5th EUPRERA Spring Symposium February 17th & 18th, 2012 Berlin (Germany)

Web 2.0 in Governmental and NGO Communication in Europe

Call for Abstracts & Basic Information

1. Introduction Social media is the media we use to be social. Thats it. In his Social Media Bible, Lon Safko uses this brief, concise definition to describe the social media and networks which are having increasing influence on our communication and, above all else, the public relations sector. Previous research has focused principally on the private, economic or societal value of these (now well established) phenomena. There has, however, been little attention paid to the questions of how governments and establihsed, institutionalised non-governmental organisations (NGOs) currently use Web 2.0 and, in particular, social media in their communication, or how their usage could be improved in the future. Furthermore, this question is crucial for the future of political communication, and will play a key role in the future organisation of political participation and the way the society of tomorrow is shaped. This important knowledge gap, which is becoming an international issue, will be at least partly filled by the next EUPRERA Spring Symposium, which takes place on February 17th & 18th at the MHMK University in Berlin (Germany). Prof. Dr. Emanuele Invernizzi (EUPRERA) and Prof. Dr. Holger Sievert (MHMK) therefore extend a warm invitation to academics, practitioners and students, primarily those from Europe, to submit extended abstracts for this symposium. Researchers from outside Europe who work on European or comparative themes are also welcome.

2. Thematic Structure We welcome extended abstracts in the following thematic areas: (1) Theoretical foundations of governmental and NGO communication in general and in Web 2.0 and social media, especially taking into account theories of political communication; (2) Normative research on possible future requirements of governmental and NGO communication, particularly from the perspective of political theory and practical philosophy, but also industry codes, national constitutions or EU citizenship;

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(3) Empirical studies of Web 2.0 and social media in governmental communication in individual European states, groups of European states or the whole of the EU, particularly relevant quantitative or qualitative content analyses or surveys. (4) Empirical studies of Web 2.0 and social media in NGO communication in EU member states and/or Brussels, particularly relevant quantitative or qualitative content analyses or surveys. (5) Methodological and/or comparative research in the thematic areas referred to above under (3) and (4), particularly: a. on the theory of international empirical research on the seminar topic b. on the practice of empirical Web 2.0 research in one or more academic disciplines c. on the chances and limitations of the transferability of Web 2.0 experience in business communication to governmental and NGO communication d. on the particular situation of Web 2.0 communication of public, non-profit and private cultural institutions e. on the possible contributions to be made by journalism and design studies with regard to Web 2.0 use in government and NGO communication.

3. Selection process of papers The submitted extended abstracts will be assessed in an anonymous double-blind peer review process, conducted by experienced EUPRERA members, as well as some well-known academic experts from outside EUPRERA. The planned structure of the programme allows for the selection and approval for presentation of the three best abstracts for categories (1), (2) and (5), and the best six abstracts for categories (3) and (4). The organisers reserve the right to remove categories 5c-5e from the normal paper sessions and integrate them into the plenary session or public discussion. The submission of an extended obliges the author(s) to attend the congress in Berlin on February 17th &18th in person, in order to present the full paper in a 20-30 minute speech and to submit a full paper to this presentation until March 15th, 2012 taking into account the suggestions made for the improvement of the paper during the symposium by other academics. For the convenience of the applicants, this call for abstracts follows the majority of the formal criteria used for this year's EUPRERA Annual Congress in Leeds: All abstracts, papers and posters must be submitted via the online submissions system that will be available under www.euprera.org/symposium2012 from December 20th, 2011, until January 3rd, 2012. One subject area from (1) to (5)e must be clearly indicated on the paper. Please submit an abstract of your paper in the first instance. This will be double-blind peer reviewed and, if accepted, you will be asked to submit your full paper before the conference and to present it there. All abstracts (and later the papers) must be submitted as Word documents saved as .doc (not .docx) files. They must be in Times New Roman 12-point font and double-spaced. No other format will be accepted. The maximum length of the extended abstracts should not exceed 800 words excluding tables and figures; the ensuing full paper after the conference should take into account all feedback given www.euprera.org/symposium2012 www.twitter.com/EUPRERAspring12

during the presentations and stay within a maximum length of 7,000 words excluding abstract, tables, figures and references. All extended abstracts and papers must be in the English language. They should state briefly and clearly the purpose, method, results and conclusions of the work. Please use the same e-mail address consistently: this is the only way the system can contact you! Please do not include the name(s) of the author(s), institutions or any other identifying information on your abstract or paper or in your filename. The online system will ask you for this information and record it. It is therefore important to input this information accurately when submitting your work, as it will appear on the congress programme details.

