EUPRERA
ANNUAL CONGRESS

MÁLAGA 2026

16-19 SEPTEMBER

Regenerating public relations and strategic communication in the face of the new global order: are we ready for this challenge?

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About the EUPRERA Annual Congress

The European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA)

Is an autonomous organisation with over 550 members across 50 countries, with a vision of advancing academic research and knowledge in public relations and strategic communication. To achieve this vision, EUPRERA organises a highly regarded Annual Congress in collaboration with a prestigious European academic institution..

The Annual Congress is an opportunity to exchange knowledge, explore innovative methods, and disseminate the latest research outcomes. The 27th Annual Congress will be hosted by the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising at the Faculty of Communications Sciences of University of Malaga in the city of Malaga, on the Costa del Sol of Andalusia, Spain, between 16 and 19 September 2026.

Call for contributions

Academics, PhD students, and practitioners are invited to submit papers and panel proposals related to the congress theme: Regenerating public relations and strategic communication in the face of the new global order: are we ready for this challenge?

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The organizing institution

The University of Málaga was founded in 1972 and is recognized as one of the leading public universities in Spain. With more than 35,000 students and 3,700 staff members across its two main campuses—El Ejido and Teatinos—the University combines academic excellence with a strong commitment to innovation, sustainability, and internationalization.

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The institution plays a key role in advancing knowledge and contributing to the social, cultural, and economic development of the region and beyond. The Faculty of Communication Sciences at the University of Málaga is a benchmark in Spain for teaching and research in the fields of communication, journalism, audiovisual studies, and advertising and public relations. With over 200 faculty members and researchers and around 3,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, it is one of the most dynamic faculties within the University.

The Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising at the University of Málaga is a leading reference in Ibero-America in the field of public relations. It stands out for its academic and research leadership, with pioneering initiatives such as the International Journal of Public Relations, the Public Relations Research Association, and the Latin American Communication Monitor (LCM), promoted in collaboration with EUPRERA. The Department also plays a key role in national and European research projects on communication, gender, lobbying, and sustainability, and has supervised a significant number of defended doctoral theses, consolidating its position as an international benchmark in strategic communication.

The Congress Theme

Regeneration is understood as a developmental paradigm that goes beyond traditional notions of sustainability, resilience, and even corporate social responsibility. It is not only about sustaining or withstanding systems, but also about actively restoring, revitalising, and evolving social, economic, and environmental dynamics. This perspective calls for a profound transformation in how organisations and institutions operate, aligning their practices with the principles of living systems. It promotes adaptive structures, interdependent relationships, and the generation of positive impacts across broader ecological and social contexts. In this sense, the regenerative approach resonates with a more socially oriented understanding of public relations and strategic communication, conceived as fields that construct meaning and contribute to social transformation.

This regenerative approach opens up debate and critique on how these fields can transcend their traditional role, acknowledging their own path, with both lights and shadows, to become true agents of change in a world marked by crisis and uncertainty.

The EUPRERA 2026 Congress in Málaga is conceived as a space for critical reflection on the role that public relations and strategic communication are playing in a world shaped by polarisation, disinformation, and the rethinking of organisational models.

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In the context of climate crisis, social inequality, and political-economic disruption, public relations and strategic communication can be a key dimension for organisational and social regeneration, although they have also served to reinforce power structures, amplify corporate narratives without real impact, or perpetuate exclusionary dynamics.

This congress aims to open a deep debate on the tensions between the transformative potential of these disciplines and their limitations in practice from a critical perspective. How can public relations and strategic communication contribute to regeneration in a broad sense? To what extent are they truly influencing organisational decision-making from an ethical and critical perspective? How is the construction of legitimacy managed in a world where disinformation, polarisation, and phenomena such as dark PR or greenwashing are prevalent?

The event will bring together academics, researchers, and professionals in a transdisciplinary, critical, and reflective space to analyse the opportunities and contradictions of public relations and strategic communication today. From the design of regenerative narratives to the evaluation of communication’s impact on society and the responsibilities the profession must assume, including the need for ethical and conscious leadership, the congress will address how the discipline can (and must) evolve in this context of global transformation.

