VAKKI Symposium
University of Vaasa, Tervahovi-building
Finland
XLV International VAKKI Symposium: Communicational Relations
The VAKKI Communication Research Association will hold its 45th International VAKKI Symposium at the University of Vaasa on February 13–14, 2025.
The theme of the symposium is Communicational Relations.Relations are at the core of communication. Relations between people, between organizations and stakeholders, and between humans and technologies, are built and maintained, damaged and repaired, expressed and negotiated in and through communication. Relations may be personal or professional, hierarchical or equal, harmonious or tensional, and of instrumental or intrinsic value. From another perspective, communication may be conceptualized as relational by nature, as something that emerges in encounters – for example, when a picture on the screen sparks an emotion in the viewer or invites the user to click on it.
The symposium program will include research presentations which discuss communicational relations from the perspectives of organizational and expert communication, media and journalism, as well as translation and interaction. There will also be workshops which delve into questions around rhetoric, crisis communication, and AI, as well as a panel discussion on the relationship between journalism and social media communication.
The symposium’s keynote speakers are Johanna Arnesson (Umeå University, Sweden) and Joëlle Basque (Université TÉLUQ, Canada).
Arnesson’s keynote, titled “Influencer Relations: Navigating People, Politics, and Platforms” will take place on Thursday, February 13 at 12 pm, and Basque’s keynote, titled “Exploring Identity Matters in the Communicative Constitution of Organization” on Friday, February 14 at 1 pm. The keynotes will take place in the Wolff auditorium and are open to everyone.