IUB hosts international conference on media and creative industries
Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) concluded its two-day international conference, "The Nation & Its Imaginations," highlighting how media, culture, and creative industries are shaping contemporary national identity.
Organised by the Department of Media and Communication under the School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (SLASS), the event focused on advancing the creative industries by fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and concluded on 10 April 2026 at the university's Dhaka campus.
The conference brought together academics, researchers, students, and practitioners from Bangladesh and abroad to interrogate the roles of media, culture, and the creative industries in shaping modern understandings of nationhood.
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Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr M Tamim, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Daniel W Lund, and Dean of SLASS Prof Dr Bokhtiar Ahmed attended the inaugural session on 9 April. Prof Craig Batty, Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Adelaide, delivered the opening keynote on creative practice and research innovation.
The second day began with a keynote by Prof Lund, who spoke about the relationship between media, audience perception and cognitive dissonance.
Over two days, scholars presented 36 research papers in four parallel sessions. Discussions covered the digital economy, platform labour, media globalisation, cultural production, gender and representation, youth identity and social media, folk culture and heritage, film and visual media, urban subcultures, and political iconography.
Three panel discussions addressed technology's impact on the creative industries, the shifting dynamics of cultural sectors, and the challenges and future of Bangladeshi cinema.
A workshop on creative practice research provided participants with practical insights into media and cultural studies methodologies. The event also featured a screening of "Delupi" (2025).
The conference dinner on the first evening included the formal launch of the Bangladesh Cultural and Creative Industries Research Group, marking the creation of the nation's first scholarly network dedicated to the study of culture and creative industries. This initiative was recognised as a major achievement, aiming to foster ongoing research collaboration and expand opportunities for knowledge-sharing within Bangladesh.
Participants included academics from leading Bangladeshi universities and institutions.
The event fostered interdisciplinary dialogue on the role of media and cultural production in shaping Bangladesh's social, political, and economic narratives. Organisers reiterated that the main aim was to catalyse advancement in the country's creative industries and strengthen academia–industry collaboration.
