African scholars hold communication conference

President of International Communication Association-Africa Professor Agnes Lando greets Vice President of Ghana, H. E Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia after opening the 2018 International Communication Association Africa conference held in University of Ghana, Accra.

International Communication Association last month held its second Biennial Africa Regional Conference in Ghana Accra.

President of International Communication Association Africa, Sr Professor Agnes Lando a senior lecturer at Daystar University said ICAfrica offers communication scholars opportunity to network and dialogue with other stakeholders in the field and provides a special focus of the African worldview.

The 2018 ICAfrica conference was hosted by the University of Ghana in Accra. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, Dean, School of Information and Communication Studies said: “ICAfrica 2018 constituted more than 200 paper presentation, five panels and policy lab and workshop categorised into almost 60 sessions spread over the two main days of the conference. The third day focused on presentation of 29 papers from students and early scholars who would receive one-one-mentorship on their research studies from seasoned academicians.”

Delegates came from 11 African countries and 12 other countries outside the continent.

ICA has been to Africa three times.  The first ICAfrica conference held in Africa was held in October 2016 and was hosted in Kenya by Daystar University, the first African country and institution to host it.

The conference was themed ‘Growing Communication Scholarship: Looking to the Past with Gratitude, the Present with Passion and the Future with Hope’. 

A year later, the Second ICAfrica conference was held in Uganda Martyrs University in Entebbe, Uganda, and was themed ‘Growing Communication Research and Scholarship in Africa through Training and Mentorship’. 

The aim was to train early career academic scholars and graduate students on writing abstracts and submitting research papers to international conferences, peer reviewed journals and edited books.

Kenyan university representatives who submitted their research papers or participated at the conference included United States International University – Africa, Kenya, Tangaza University College, Daystar University, Multimedia university of Kenya, African Nazarene amongst others.

The conference also brought together leadership of the regional bodies in Africa such as African Council for Communication Education, South African Communication Association and East African Communication Association.