 through its annual awards, showcasing research across key areas of global communication and social change. Awardees included Morgan Wack (African Journalism Studies Best Paper Award and Top Faculty Paper Award runner-up), Mengfei Li (Student Best Paper Award), Xiaoya Jiang, Martín Echeverría and Hyerin Kwon (Top Faculty Paper Award), and Mingjun Zhao (Student Best Paper runner-up). The Best Book Award went to Bilge Yesil, with honourable mentions for Cherian George, and Eugenia Mitchelstein, Pablo J. Boczkowski, María Celeste Wagner, and Facundo Suenzo. Dissertation honours were awarded to Facundo N. Suenzo (winner) and Becky Pham (runner-up). Together, these awards reflect the breadth, impact, and global reach of scholarship within the GCSC community under the leadership of Division Chair Wenhong Chen.
As 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the Global Communication and Social Change Division, we are excited to celebrate this milestone with a series of events during the ICA Annual Conference.
A special 20th Anniversary Commemorative Panel, organized and chaired by Wenhong Chen and Dani Madrid‑Morales, will take place as part of the official ICA conference program. The panel reflects on the division's intellectual trajectory and collective impact.
Further details are available in the ICA programme.
Thank you to everyone who voted. The ICA headquarters has now announced the results of the 2025 elections. We’re excited to welcome the incoming GCSC leaders, whose two-year terms will begin in June 2026:
- Secretary: Hao Cao, Wuhan University
- Student and Early Career Representative: Tejas Harad, University of Pennsylvania
- International Liaison: Yuexin Lyu, Hong Kong Baptist University
A heartfelt thank you to all the candidates for their dedication and willingness to serve the GCSC community.
OUR ACTIVITIES
Every year, the GCSC Division at ICA organizes several events for its members. The main event is the annual conference where research papers and posters are presented. In addition, the division also supports smaller conferences that take place before or after the annual meeting. In line with the division's committment to making ICA more global, we also organize virtual events, many of which are tailored to students and early career scholars. These include workshops on how to review research papers, networking sessions and writing groups.
