The UAB and Cadena SER to organise the International Radio Congress

With the slogan "Present and future of audio", the congress is aimed at professionals in the radio industry, both media and journalists and communicators, teachers and researchers of the radio medium, media managers and executives, advertisers and technology service providers, among others. This academic and professional congress will take place at CaixaForum in Barcelona and will have six thematic areas and 22 round tables with presentations by qualified professionals and local and international experts of great prestige.

Enric Marín, dean of the Faculty of Communication Studies of the UAB and co-director of the congress, highlights about this future meeting "the importance of quality and specialised training of future radio professionals in a disruptive environment, both in the way of presenting and consuming information and entertainment in the media".

The International Radio Congress is part of the commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Cadena SER and of this medium in Spain, when EAJ-1 Radio Barcelona (later SER) became the first officially authorised radio station and on 14November 1924 inaugurated its broadcasts.

The general director of SER, Ignacio Soto, emphasises that "this is a congress promoted by SER, but we would like the whole radio sector to feel it as their own. It also coincides with a very significant moment of debate on the main challenges facing this medium in the immediate future".

For his part, UAB Rector Javier Lafuente points out that "for the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, knowledge transfer and collaboration with business are critical, basic functions. For this reason, we wanted to work with the leading broadcasting company in Spain for the organisation of this international congress.

An innovative congress with 22 conference tables and 6 thematic areas
 
The congress will address a variety of crucial topics, including the future of broadcasting and DAB in Spain, intellectual property rights in broadcasting, the sustainability of current business models and the Spain 2024 advertising report. It will also explore new forms of narrative and language to attract young audiences, creativity and talent management, and will present traditional and alternative models of public radio in the world. In addition, the impact of artificial intelligence on audio production and how technology companies view radio will be discussed. Finally, distribution on owned platforms and the relationship with audio platforms will be examined, as well as the role of smart speakers and smartphones.

"Among the traditional media, radio is the one with the best present and future", adds Jaume Serra. He goes on to say that "radio has been able to adapt in all times and to all new technologies, as it did before television or the internet. Radio, among the current media, is the one with the best expectations for the future, hence the importance of incorporating young professionals". Dean Enric Marín emphasises "the importance of research and the search for new forms of communication in the radio medium, where the academic community must contribute knowledge to maintain the leadership of radio in social communication and face the challenge of incorporating new generations into the medium".

The Organising Committee of the congress is composed, in addition to Cadena SER and the UAB, by the Government of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Asociación Española de Radio Comercial (AERC), Associació Catalana de Ràdio (ACR), Asociación de Universidades con Titulaciones en Información y Comunicación (ATIC), Clúster Audiovisual de Catalunya, Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación, Col-legi de Periodistes de Catalunya, Consell Audiovisual de Catalunya (CAC), Coordinadora d'Estudis Universitaris de Comunicació de Catalunya, Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (CCMA), Corporación Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE), Federació de Mitjans de Comunicació Locals de Catalunya (FMCLcat),  the Federació de Mitjans de Comunicació Locals de Catalunya (FMCLcat), the Federación Latinoamericana de Facultades de Comunicación (FELAFACS), the Institute of Catalan Studies (IEC) - Societat Catalana de Comunicació, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Xarxa Audiovisual Local (XAL).