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Founded in February of 2006, NECS, the European Network for Cinema and Media Studies, brings together scholars and researchers in the field of cinema, film and media studies with archivists and film and media professionals. A first NECS workshop was held in Berlin on the occasion of the network’s founding in 2006, followed by large international conferences in Vienna 2007, Budapest 2008 and Lund 2009. Over the last three years, NECS has attracted more than 600 members worldwide. Detailed information on NECS can be found on the NECS website, www.necs-initiative.org.

The 2010 NECS Conference will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, from June 24 through June 27. Istanbul, a global city of more than 12 million inhabitants occupying the Eastern edge of Europe and the Western edge of Asia, inherits its name from the Greek phrase “eistinpolin,” which means “in the city,” “to the city,” or “downtown.” In 2010, along with the NECS Conference, Istanbul will be hosting a great variety of events as a European Capital of Culture, an occasion described by the European Commission as “a golden opportunity to show off Europe's cultural richness and diversity, and all the ties which link us together as Europeans.” In this light, Istanbul is the ideal place to host the 2010 conference for the European Network of Cinema and Media Studies. In Europe’s Capital of Culture, we would like to debate issues of capitals, cities and urbanity under the rubric of “Urban Mediations.” Confirmed keynote speakers include Saskia Sassen, Thomas Elsaesser and Charlotte Brunsdon.

Paper topics may include, but must not be limited to, the following:
• Theories of urbanity (theoretical, methodological and political connections between cityscapes and mediascapes)
• Urban aesthetics and experiences (urban events, creative urban culture)
• Urban mediascapes (media production, new media archi-tectures/-textures)
• CityPasts, CityFutures (utopias-dystopias, virtual cities, cities-in-history)
• City as actor (representations of the city, the city film)
• Urban relationships (city-human interaction, mediations / representations of families, love, friendship in the city)
• City and (im)mobility (social movements, migrations, global circulations)
• New cities / new media (urban development, reshaping the sense of city via new technologies)
• Media capital and cultures (cultural industries, cultural capital, festival cities)

Scholars from all areas of cinema and media studies (radio, television, new media etc.), whether previously attached to NECS or new to the network, are invited to submit proposals for contributions.

Please note that you may hand in a paper or panel proposal related to the thematic guidelines of the conference outlined above, or alternatively submit a paper or panel proposal for open call in any field of cinema and media studies.

We especially encourage pre-constituted panels in order to strengthen the thematic coherence of individual panels. There are four ways of participating in the Istanbul conference:
(1) by individually organizing a pre-constituted panel within an already existing network such as a NECS work group (see member section of the NECS website - www.necs-initiative.org) or a research project. The members of the NECS work groups are especially encouraged to put together a pre-constituted panel;
(2) by organizing a panel via the NECS website (www.necs-initiative.org). Those who consider putting together a panel outside already existing networks are asked to send a call for papers with a title and a short description of the objectives of the proposed panel no later than December 15, 2009 to conference@necs-initiative.org. The conference committee will post these topics in the public section of the website, collect all responses and keep you informed about potential presenters;
(3) by responding to a call for papers that is proposed online (see item 2);
(4) by proposing an open call paper outside a preconstituted panel.

Please note that individuals may submit only one paper proposal, either to the open call or as a part of a pre-constituted panel.

Panels may consist of 3- 4 speakers with a maximum of 20 minutes speaking time each. All presenters are obliged to provide us with a title, an abstract of max 150 words, 3-5 keywords, 3-5 key bibliographical references, technical requirements, name of the presenter and institutional affiliation.

Panel organizers are asked to submit panel proposals including a panel title, a short description (up to 100 words) of the panel and information on all the papers as listed above. Please submit all proposals before January 31, 2010 by sending them via email to conference@necs-initiative.org. Notification will follow shortly thereafter (around February 28, 2010). The conference language is English. Again, in case you consider an open call for a panel proposal, please send us your topic until December 15, 2009 so that we can post the description of the objectives of the proposed panel on our website.

Conference attendance is free, but valid NECS-membership is required to participate in the conference (register with NECS at www.necs-initiative.org. For the terms of NECS membership, please also refer to our website). Participants will have to cover their own travel and accommodation expenses. Travel information as well as a list of affordable hotels and other accommodations will be posted on the NECS website in the spring of 2010.

For the conference organizers:
The NECS Conference Committee
Tina Bastajian, Melis Behlil, Olof Hedling, András Bálint Kovács, Tarja Laine, Terez Vincze, Patrick Vonderau

The NECS Steering Committee
Malte Hagener, Vinzenz Hediger, Dorota Ostrowska, Alexandra Schneider, Patrick Vonderau