The 17th Asian Conference on Media, Communication & Film (MediAsia2026)

November 09-13, 2026 | Held at the Kyoto Research Park, Kyoto, Japan, and Online

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International, Intercultural, Interdisciplinary

The 17th Asian Conference on Media, Communication & Film (MediAsia2026) will be held alongside The 7th Kyoto Conference on Arts, Media & Culture (KAMC2026) as a part of the IAFOR's Asian Conference Series in Japan, and many of the sessions will concentrate on areas at the intersection of education, media, arts and culture. In keeping with IAFOR’s commitment to interdisciplinary study, delegates at either conference are encouraged to attend sessions in other disciplines. Registration for either conference will allow delegates to attend sessions in the other. We expect the resultant professional and personal collaborations to endure for many years, and we look forward to seeing you in Kyoto and online!

Kyoto Series Banner

Welcome to The 17th Asian Conference on Media, Communication & Film (MediAsia2026), held in partnership with the IAFOR Research Centre at the IAFOR Research Centre at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) in The University of Osaka, Japan.

MediAsia2026 encourages academics and scholars to meet and exchange ideas and views in an international forum stimulating respectful dialogue. This event will afford an exceptional opportunity for renewing old acquaintances, making new contacts, networking, and facilitating partnerships across national and disciplinary borders.

Since its founding in 2009, IAFOR has brought people and ideas together in a variety of events and platforms to promote and celebrate interdisciplinary study, and underline its importance. IAFOR continues to engage in many cross-sectoral projects across the world, including those engaging leading universities (Virginia Tech, UCL, Singapore Management University, University of Belgrade, Lingnan University, Barcelona University, University of Hawai’i, Moscow State University), think tanks, research organisations and agencies (the East-West Center, The Center for Higher Education Research, The World Intellectual Property Organization), and collaborative projects with governments, and international governmental organisations (Government of Japan through the Prime Minister’s office, the United Nations in New York), media agencies (The Wall Street Journal, JWT, HarperCollins).

With the IAFOR Research Centre at The University of Osaka, we have engaged in a number of interdisciplinary initiatives we believe will have an important impact on domestic and international public policy conversations and outcomes.

IAFOR's unique global platform facilitates discussion around specific subject areas, with the goal of generating new knowledge and understanding, forging and expanding new international, intercultural and interdisciplinary research networks and partnerships. We have no doubt that MediAsia2026 will offer a remarkable opportunity for the sharing of research and best practice and for the meeting of people and ideas.

We look forward to seeing you in Kyoto and online!

– The MediAsia2026 Conference Programme Committee

Key Information
  • Venue & Location: Held at the Kyoto Research Park, Kyoto, Japan, and Online
  • Dates: Monday, November 09, 2026 ​to Friday, November 13, 2026
  • Early Bird Abstract Submission Deadline: May 15, 2026*
  • Final Abstract Submission Deadline: July 24, 2026
  • Registration Deadline for Presenters: September 04, 2026

*Submit early to take advantage of the discounted registration rates. Learn more about our registration options.

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Register for the Conference
Submit an Abstract

Plenary Speakers

To be announced

  • Krystal Chryssomallis
    Krystal Chryssomallis
    Photographer and Cultural Producer, United States
  • Thomas G. Endres
    Thomas G. Endres
    University of Northern Colorado, United States
  • David McNeill
    David McNeill
    University of the Sacred Heart, Japan

IAFOR's Conference Themes for 2025-2029

IAFOR Themes 2025-2029
Our selected themes for 2025-2029 bring together ideas and encourage research and synergies in the following areas:

  • Technology and Artificial Intelligence
  • Humanity and Human Intelligence
  • Global Citizenship and Education for Peace
  • Leadership

    • Our four themes can be seen as standalone themes, but they are also very much in conversation with each other. Themes may be seen as corollaries, complementary, or in opposition/juxtaposition with each other. The themes can be considered as widely as possible and are designed, in keeping with our mission, to encourage ideas across the disciplines.

    Read Last Year's Conference Report

    View the KAMC/MediAsia2025 Conference Photo Gallery
    Find Out More About Conference Reports & Intelligence Briefings

    Conference News

    Future Hub Forum 2026
    MediAsia2026MediAsia2026News

    Future Hub Forum 2026

    This free event is the perfect way to meet a focused group of researchers, educators, practitioners, and organisational partners before the main conference begins, creating connections that can continue throughout KAMC/MediAsia2026 ...
    Kyoto Walking Tour
    News

    Accepted Presentations

    One of the greatest strengths of IAFOR’s international conferences is their international and intercultural diversity. As of July 20, 2026, MediAsia2026 has received over 210 submissions from 51 countries and territories - including: Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South ...
    News

    Conference Report and Intelligence Briefing: KAMC/MediAsia2025

    The 6th Kyoto Conference on Arts, Media & Culture (KAMC2025) and The 16th Asian Conference on Media, Communication & Film (MediAsia2025) took place in one of the major cultural hearts of Japan. Kyoto is one of the country’s most storied ...

    About Kyoto and the Kansai Area

    Kyoto is one of the world's most storied and beautiful cities, and was the capital of Japan for over a thousand years from 794 until 1868.

