The Asia-Pacific Communication Forum 2026, co-organized by the Asia-Pacific Communication Exchange Association (APCEA), the Centre for Macau Studies (CMS) at the University of Macau (UM), the Department of Communication (COMM), Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) at UM, and the School of Communication at East China Normal University, with support from the Macao Association of Internet Research (MAIR), the Asia-Pacific Communication Forum Alliance (Macau) (APCFAM), and the New Media Communication Committee (NMCC) of the Chinese Association of Journalism and Communication History (CAJCH), concluded successfully on May 17 in the UM.Themed “Reconstructing Connections, Gathering Wisdom on the Silk Road: Cross-Cultural Communication in the Age of AI”, the forum brought together over 100 scholars, industry representatives, and young researchers from China, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand, Portugal, Spain, and other countries and regions. Macau has long served as a vital nexus where Eastern and Western civilizations converge, and in the new era, it shoulders the mission of facilitating cross-cultural exchanges among the Belt and Road nations. The year 2026 marks not only the 45th anniversary of the UM, but also the 25th anniversary of COMM of UM. As an important component of the UM anniversary celebration, this forum focused on cross-cultural communication along the Belt and Road in the AI era, exploring in depth how AI technology can rebuild trust bonds in cross-cultural communication and enable the spirit of a community with a shared future to achieve creative transformation in the AI age.
In the opening ceremony, welcome addresses were delivered by Dr. Wendy HUANG, President of APCEA; Prof. Agnes LAM, Director of the CMS, UM; and Prof. Richard Fitzgerald, Associate Dean of FSS and Interim Head of the COMM, UM. They affirmed the forum's significance in advancing Asia-Pacific academic networks, cross-cultural dialogue, and AI communication research from the perspectives of regional communication cooperation, Macau's advantage as a crossroads of Chinese and Western cultures, and the development of communication studies in the AI era.Keynote speakers included Dr. Seth Noel, Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UM Distinguished Visiting Scholar; Prof. Wang Bin from Renmin University of China; Prof. Liao Shengqing from Fudan University; Prof. Vivian Hsueh Hua Chen from Erasmus University Rotterdam; Prof. Kokil Jaidka from the National University of Singapore; and Dr. Ma Zhihao from Nanjing University. The six scholars shared cutting-edge perspectives on AI and communication research, covering topics such as the practical application of health communication research, generative AI and the transformation of journalism and communication education, the evolution and future directions of international rumor research, cross-disciplinary applications of virtual reality and AI agents in promoting intergroup understanding and inclusion, deliberative quality measurement in the AI era, and the psychometric and application prospects of LLM-based Digital Twins.The forum also featured a sub-forum organized by the NMCC of CAHJCH, a special roundtable on Macau+Hengqin's cooperation with Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, and six multiple parallel sessions which address themes such as "AI and Communication Innovation," "Cross-Cultural Interaction in the AI Era," "Platforms, Algorithms, and Digital Labor," "Global Communication and Governance," and "AI Literacy and Human-Machine Collaboration," showcasing the vitality of communication research across the Asia-Pacific and beyond. At the special roundtable, scholars from Portugal, Spain and Thailand gathered with prominent Macau-based Portuguese business leaders, economists, and media experts to discuss the platform role of Macau and Hengqin in China's relations with Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, further expanding cross-regional cooperation horizons. In addition,, the forum offered a workshop provided by the MAIR, guiding participants on how to leverage AI and big data platforms for communication and social science research from both theoretical and practical approaches, with the aim of enhancing research quality and outcome productivity. In the closing ceremony, the organizing committee presented seven awards to participating authors. The awards are the Best Paper Award, Innovation Potential Award, and Special "Hou Kong Award" to encourage high-quality original research as well as exploration by Macau-based scholars on Macau-related topics.Established in 2019, the APCF is one of Macau's most prestigious annual academic conferences on journalism and communication. The APCFAM brings together dozens of leading schools of journalism and communication across the Asia-Pacific region. This year's forum was not only an academic exchange event but also an international communication dialogue platform for the intelligent age. The forum will continue to promote interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and cross-regional cooperation, contributing Macau's wisdom and Asia-Pacific solutions to the reconstruction of global communication order and mutual learning among civilizations in the AI era.
Media Reports 2025 | 
   
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