International Communication Association to hold annual conference in Phoenix, Ariz.

Explores the relationship between community and communication

Washington, DC (May 1, 2012) The International Communication Association will hold its annual conference May 24-28 in Phoenix, AZ. The theme of the 2012 conference will explore the relationship between Community and Communication.

Featuring over 2,500 academic papers on Communication and attended by over 2,000 Communication scholars across the globe, the ICA conference is the largest scholarly international communication conference in the world. This year's conference features a session with members from the Lost Boys of Sudan. Representatives will tell their inspiring story, followed by key scholars tying their journey with Communication development both globally and locally.

Grammy award-nominated artist Jana Mashonee will perform and discuss her educational program addressing the challenges of community, cultural pride, identity and ambition within the Native American culture. And Stephan Weitz, Senior Director of Search at Microsoft and Director of search engine Bing, will speak on infusing search with social signals.

ICA, with the help of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the Arizona State University, will also host a number of preconference sessions. The variety reaches from the Occupy Movement and its construction of Community to the Borders, Migration and Arizona.

"The 21st century has witnessed unparalleled efforts at community building and the tragic effects of community disintegration. Communication scholars from more than 60 countries and the top universities in the world are meeting here in Phoenix to share the results of their research and discuss the central role communication plays in addressing the challenges and opportunities communities face in times of economic crisis, political protest, social upheaval, natural disaster, and rapid technological change," said Cynthia Stohl, ICA President-Elect and Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

"To facilitate interactions between scholars and the community special presentations by representatives of the Arizona Lost Boys Center, local documentary film makers, leaders in the technology and media industries, as well as performances and interviews with award winning Native American and borderlands artists are just a few of the special events planned. This is a perfect blend of location and scholarship," Stohl added.

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A complete conference guide can be found here: http://www.icahdq.org/conf/2012/print_program.pdf

Members of the media can contact jpgutierrez@icahdq.org if they wish to cover the event.

About ICA

The International Communication Association is an academic association for scholars interested in the study, teaching, and application of all aspects of human and mediated communication. With more than 4,300 members in 80 countries, ICA includes 26 Divisions and Interest Groups and publishes the Communication Yearbook and five major, peer-reviewed journals: Journal of Communication; Communication Theory; Human Communication Research; Communication, Culture & Critique; and Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. For more information, visit www.icahdq.org.

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