By Enock Sithole

The 15th East African Communication Association (EACA) conference will be hosted by the School of Journalism and Communication (SJC) of the Addis Ababa University, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on August 27th – 29th, 2025

Held under the theme Media and Communication in Africa’s Integration, the conference organisers said they would “expect mature, robust, well-developed and professional media and communication ecosystem”.

They said, contrary to expectations, the host country’s media and communication fields are in “infancy”, owing to various factors. “The drive and motivation to host the upcoming annual conference partly emanate from the recognition of such unflattering state of affairs of the field and/or the sector and the desire to improve the status quo,” they wrote in the conference’s concept note.

They said the conference hopes to achieve the following objectives:

• To create a setting for networking and fostering collaboration among like-minded scholars and professionals and make effective use of our collective potential.
• To enhance the capacity for evolving media and communication environments in Ethiopia and Africa. 
• To share published and ongoing research work on media and communication that could inform media and communication education, scholarship, professional and/or industry practice, and government policy in Ethiopia, Africa and beyond. 

They argued that the conference theme, Media and Communication in Africa’s Integration, captures the heartbeat of the continent and its media landscape”.

“The theme is timely because the media ecology and the socio-economic situation in Africa is changing rapidly,” they said. They added that media and communication experts, researchers and academicians are duty-bound to work together to help contribute to the continent’s endeavours in the following areas: 

• Climate change communication: Climate change communication is a vital issue in contemporary Africa due to the continent’s heightened vulnerability to climate impacts, limited adaptive capacity, and the urgent need for widespread awareness and action. The intersection is critical as the continent is disproportionately affected by climate change and low awareness across populations. Climate change communication is not just about sharing information; it is about building a continent-wide movement to safeguard Africa’s future amidst rapidly changing climatic conditions. 
• Digital transformation of the media ecology:  Obviously, conventional media are being challenged by new media as technological advancement in the communication field continues to create digital opportunities that threaten traditional content producers, audiences and practitioners alike. Nowadays, individuals have become content producers, creating what is referred to as an epistemic paradox where the conventional way of filtering information and enforcing professional journalistic gatekeeping is seriously challenged. Such a regional conference will be an important site for evaluating the state of the African media in coping with such digital transformation. 
• Establishment and fostering of a growing economic union: The conference can play a pivotal role in strengthening economic and fraternal ties between African nations. To this end, the conference will be instrumental in building and fostering networks and harnessing collective potential towards building capacity in media and communication to strengthen and speed up the economic integration of the continent. 
• Maintenance of cultural diplomacy:  The basic goal of states is to preserve their political independence, which allows them to continue playing vital roles in international affairs such as higher education, research, technology, and tourism. Therefore, it is possible to view international scientific conferences as tools of foreign policy in the field of cultural diplomacy. 
• Promotion of regional integrations within the continent:  Since universities often function within the context of advancing national interest as a driver of foreign policy, international conferences should be envisioned and used as tools of cultural diplomacy and foreign policy strategies. 
• Realisation of economic transformation that would ensure sustainable development: Poverty, conflict and migration are among the critical contemporary challenges facing the African youth. African states are grappling with addressing such challenges through the creation of job opportunities and improving livelihoods of citizens. However, such endeavours are often overshadowed by the spread and influence of misinformation, disinformation, and deepfakes. The youth often fall prey to such information disorder and become susceptible to easily losing hope in the continent’s future. The conference is an important avenue for seeking the way out of such challenges. In general, it is expected that the conference will be truly regional with a good mix of speakers and, importantly, participants from across the region and beyond.

The organisers expect outcomes such as a “strong collaboration between African universities, strong collaboration between academicians and researchers of the continent and the globe, and experience sharing”.

A call for abstracts has been announced on the main themes and these sub-themes:

• No more than 300 words and include the title, author(s), affiliation, and contact information. 
• Clearly indicate the chosen conference sub-theme. 
• Include a brief biography (50 words) and contact information. 

Submissions should be sent to eaca2025@aau.edu.et by 15 April 2025.