Since Media for All was launched in 2005 this conference series has been an important platform for researchers, teachers, trainers and practitioners to learn about and discuss the latest developments and findings in the field of Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility. Now, continuing this tradition, the city campus of the University of Antwerp is delighted to announce that it will host a number of pre-conference workshops on July 5, 2023 and the 10th Media for All conference on July 6 and 7, 2023.
Since technology plays such a central role in our field, earlier conferences have placed considerable emphasis on its impact on research and practice in Audiovisual Translation (AVT) and Media Accessibility (MA). This was the case in 2021 at M4A9, Sketching Tomorrow’s Mediascape, with its focus on the AVT landscape, and in 2019 when M4A8, Complex Understandings, addressed technology’s contribution to the field’s complexity. Technology, after all, has been a catalyst in the development of both AVT and Media Accessibility. In the 10th edition of Media for All, however, we wish to refocus on the central players and draw attention to the role of human agents in AVT and MA. We particularly want to invite contributions that explore how the roles of users, translators, policy makers, industry players, educators and other stakeholders have evolved over the past decade under the influence of digitization, globalization and social developments. We aim to map the changing profiles of the stakeholders in the field, whether practitioners, users, researchers or developers, and to elicit the many complex relations that human agents engage in. A clear shift can be detected when (re)exploring the role and the concept of “agency” in translation today, especially when viewed from the perspective of the complex networks and interlinking of these human and non-human agents.
For the 10th Media for All conference we welcome contributions on all aspects related to human agency in AVT and MA in the age of technology. Topics may therefore include but are not restricted to:
- Translators’ agency
- Interaction between agents in translation processes
- Human/user-centred research in AVT/MA
- AVT/MA training and education
- End-user involvement
- Inclusion and inclusive practices
- Human-machine interaction & technological development
- Collaborative practices
- Inter-and transdisciplinary research approaches
The Media for All conferences traditionally target the AVT and MA community, but we also encourage submissions from other fields that interact with audiovisual translation and media accessibility and we welcome both academic and industry/practice proposals.
Conference formats
Researchers and other professionals are invited to submit abstracts for contributions in one of the following formats:
- Research paper (15 min. + 5 min. Q&A.): presentation of finished or ongoing research in an advanced stage, with a focus on results.
- Research pitch (10 min. + 10 min. Q&A): brief presentation in which researchers pitch ongoing projects that are still in an early stage of development, without or with only preliminary results. The pitch format is designed to give scholars the opportunity to present new ideas in order to gain feedback from the research community at an early stage of the project and/or find potential research partners.
- Industry/practice report (15 min. + 5 min. Q&A): reports on industry R&D projects and/or case studies from practice. Industry/practice reports focus on a case study with general relevance for the community. They may not be conceived as a product pitch or promotional presentation.
- Panel discussion (60 min.): a session in which one issue related to a conference theme is discussed at length from different viewpoints by three to five panellists. The conveners of a panel will be responsible for chairing the debate and defining its topic, which must fall within the conference theme. They will select their panellists in accordance with their expertise to ensure the debate is relevant, lively and informative. Panellists may be academics and/or professionals working in the field.
- Pre-conference workshop (180 min.): a workshop related to a conference theme.
Proposals will be evaluated in a double blind peer review process to ensure optimal quality of the conference contributions. However, panel discussion proposals will be reviewed separately since these must also include bionotes of the proposed panellists. The conference language will be English.
The submission and review of papers for Media for All 10 will be managed through an online conference paper management system called EasyChair. This system gives you, the author, complete control over your submission. You can upload your abstract (maximum 500 words) and check the review status of your submission.