ANZCA membership: Global appeal and great value

I am delighted to welcome all of you to the website of the Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA).  Whether you have purposefully or inadvertently stumbled upon us, I hope my brief message gives you an insight into the privileges of being part of the ANZCA network.

ANZCA has been the peak professional association for communication researchers, teachers, and practitioners in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand since 1980. In recent years, ANZCA’s brief has gone global, with strong links established with our counterparts in Asia, Europe and North America. ANZCA is affiliated with the International Communication Association (ICA) and the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR); and is a foundation member of the Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences in Australia (CHASS) and Constituent member of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

To ANZCA, “communication” is one of the classic interdisciplinary fields which encompass most aspects of activities in relation to human discourse and exchange. As such, our members are educators, scholars and professionals emanating from fields as diverse as media and cultural studies, public relations, advertising, journalism, Internet and digital media studies, organisational communication, creative, visual and performing arts, and much more.  ANZCA full members are eligible for discounted conference registration fees, and receive complimentary subscription to the Media International Australia journal.

ANZCA has a reputation of being one of the friendliest and most inclusive professional cum scholarly associations anywhere in the world.  Whilst catering to established scholars and practitioners, we are particularly supportive of postgraduates and early-career/emerging scholars. Apart from a heavily discounted membership fee for postgraduates, we also award bursaries to attend annual ANZCA conferences. In addition, three competitive annual research awards are available: The Grant Noble Prize for best paper by a postgraduate student; The Christopher Newell Prize for best paper dealing with disability/equity/social justice and communication; and in 2014, ANZCA will introduce a new award, yet to be finalized.

If you are not yet a member, I strongly encourage you join; and for existing members, do not forget to renew your membership at the end of 2013. Apart from the annual ANZCA conference in July 2014 (Melbourne), ANZCA will actively support the ICA regional conference in October 2014 (Brisbane).  Look out too for a number of ANZCA-sponsored local events in your capital city or region.

All the best,

Associate Professor Terence Lee, PhD

ANZCA President, 2013-14