The topic of this year’s conference is INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION FOR CHANGE. With this theme, we encourage discussion of intercultural communication as a way of engaging with change at multiple levels (individual, organisational, societal, and global) as well as of the implications of intercultural communication research for policy-making and for institutional and educational practices.

We invite contributions that explore intercultural communication as a process of (ex)change of meanings, understandings, values, and knowledge, and examine its role in contexts of transformation and uncertainty. We particularly welcome work addressing intercultural communication as a response to change, a driver of change, or a means of anticipating, managing, and potentially preventing disruptive forms of change, including crises.

We also encourage critical reflection on the relationship between intercultural communication research, practice, and policy, including possible mismatches between them and the ways research can (or should) contribute to changes in individual behaviours, professional practices, education, and public policy.

In addition to contributions addressing the conference theme, we also welcome proposals concerning other aspects of intercultural communication.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, transcultural, polycultural, cross-cultural, and intercultural encounters and relationships in the following areas:

• migration, mobility, inter-ethnic relations within societies, and transnational diaspora communication
• social work and public services
• local and international political contexts, public discourse, and governance
• organisations and workplaces
• business and tourism
• educational contexts, including student mobility
• language use, bi- and multilingualism, and language policy
• (social) media, digital environments and algorithms

We invite submissions from researchers at all career stages, as well as practitioners, across the social sciences and humanities.

Please note that the conference will be held in person, and online presentations will not be available.

The deadline for submitting your abstract is April 20, 2026. For guidelines on abstract submission and the submission form, please visit the Abstract Submission page.