7th Conference
Forecasting the Future:
Between Media, Technology and Society
KNOWLEDGE–COMMUNICATION–ACTION
15-16 October 2026
Invitation
The conference from the Knowledge – Communication – Action series marks the seventh edition of a scholarly event organized by the Institute of Journalism, Media and Social Communication of the Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland. This year’s edition will, for the first time, take on an international character. The event will therefore serve not only as a space for reflection on new research areas and the challenges resulting from the advancing algorithmisation of life, but also as a forum for the exchange of experiences, the presentation of research results, and the sharing of perspectives among scholars from different countries.
The leading theme of this year’s conference is the future, understood as a catalogue of potential scenarios, tensions, and alternative trajectories of social development. The unknown tomorrow – shaped by past and present crises in politics, health, the economy, and technology – today calls for scholarly reflection on the role of media and communication, both in the present and in the future. Forecasting the directions of social change has become particularly difficult. We live in a reality marked by tensions, permanent disruptions, acceleration, and discontinuity, in which previously familiar explanatory models are losing their relevance. We are experiencing changes that signal the end of what is known and familiar, initiating the process of constructing new frameworks for a future order. Media and communication scholars are thus confronted with a fundamental epistemic challenge: how can phenomena in a state of emergence be adequately described and forecast?
Sessions
The conference proceedings will be organized into four thematic sessions, which together form a coherent research map for reflecting on the future:
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Session 1PROcesses: transformations of media in the era of hybridity
The dynamics of change in media systems, forms of communication, and patterns of use.
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Session 2PROjects: international, cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary collaborations
Team-based research, innovative methods, and knowledge transfer.
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Session 3PROfessions: technology and the user/creator/participant
The redefinition of professional roles, the development of competencies, and human–technology relations.
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Session 4PROblems: society, culture and science in times of uncertainty
Social, ethical, and epistemological challenges of the contemporary world.
We invite presentations both from those wishing to describe and analyze current phenomena within these specific areas, and from those interested in broader reflection on new discourses, communication technologies, and other aspects of the emerging reality.
keynote speaker
Securing the future: democracy in the digital age
The future appears increasingly uncertain as democracies struggle to avert financial crises, pandemics, energy shortages, large-scale migration, climate change, and war. We often blame populism, liberalism, or capitalism for the current malaise. Yet Zielonka argues that democracy’s deeper failure lies elsewhere: it has been unable to come to grips with the new notions of time and space generated by the digital revolution.
The talk will examine the growing influence of informal networks, the progressing media decadence, and the expanding power of high-tech corporations. In conclusion, Zielonka will outline possible ways to reclaim the lost future and restore democratic agency in the digital age.
Jan Zielonka is an Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford and a Visiting Professor at the University of Warsaw. His previous appointments include positions at the European University Institute in Florence and at the universities of Warsaw, Leiden, and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. His books include Europe as Empire: The Nature of the Enlarged European Union (Oxford University Press, 2006), Politics and the Media in New Democracies. Europe in a Comparative Perspective, (Oxford University Press, 2015), Counter-Revolution: Liberal Europe in Retreat (Oxford University Press, 2018), and The Lost Future and How to Reclaim It (Yale University Press, 2023).
We look forward to welcoming you in October. See you in Kraków!
Conference Framework Programme
15 October
Thursday
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10.00
Registration of Participants Opens
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10:30
Official Opening of the Conference
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10:45-12:00
Keynote Address
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12:00 - 13:00
Lunch -
13:00-15:00
Thematic Sessions
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15:00-15:30
Coffee break
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15:30-17:30
Thematic Sessions
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19:00
Conference Dinner
16 October
Friday
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9:30-11:30
Thematic panels
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11:30-12:00
Coffee break
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12:00-14:00
Thematic panels
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14:00-15:00
Lunch -
15:00
Official Closing of the Conference
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15:30
Accompanying events (to choose from after prior registration):
- Journey to the Future: Solaris National Synchrotron Radiation Centre
- Journey to the Past: Computer Science History Centre – "Computers Museum"
Dates
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25.05-12.07
Abstract Submission Open
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25.05-14.06
Panel Submission Open
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until 19.07
Abstract Evaluation Results Notification
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19.07-16.08
Early Bird Registration -
17.08-13.09
Regular Fee Registration -
16.09
Final Program Published
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15-16.10
conference
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until 30.11
Submitting texts for publication
The conference will take place in Kraków on 15–16 October 2026, as an on-site event at the Faculty of Management and Social Communication of the Jagiellonian University, Prof. Stanisław Łojasiewicz Street 4.
Abstracts should be submitted via the website https://idmiksuj.edu.pl/
Proposals for thematic panels should be submitted by email (
As part of the conference fee, the organisers shall provide
- the opportunity to present a paper;
- the possibility of publishing the text (subject to positive external reviews) in a highly ranked collective work (The Knowledge – Communication – Action Series)
- a certificate confirming participation in the conference
In addition, as part of the conference fee, the organisers will provide:
- conference materials
- refreshments during the conference
- tours
Fees
Reduced Fee: 160 EUR
(by 16 August 2026)
for students and PhD candidates: 140 EUR
Standard fee: 180 EUR
(from 17 August to 13 September):
for students and PhD candidates: 160 EUR
VENUE
WYDZIAŁ ZARZĄDZANIA I KOMUNIKACJI SPOŁECZNEJ UNIWERSYTETU JAGIELLOŃSKIEGO
ul. prof. St. Łojasiewicza 4, 30-348 Kraków