The NordMedia conference hit new heights in 2025, breaking records for both attendance and research contributions. A total of 462 participants signed up and 413 research papers were presented – making it the biggest NordMedia gathering in the conference’s 50-year history, and proving that interest in the field is only growing.
Nordic countries were notably well represented, with substantial participation from Denmark (146), Finland (76), Iceland (3), Norway (91), and Sweden (102).
The conference, however, also welcomed researchers from outside the Nordics, including Belgium, France, Ukraine, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Germany – as well as Canada, the US, Egypt, India, and Gambia.
NordMedia25 hosted 14 divisions and 3 temporary working groups (TWGs). Of particular note, Media, Communication and Health and Visual Communication and Cultures – previously temporary working groups were granted the status of divisions this year. In addition, two new TWGs were welcomed: Media and Linguistic Minorities and Digital Technologies, Materiality, and the Environment.
Below is an overview of the divisions and temporary working groups for 2025:
- Division 1. Audience Studies
- Division 2. Environment, Science, and Risk Communication
- Division 3. Journalism Studies
- Division 4. Media and Communication History
- Division 5. Media, Globalisation, and Social Change
- Division 6. Media Industries
- Division 7. Media Literacy and Media Education
- Division 8. Organisation, Communication, and Promotion
- Division 9. Political Communication
- Division 10. Television and Film Studies
- Division 11. Theory, Philosophy, and Ethics Of Communication
- Division 12. Games Studies
- Division 13. Media, Communication and Health
- Division 14. Visual Communication and Cultures
- TWG1. Sensory and Immersive Extended Reality Media: AR/VR/XR
- TWG2. Media and Linguistic Minorities
- TWG3. Digital Technologies, Materiality, and the Environment
Imagining Livable Futures
The theme of NordMedia25, Imagining Livable Futures, centred on the major crises of our time – climate change, war, pandemics, and misinformation – while questioning whether our current ways of life could endure.
The theme aimed to draw attention to the double-edged role of new media technologies, such as artificial intelligence, which offer possibilities for solutions but also risks of greater inequality and disinformation. The conference encouraged scholars in media, journalism, and communication to move beyond analysis and consider how their work might help shape more ethical, sustainable, and livable futures. For detailed information, refer to the conference theme text.
The conference featured three keynote speakers: Jill Walker Rettberg (University of Bergen, Norway) & Annette Markham (Utrecht University, Netherlands), and Kim Christian Schrøder (Roskilde University, Denmark).
Walker Rettberg’s and Markham’s opening keynote dialogue explored how researchers and educators can respond to rapid technological change, particularly the rise of AI. Moving beyond simple utopian or dystopian views, they reflected on AI–human intersections and their impact on research itself. Drawing from their own practices, they emphasised the importance of experimentation, playful engagement, and transgressing disciplinary norms to cultivate ethical, hopeful approaches, and to imagine truly different, livable futures.
Schrøder’s closing keynote in turn traced the scholarly debate on the idea of a distinct Nordic media system. His presentation outlined key positions on the continued role and relevance of the Nordic media welfare state, particularly in news provision, drawing on recent audience-centred research. He also tentatively explored how Nordic news media address climate challenges and how they may help equip citizens to imagine livable futures.
Pre-conference for Doctoral Students
A one-day academic workshop for doctoral candidates in media and communication studies was held ahead of the main conference. This was the fifth edition of the pre-conference, first introduced at the 2017 conference in Tampere, and it has since grown into an integral part of the NordMedia tradition.
In 2025, the pre-conference received 64 applications, of which 30 doctoral students were accepted. The event also included 23 senior discussants from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It was financed by Nordicom and the Swedish-Danish Cultural Foundation [Svensk-Danska Kulturfonden]. Serving as a valuable forum for discussing Nordic PhD projects and fostering academic networks, the seminar was organised and coordinated by Maarit Jaakkola, co-director at Nordicom, as in previous years. Here you can read Maarit’s reflection on the pre-doctoral conference.
A Card Game
As a practical toolkit for imagining livable futures, the local organisers at SDU introduced a card game.
The rules were as follows:
Form a group of 4–6 people. Each participant should hold a different card, ensuring that all four categories are represented within the group: characters, technology, habitats, and values.
Together, use your cards as prompts to create a vision of the future. The year is 2075. Ask yourselves:
- What do media environments look like?
- What role does media play in society?
- How can the cards help you predict and imagine possible futures?
Write down your vision, including a title, the cards you used, and the names of your group members, and submit it to the gamemaster.
You are welcome to use the cards in your own teaching or research:
Pictures: David Binzer, SDU.
Navigating Challenges Together: Doctoral Pre-Conference as a Space for Sharing, Learning, and Belonging
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