On the 6th and 7th of February 2020, the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) at the University of Amsterdam hosted the Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap. Over 400 people attended the conference, coming from a variety of Dutch and Flemish institutions, universities, and universities of applied science. This year, they were joined by people from Austria, Scotland, Norway, and Switzerland. The conference hosted 270 presentations – spread over 56 sessions – and six panels on topics ranging from innovative teaching methods to the challenges of open science. In addition, on Thursday morning, NeFCA’s organizational communication division and journalism division organized a pre-conference on framing in journalism and public relations, which was very well-attended.

The theme of this year’s conference was ‘(Mis)informing the public?’, focusing on the opportunities and challenges for scientists to communicate their findings to a wider audience, as well as on the broader role of facts and evidence in current societal and public debates. In light of this theme, two keynote speakers were invited: Ionica Smeets and Teun van de Keuken. Ionica Smeets kicked-off by discussing five major challenges in science communication. Teun van de Keuken concluded the day by sharing his experiences on how consumers are (mis)informed by the food industry. The conference then moved to De Vergulden Eenhoorn for the dinner and party, where the evening started with the award ceremony hosted by NeFCA’s president Jeroen Jansz. Amandine Henderickx received the Tijdschrift voor de Communicatiewetenschap’s Best Paper Award, Thalia van Wichelen was awarded the Frieda Saeys Foundation Prize, Laura Vandenbosch the NeFCA’s Young Scholar Award, and Femke Geusens received the NeFCA dissertation award. After the award ceremony, Karolien Poels gave a goodbye speech for Jeroen Jansz as he is stepping down as NeFCA president after eight years. The goodbye speech was concluded with 350 academics waving goodbye on “Les lacs du Connemara” who then danced the night away.

The pictures of the conference can be found here.

We are looking back on a very successful edition of the Etmaal and wish to thank all those who made it possible; the speakers, the audience, the student volunteers, and our colleagues from ASCoR.

The Etmaal 2020 organizing committee

Sophie Boerman, Chiara de Jong, Hanneke Hendriks, Jeroen Jonkman, Saar Mollen, Marthe Möller, Caroline van Straten, Rens Vliegenthart, and Amber van der Wal