Welcome to BEA2021!  BEA is the premiere international academic media organization driving insights, excellence in media production and career advancement for educators, students and professionals.  BEA’s annual convention – BEA2021 – produces over 250 sessions on media pedagogy, collaborative networking events, hands-on technology workshops, research and creative scholarship and the Festival of Media Arts. 

We are pleased to announce that the BEA2021 panel and paper submission site is up and running!  To best accommodate participants in our virtual conference, the panel submission deadline is a little later than usual: Friday, October 9th. 

 BEA2021 will be a fully virtual conference. The great news is that because we reached this decision in early September, we have lots of time to make BEA2021 a strong, unique, valuable virtual experience. Paper and panel submitters can move forward with confidence, knowing that they’ll be participating in a virtual format, and not worrying about travel risks or expenses.

 

The BEA2021 Convention Spotlight is….. Facing the Future — This year’s convention spotlight begins a three-year exploration of a theme, including Facing the Future (2021), Embracing the Future (2022), and Retracing the Future (2023). These spotlight topics can engage recursively with each other, invoking the past, present, and future. Facing the Future in BEA 2021 acknowledges the ever-increasing pace of change in the media industry. It also acknowledges the societal upheavals brought about by the combination of the coronavirus pandemic and increased awareness of social injustice. Before we turn our (hopefully optimistic) gaze next year to Embracing the Future, we must first assess where we are now, how we got here, and where our threats and opportunities lie. We must begin by Facing the Future.

 

Facing the Future serves as the BEA2021 spotlight, but papers and panels are not limited to this area of research.  Papers should be submitted to the division that best fits that division’s goals and objectives.  Please visit the paper and panel calls for more information.

NAB Convention:  BEA conferences are traditionally co-located with the NAB Show each April.  NAB will not meet in April 2021, but has announced a Las Vegas convention in October 2021. We’re looking into possible partnership opportunities, but it’s too early to say what that might be. Stay tuned….and meanwhile, let’s plan for a great (virtual) BEA 2021.