The ICA 2026 Oceania Hub will take place on 6 and 7 June as a hybrid event, with participants joining both online and in person on the university’s Manawatū campus. Delegates from 12 countries across Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East and America will take part in discussions exploring communication, media, social justice and community-led change.
Hosted by Massey University’s Center for Culture-Centred Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE), the event forms part of a global network of regional hubs connected to the International Communication Association’s annual conference cycle.
The programme includes six panels, three workshops, a live Hub-to-Hub dialogue with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok and a closing Living Lexicon of Liberation roundtable. Unlike many academic conferences, the event will run without parallel sessions, allowing participants to engage in a shared conversation across the full two-day programme.
CARE Director and Dean’s Chair Professor Mohan Dutta says the Hub is designed to create dialogue across different communities, regions and lived experiences.
“The Hub creates space for conversations about communication, power and social change across different regions and communities. It brings together scholars, students, journalists, organisers and community partners to think collectively about the challenges shaping our world.”
Professor Dutta says hosting the Oceania Hub at Massey highlights the university’s growing international research connections and its commitment to community-engaged scholarship.
“This gathering connects Massey into a wider international conversation about communication, equity and social transformation, while also creating opportunities for collaboration across the Pacific and Asia.”
One of the key features of the programme is a live dialogue session connecting participants in Palmerston North with the parallel ICA Hub hosted by Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University. The session reflects the importance of international partnerships and shared learning across regions.
The conference will also feature workshops exploring media, organising and constitutional transformation, including the Tai Tawhito Tai Tipua workshop led by University of Canterbury researchers Rosalee Jenkin and India Logan-Riley, and the Towards Media Repair workshop facilitated by researchers from the University of New South Wales.
Professor Dutta says the event aims to bring academic research into conversation with practical community experiences and social movements.
“We wanted to build a programme where conversations develop collectively across the two days, rather than people moving between disconnected sessions. That shared dialogue is an important part of what makes this Hub distinctive,” he says.
The ICA 2026 Oceania Hub is open to scholars, students, journalists, community organisers and members of the public interested in communication and social change.
Registration is now open through the Massey Web Payments portal.
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