RATIONALE
URANMACR is an initiative which was born at the Singapore 2000 conference of IAMCR. As immediate past Secretary General of IAMCR, Professor Naren Chitty has been responsible for the initiative.
After discussions with leading scholars from all over the world, it was decided that a "comfort and support zone" was necessary for researchers from under-represented areas, notably from Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America as well as under-represented areas within Europe and North America.
The purpose of URAN is to empower media and communication researchers from "under-represented areas" through initiating intra- regional and inter-regional research networks. These networks will flower into an inter-civilisational conversation.
Even in the most international of media and communication research organisations there only are a handful of Africans and Chinese, and relatively few Asians, Latin Americans Pacific Islanders and Aboriginal people. Additionally, only English, French and Spanish are privileged as languages in the most international of these organisations - furthermore only English is used in practice. URANMACR will seek to address this problem in its research promotion and publication policies and programs.
URAN engaged in a preliminary dialogue on its listserv between September 2000 and January 2001. It has developed the following aims and objectives.
(1) To address the research needs of media and communication researchers in areas which are under-represented in internationally published scholarship and international research organisations;
(2) To provide a forum where there can be an inter-civilisational exchange for researchers and professionals in media and communication. The focus of URAN will therefore be on inclusive sub-regional, regional and inter-regional networking;
(3) To recognise regional pride in the different languages and cultures within various regions of the world;
(4) To encourage the development of research and systematic study within and between Under-Represented Areas (URAs) and between URAs and ORAs (Over-Represented Areas);
(5) To document research resources and research in URAs and assist in the publication of such research through provision of translation, publishing and conference attendance mechanisms;
(6) To cooperate with relevant media and communication research organisations which arrange conferences in various parts of the world;
(7) To seek funding in order to achieve the above aims.
A conference on " Media and Communication Research in the Age of Globalisation" is being planned for September 24-26, 2001, to be held in Sydney by Department of International Communication (MUCIC).
The meeting will coincide with an by-invitation-only Consultative Meeting of URAN Coordinators.
Ten Conference Travel Awards, covering registration and travel, have been allocated by an international funding agency.
The URAN Convenor has exchanged communications with the President of IAMCR about the development of synergies between the Network and the Association.
Further information about URAN 2001 is available from the Convenor.
Professor Naren Chitty
Convenor URAN
nchitty@scmp.mq.edu.au