Shifting Grounds: Paths, Connections, and Futures
As media and communication intersect with society’s most pressing challenges, we find ourselves in times of shifting grounds – a defining moment of choice, encounter, and transformation in an interconnected yet divided world. The 2026 ECC theme, “Shifting Grounds: Paths, Connections, and Futures,” captures the urgency and potential of communication in shaping multiple possible futures. This theme invites us to consider how diverse perspectives, methods, and innovative solutions can help navigate today’s global crisis – from environmental breakdown and geopolitical conflicts to digital disruption and democratic backsliding – ensuring that communication research remains relevant, responsible, and contributing to a better, inclusive, and equitable future.
Paths: The choices that shape communication’s future
Shifting grounds symbolize more than mere changes; they are critical moments of decision, where the paths we take today determine the futures we create. As media and communication scholars, we face critical choices about how we approach pressing issues such as climate change, polarization, international conflicts, economic and political pressures on journalism, and the rapid transformations driven by digital platforms and artificial intelligence. These choices involve ethical dilemmas, methodological innovation, and theoretical shifts that will define the field’s ability to respond to the evolving needs of society, ensuring its relevance, contribution, and impact. How we choose to study, understand, and address these challenges will shape whether our field advances inclusive and just futures, or reinforces existing inequalities.
Connections: Building bridges across divides
Shifting grounds are also moments of encounter, places where diverse disciplines, perspectives, and voices intersect and flourish. In an era of deepening social divisions and information fragmentation, meaningful connections are more important than ever. In this spirit, ECC 2026 emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, methodological openness and efforts to amplify underrepresented voices in the communication field. By fostering these connections, we can work toward more inclusive research that acknowledges the realities of marginalized communities and contributes to communication that serves democratic and pluralistic societies.
Futures: Communication in a time of uncertainty
Our choices and connections shape the futures we envision for media and communication. As rapid technological and geopolitical changes disrupt media and communication ecosystems, we must focus on resilience, adaptability, and ethical responsibility. As communication scholars, our work should reflect and advance these values, building ethical frameworks, embracing diversity, and supporting emerging voices in the field. The ECC 2026 theme challenges us to consider how media and communication research can inform policies, shape media practices, and contribute to a more sustainable and equitable future.
The ECC 2026 theme invites participants to see communication and media as dynamic forces at the shifting grounds of choice, connection, and transformation. We warmly welcome you to Brno, a city that embodies the spirit of a meeting point of history, innovation, and culture. Join us at ECC 2026 to engage in critical discussions, build new collaborations, and explore how media and communication can drive resilience, inclusivity, and meaningful societal progress in uncertain times.
