On 10-12 May 2017, Ghent University and the Vrije Universiteit Brussels hosted the annual conference of the European Media Management Association (emma), the largest gathering of European scholars in the field of media industries and media management. The event was sponsored by NeFCA and supported by its Media Industries & Policy division, led by Tom Evens and Erik Hitters.

The event started with a pre-conference focusing on creative clusters and media hubs. More than 50 participants took the opportunity to discuss with academics, policymakers and practitioners of the media cluster research field. The event took place in the brand new De Krook, which hosts the library of Ghent and aims to become the epicentre of digital media innovation in the region of Flanders.

The emma annual conference took place in Het Pand, the conference centre of Ghent University. This year’s theme was ‘Value Creation in Media Markets: Business Models, Clusters and Ecosystems’. More than 120 media management scholars presented their papers and discussed the latest developments in the field. The conference ended with a Gala Diner where Prof. Lucy Küng from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University was awarded the 2017 emma Award of Excellence.