When Many Voices Discuss Communicating Environmental Justice In Singapore

It is hard to describe the feeling of stepping into a room where over 1,700 scholars, researchers, media practitioners, and students from every corner of the world have gathered, all bound by a shared concern: our planet’s future. From July 13–17, the city-state of Singapore at Nanyang Technological University hosted the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) 2025, under the compelling theme: “Communicating Environmental Justice: Many Voices, One Planet.”

As someone who journeyed from Northeast India, where the landscape itself teaches us lessons in resilience, migration, and adaptation, this conference felt deeply resonant. I was there not only as a participant but also as a presenter, sharing insights on "Disaster and Resilience: Registering People’s Voice through Participatory Video in Assam." Yet, beyond the session rooms and keynote speeches, the experience was a reminder of why platforms like IAMCR matter profoundly, especially for regions like ours that often remain on the margins of academic conversations.

A Theme That Speaks to the Planet and Its Margins:

The theme of this year’s conference wasn’t merely symbolic. "Communicating Environmental Justice: Many Voices, One Planet" is a call to action that urges scholars to think about how communication both reveals and conceals the realities of climate change, inequality, and resilience.

Organized around 37 thematic sections and working groups, IAMCR 2025 explored a rich diversity of media and communication questions, from indigenous storytelling, climate activism, and digital protest to greenwashing, platform governance, and environmental journalism. What struck me most was the emphasis on intersectionality and interdisciplinarity. Environmental justice was not seen as a siloed topic for scientists and policymakers. Rather, the conference reimagined it through the lens of community radios, social media narratives, cultural resistance, and grassroots filmmaking.

It was in this spirit that my presentation on participatory video-making in Assam’s flood-affected regions found its place, not just as a local case study, but as part of a larger global dialogue on voice, agency, and media justice.

Sharing a Story from Assam: Floods, Films, and Hope:

My session brought together researchers working on disaster communication, participatory media, and community resilience. I spoke about how participatory video, used as a communication and documentation tool in Assam’s floodplains, has become an act of both survival and storytelling.

Through handheld cameras and mobile phones, villagers captured their own experiences of displacement, adaptation, and relief work, not just for archival purposes, but as tools to demand accountability, reach decision-makers, and shape narratives that mainstream media often ignores. The link for the final video that emerged from our project is provided here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoAtQ2k41VU

The response was heartening. Academics from Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Europe came forward to share parallels from their own contexts. A scholar from Shenzhen University and team discusses how Indigenous organizations' efforts against deforestation in the Amazon Basin (Brazil) works representing a powerful manifestation of resistance to extensive ecological destruction. A presenter from the UK discussed Belarus Uprising of 2020 and its use of Telegram for organising and circulating information. Based on a content and thematic analysis of Telegram posts. It was in these conversations that I realized: IAMCR is not just a conference, it’s a mirror. A mirror that reflects the world’s most pressing issues back at us, through a multiplicity of voices.

The Importance of Being There: From the Hills to the Harbour:

Coming from Northeast India, a region rich in linguistic diversity, cultural plurality, and ecological wisdom, but often underrepresented in global academic forums, my presence felt like a small but meaningful rupture in the usual academic geography. In the past, conferences of this scale might have felt distant or unattainable to many from our region. But walking into the conference halls in Singapore, nestled in a city that blends ecological innovation with global commerce, I was reminded of why being present matters.

It’s about visibility. It’s about challenging the idea that media studies is defined only by big data labs, corporate platforms, and Euro-American theories. It’s about saying, “Here’s how we think about communication from the riverbanks of the Brahmaputra, from the borderlands of Meghalaya, from the hills of Nagaland.”

And it’s also about community, not just of scholars, but of listeners, co-thinkers, provocateurs, and peers.

Conversations That Travel:

One of the most enriching parts of IAMCR 2025 was the sheer diversity of perspectives. Over coffee and shared meals, I met scholars researching podcasting and democracy in Australia, digital activism in Palestine, indigenous media in Canada, and post-coup communication ecologies in Myanmar.

These conversations don’t end with the closing plenary. They become collaborations, friendships, reading exchanges, and research ideas.

To me, this is the real significance of IAMCR, it’s a living, breathing community of thought, action, and reflection. It’s a place where a student from Imphal might find a mentor in Berlin, where a journalist from Tezpur can present alongside a researcher from Mexico City.

Why IAMCR Matters for Northeast India:

Suppose there’s one message I brought back from Singapore. In that case, it’s this: We need more students, educators, and media practitioners from Northeast India to be part of global academic networks like IAMCR. Not just as spectators, but as contributors. Because our region has stories to tell—stories of environmental change, displacement, oral traditions, community knowledge systems, and media innovations that are unique and necessary in today’s fractured world.

We cannot afford to remain invisible in the larger discourses of media and communication studies. Whether it’s about climate justice, indigenous communication, or digital media ethics, the Northeast has insights that the world needs to hear.

But for that, we need platforms. We need networks. We need spaces of solidarity and scholarship. IAMCR offers that and more.

Looking Ahead: A Call to Connect:

As the conference wrapped up with cultural performances, eco-themed exhibitions, and farewell messages echoing across the halls, I stood with many others feeling a shared sense of urgency and hope. The climate crisis is not abstract, it’s immediate, intimate, and often uneven in its impact.

Communication, in all its forms, is central to how we understand and act upon these crises. And the role of media educators and researchers is more crucial than ever, not just to document or critique, but to imagine alternatives, build alliances, and nurture empathy.

IAMCR 2025 reminded me that even in a room of 1,700 people, every story counts. Every voice adds to the planetary chorus. And every connection made, over a panel discussion, a quiet lunch, or an impromptu debate can ripple outwards.

Final Reflections: The Journey Continues:

Returning to the Northeast with a bag full of books, business cards, and memories, I feel recharged. Not just by the intellectual stimulation, but by the sense of belonging to something larger. In Singapore, amidst its modern skyline and multicultural warmth, I saw the future of communication studies, it is plural, participatory, planetary.

And in that future, I hope to see more voices from our region, our scholars, our students, our storytellers who shall be sharing, listening, and leading. Because as IAMCR 2025 reminded us: it will take many voices to save one planet.

(Alankar Kaushik teaches Media Studies at EFL University, Shillong Campus)