Beyond Borders: International Research Perspectives on Migration, Media, and Intercultural Communication

Tallinn University Baltic Film, Media and Arts School will host the ECREA Diaspora, Migration and the Media – International and Intercultural Communication Sections Conference (#DMMIIC2025) from 16 to 18 September 2025. Under the theme “Beyond Borders: Creative Methods and Reflexive Approaches to Migration, Media, and Intercultural Dialogue”, the conference will bring together leading scholars and early-career researchers from around the world to advance interdisciplinary debates on migration, media, and intercultural communication. Organized by the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) in collaboration with the Baltic Film, Media and Arts School of Tallinn University, the event underscores the institution’s role as a hub for critical inquiry and academic dialogue in Northern Europe.

The conference will open with a dedicated PhD workshop that provides doctoral candidates with the opportunity to present and discuss their work in a supportive environment, including a keynote by Dr. Karolina Nikielska-Sekuła from Jagiellonian University, Poland, who will speak on multisensory positionality in migration research. Subsequent conference days will feature keynote lectures by Dr. Diyako Rahmani of Massey University, New Zealand, who will address creative and reflexive approaches to intercultural communication research, and Professor Mirca Madianou of Goldsmiths, University of London, who will examine technocolonialism and participatory action research in the pursuit of social justice.

Over the course of three days, the program will include a series of parallel sessions, workshops, and panels covering a wide spectrum of topics such as participatory and artistic methods, youth identities in digital contexts, gender and migration, border spaces and visual storytelling, refugee integration, digital diasporas, and critical discourses on peace and conflict. These scholarly contributions will highlight methodological innovations and reflexive approaches to the study of migration and communication, while also foregrounding the lived experiences of diasporic and migrant communities.

The conference will also provide opportunities for collegial exchange and cultural engagement, including a guided excursion in Tallinn’s historic Old Town, a conference dinner in one of the city’s landmark restaurants, and a closing ceremony featuring an award presentation. A post-conference program will offer self-guided cultural and professional networking excursions to Narva and Tartu, further situating the event within Estonia’s diverse cultural landscape.

Conference Chair Dr. Anastassia Zabrodskaja, Professor of Intercultural Communication at Tallinn University Baltic Film, Media and Arts School emphasized the significance of the gathering, noting that the event seeks to foster dialogue that transcends national, disciplinary, and methodological boundaries in order to better understand the dynamics of migration, media, and intercultural communication.

Further information, including the full program and abstract book, is available at https://www.tlu.ee/en/bfm/dmmiic.