4. Planned Publications Once the congress has finished, it is planned to publish the proceedings in various forms: i) Firstly, a password-protected publication of the Conference Proceedings is planned. This will be uploaded to the MHMK and EUPERA websites. This is planned for as soon as possible after the end of the congress. By submitting an abstract, the applicants give their irrevocable permission for this form of restricted publication available for access only to congress participants and EUPRERA members. For categories (1), (2) and (5), there will also be a German anthology on social media in governmental communication, published by a well-known German social science publishing house. This anthology will be edited by Prof. Dr. Holger Sievert from the MHMK and Dr. Astrid Nelke from Potsdam University as part of a teaching project at their university, supported by the Press and Information Office of the German Government. It is planned to include the three papers from the categories listed above, as decided in the peer review process. The anthology will also include contributions from selected German-speaking authors. Legally speaking and with regard to the content, the editors right to make their own decision regarding the final contents of the anthology, but do not intend to exercise this right. The German translation of full papers written in English will be commissioned by the editors on their own costs. German authors are asked to write a German version of their paper themselves. They will receive a fee for this in line with the translation costs which would otherwise have been incurred. The author will receive the final translation for approval within two weeks of receipt. By submitting an abstract for one of these categories, the author gives his permission for the publication of the full paper in the anthology and relinquishes to the editors/their publisher all rights to versions of the paper in other languages or online. Should the author wish to retain any or all of the rights to the aforementioned versions, this is to be stated explicitly in the abstract itself. iii) More details about other publication ways will be communicated during the symposium.

ii)

5. Organisational Information The pre-conference program begins on the morning of Friday 17th February within the German Federal Chancellor's Residence (already confirmed). The congress participants will be given an exclusive tour of the house, including many rooms that are normally not accessible for visitors. Following this, the plan is for the congress participants to gather in the cabinet room, where they will be met by the www.euprera.org/symposium2012 www.twitter.com/EUPRERAspring12

German government spokesman and/or his deputy, who will explain and discuss the Web 2.0 presence of the German government with the EUPRERA guests. The official conference programme starts on the same day at lunchtime in the Berlin rooms of the MHMK University, with a high-profile panel, planned to engage in an introductory discussion of the extent to which governments and NGOs can learn from the Web 2.0 experiences of commercial businesses. Following this, the actual paper panels will take place. A second podium discussion about social media as a possible tool for cultural and political communication in Europe precedes the official dinner at a very special Berlin location that brings the first day to a close. On Saturday 18th February, the congress programme will probably take place in the German Foreign Office (yet to be officially confirmed, changes still possible). The first point on the programme is a talk and podium discussion on the role of social media in internal communication on topics such as careers and diversity in organisations like the Foreign Office and Lufthansa. This is followed by a EUPRERA General Assembly, a EUPRERA hour and time for individual conversations about current EUPRERA projects before the official programme concludes with lunch. As a post-conference program, participants have on Saturday afternoon the opportunity to join a private tour of the Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum), including a discussion with management and communications responsible about the role of social media in the PR of international art and historical exhibitions (yet to be finally confirmed, changes still possible). The MHMK has developed a PR concept along these lines for the 30th Council of Europe Exhibition in Estonia, Italy, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. More information about the congress programme and a registration form can be found online under www.euprera.org/symposium2012 from December 15th. Early Bird registration will be possible from then on until January 19th, 2011; standard registration will even be possible until February 2nd, 2012. Participants can already make today their hotel reservations. We recommend the Hampton by Hilton Berlin City West, from where all the conference locations can be reached by public transport within 10-15 minutes. The hotel, opened just one year ago, is situated on the corner of the famous Kudamm. There are fifty rooms available for participants for the period from February 16th to 19th, 2012 (or, if desired, part of this period). The rooms can be booked until December 15th, 2011 for a price of 69 per night, with a surcharge of 10 per night for a second person in the same room. Bookings can be made at these conditions by quoting IWT. Contact: www.hamptonbyhilton.de.

MOST IMPORTANT DATES AT A GLANCE November 17th, 2011 December 15 , 2011 December 20th, 2011 January 3rd, 2012 January 12th, 2012 January 19th, 2012 January 26th, 2012 February 2nd, 2012 March 15 , 2012
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Start of possibility of hotel registration at special rate Opening of web page and symposium registration, already closure of special hotel rate Submission portal opens Deadline for extended abstracts (2 pages) submission Feedback on submitted abstracts End of early bird/Start of standard registration Full programme available online Closure also of standard registration Deadline for full paper submission

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