    The Kansai area, 500 km east of Tokyo, boasts the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Nara. Kansai represents the inherent strength (sokojikara) of Japan as the vortex of Japan’s cultural, political and commercial activities for nearly 13 centuries. In times past Kyoto and the older capital Nara were the repositories of religion, knowledge, technology, and civilisation that reached Japan by way of the Silk Road. Osaka has been the biggest commerce centre since the Edo period (1603 – 1868), pioneering in futures trade and giving birth to many large trading houses that would provide the social capital for rapid industrialisation in the Meiji era (1868 – 1912). Even though the capital has moved to Tokyo, Kansai continues to flourish in this rich cultural heritage and tradition of innovative thinking, as a place where East mingles with the West over time and space in ways that Tokyo cannot match.

    About IAFOR

    "International, Intercultural, Interdisciplinary"

    Founded in 2009, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) is a global interdisciplinary scholarly association that brings together scholars from around the world. Through research collaborations, publications, and international conferences, it connects academics across disciplines and regions. IAFOR's main administrative office is in Nagoya, Japan, and its research centre (The IAFOR Research Centre) is in the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), a graduate school of The University of Osaka. Through its international, intercultural and interdisciplinary conferences, research, and publications, IAFOR is a network hub for interdisciplinary discussion across Asia and beyond.
    IAFOR Main Site | IAFOR Research Archive | IAFOR Research Centre

    David McNeill
    University of the Sacred Heart, Japan

    Biography

    Dr David McNeill was born in the United Kingdom and raised in Ireland. He was awarded his PhD from Napier University in Edinburgh in 1998. He has since taught at universities in Ireland, the United Kingdom, China, and Japan, and is currently Professor of Liberal Arts at the University of the Sacred Heart, Japan. He is an editor and board member of the Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, was previously a correspondent for The Independent, The Economist and The Chronicle of Higher Education, and a columnist for The Mainichi Shimbun and The Japan Times. Dr McNeill is a long-time member of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan and currently edits No1 Shimbun, the FCCJ’s house magazine, while also serving as co-chair of the FCCJ’s Freedom of the Press Committee. He is co-author of Strong in the Rain: Surviving Japan's Earthquake, Tsunami and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster (Palgrave Macmillan 2012) and Japanese Rebels: Non-conformists in a Conformist Society (Routledge, 2026).

    Keynote Presentation (2026) | TikToking Ourselves to Death: Journalism in Japan in the Age of Social Media
    Krystal Chryssomallis
    Photographer and Cultural Producer, United States

    Biography

    Krystal Chryssomallis is an internationally recognised photographer, cultural producer, visual storyteller, and educator whose work is devoted to amplifying the good through stories and experiences that foster trust, empathy, connection, and lived impact.

    Over the past two decades, her work has taken her across more than 60 countries, shaping global productions, large-scale live events, and international storytelling initiatives, including projects staged at six UNESCO World Heritage sites. Her collaborations span global brands, humanitarian initiatives, and institutional partners, including UNICEF, NASA, PBS, Boeing, IMAX, Disney, FIFA, and the World Wildlife Fund. Her fine art photography translates this global experience into enduring works held in private collections, cultural institutions and hospitality environments, including an exhibition at Xposure in Sharjah, UAE.

    She has also served as a judge for the Travel Photographer of the Year Awards and The Drum Awards, and as a Panda Ambassador for WWF. Across her work in cultural production, photography, storytelling, education, humanitarian advocacy, and social impact, she explores how perception shapes human connection, decision-making, creativity, adaptability, and meaningful action across language, culture, and difference.

    She has recently served as a judge for the Travel Photographer of the Year Awards and has been preparing to travel to Sri Lanka, serving as a mentor for this year’s winners. War intervened, so those plans have changed, and she is now preparing a masterclass via Zoom. See Krystal’s photography portfolio at: https://www.krystalan.com/portfolio

    Workshop Presentation (2026) | Luck Is a Skill: A Real-Time Framework for Navigating Uncertainty and Creating Better Outcomes
    Thomas G. Endres
    University of Northern Colorado, United States

    Biography

    Thomas G. Endres is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Northern Colorado, United States, where he teaches courses in communication theory, popular culture, group dynamics, and leadership. In a career marked primarily by administrative responsibilities, he found time to conduct research using Bormann’s Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT) to identify the use of stories in creating rhetorical communities. He is author and photographer of Sturgis Stories: Celebrating the People of the World’s Largest Motorcycle Rally (Kirk House, 2002) and My Costume, Myself: Celebrating Stories of Cosplay and Beyond (Kirk House, 2001, 2023) and co-author, with Deanna D. Sellnow, of The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture: Considering Mediated Texts, 4th ed. (Sage, 2023). His updated essay on SCT will appear in the forthcoming 2nd edition of Wiley-Blackwell's The International Encyclopedia of Communication Theory and Philosophy. He has delivered more than 250 presentations, workshops, and keynote addresses across the United States (including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico) and abroad, including presentations in Austria, China, the Czech Republic, Japan, Spain, Thailand, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom.

    Keynote Presentation (2026) | TBA

    Previous Presentations

    Keynote Presentation (2022) | Costume Conversations: Resilience and Representation in Cosplay and Beyond