Call for Papers

2023-04-26

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) plays a pivotal role in nation-building by empowering individuals through educational interventions for those who have missed/lost/been denied their educational opportunities. In this endeavour, the School of Journalism and New Media Studies seeks a new dimension by launching a peer-reviewed open-access research publication - IGNOU Journal of Media and Empowerment (ISSN: 3048-8478). The Journal intends to create a learning environment for aspiring young media and communication systems scholars through this initiative. It aims to support them by enhancing research skills and domain knowledge on specific topics and hand-holding them in fine-tuning their research outputs. Hopefully, these efforts will contribute to a holistic understanding of the media and information system's role in empowering individuals and emancipating research in the discipline.

The power equation in the communication process has witnessed titanic changes. Individuals are no longer receivers of information but can be produsers. Demassification, convergence, and a no-entry communication barrier have made media and information accessible to all. Utilising this opportunity of horizontal communication power, however, needs scrutiny within the context of individual empowerment.

The empowerment process through the media and communication system can enable the common person to handle the system better and more effectively. Three fundamental dimensions—access, interpretation, and participation—help shape people holistically and transform them into responsible citizens who exercise necessary democratic functions. An informed individual or society can participate more in all possible societal functions, including media and communication systems, which demand higher living conditions in various development settings. 

Poverty, education, gender inequality and many other factors determine the quality of access to communication outlets. While media and information may not solve these problems, they can empower citizens to be aware of their roles and responsibilities. 

We invite papers on the following subject from interested scholars [but not limited to]:

  • Media and Health Empowerment
  • Digital Equity and Democracy
  • Gender (in)equality through Media
  • Climate Change from Media Prism
  • Public Access and Freedom of Expression
  • Digital Literacy and Pedagogical Process
  • Communication Technology and Open Learning
  • Women Empowerment through ICT
  • Rights Approach and Media Systems
  • Contested Power and Communication Systems
  • The synergy between MIL and SDGs
  • Mediatisation and Social Institutions
  • Manifestations Digital Inequality 
  • Media, Information and Marginalised Sections
  • Participatory Media and Youth
  • Media and Information Activism
  • National and regional media policy initiatives
  • Any other areas that focus on media and empowerment

 

IGNOU Journal of Media and Empowerment invites empirical research articles and systematic reviews exploring the interplay between media, information, and empowerment.