Organizing committee

The EUPRERA 2026 Congress is only a couple of days away! Some of you are already in Málaga, while others are getting ready to travel. We are very much looking forward to welcoming you and meeting everyone in this beautiful city.

Before the Congress begins, we would like to introduce the Málaga organising team, who have been working with great care and dedication to prepare this year’s event. Below, you can meet the people behind the Congress, learn more about their roles, and read what the theme and the Congress mean to them!

Alejandro Alvarez N.

Professor and Researcher at the University of Málaga. Co-Principal Investigator of the activaES2030 project: Climate Activism and Strategic Communication in Spain

Co-Chair of the Congress. Head of Operations

The Málaga School of Public Relations and Strategic Communication opens its doors to the largest scientific and professional gathering in our field, with the aim of thinking together about the regeneration we need as a society in the face of today’s global challenges

Isabel Ruiz-Mora

Associate Professor at the University of Málaga. Co-Principal Investigator of the activaES2030 project: Climate Activism and Strategic Communication in Spain. Chair of the project: ‘PhDs EU-Rail. Extending the rail network of PhDs in Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking’

Co-Chair of the Congress

The University of Málaga and the ACTIVAES2030 team welcome all academics and public relations professionals, driven by a desire to work towards regeneration that will enable us to become agents of change for a fairer and more resilient society.

Alberto E. López C.

Lecturer Professor at the University of València (Spain). Member of the work team of the activaES2030 project: Climate Activism and Strategic Communication in Spain

Session and Room Operations Coordinator

In a world gripped by the climate emergency and uncertainty, strategically and ethically managing communication and public relations is not merely a matter of reputation, but a vital tool for saving lives, coordinating resilient community responses, and rebuilding social trust in the face of adversity.

Andrea Castro-Martínez

Professor and Researcher at the University of Málaga. Researcher on the projects ‘Citizen activism and communication in the face of climate change’ and ‘Social sustainability of fashion in the metaverse’.

Conference communications and accommodation arrangements 

Málaga will take its place at the heart of the academic and professional debate on the renewal of strategic communication and public relations, so that we can work together towards the sustainability of our sector

Daniel Guerrero N.

Associate Professor at the University of Málaga. Director General of Institutional Communications at the University of Málaga. Director of the Chair in Compliance and Transparent and Responsible Communication.

External Relations, Partnerships and Sponsorships

Málaga is a vibrant international ecosystem where conferences like this one and ambitious projects can be held with great success.

Bel Barroso

Professor and Researcher at the University of Málaga. PhD in Communication for Sustainable Organizations, specializing in regeneration, sustainability, communication, and bioinnovation

Protocol & Hosting

From Málaga, a city open to the Mediterranean and to new ideas, we come together to rethink the role of communication in shaping regenerative futures. A space to connect knowledge, purpose, and action towards the transformation our society and planet need.

Carmen Cristofol

Professor and Reasearcher at the University of Málaga. Researchs on fashion and beauty communication in the digital area

Hospitality & Sponsorships

We are hosting Europe’s largest public relations conference at our Faculty of Communication Sciences in Málaga, as a forum for researchers and individuals alike to come together and discuss the new horizon that lies ahead.

Cristina Pérez-Ordóñez

Assistant lecturer and reseacher at the University of Malaga

Poster Gallery & Audiovisuals

There can be no regeneration without culture: it is culture that transforms our values, our relationships and, ultimately, the way we inhabit the world.

Andrea Oliveira

Associate Professor at the University of Málaga

Special Activities

Diversity drives regeneration. It is at the heart of EUPRERA — a community built on openness, exchange and connection.

Jorge Sánchez C.

PhD student at University of Málaga. Camera operator and photographer.

Communication and photography

The Málaga School of Public Relations and Strategic Communication supports efforts to address various important challenges that are essential to the advancement of society and our planet. For this reason, documenting this event through photography is of vital importance, helping to preserve a record of our impact and the footprint we leave behind.

María J. Fernández T.

Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Málaga. Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs, Degree Programmes, Faculty and Quality

Faculty Coordination

In a context marked by disinformation and the growing complexity of the public sphere, we need to rethink the role of public relations and strategic communication in building trust and fostering social dialogue. EUPRERA 2026 makes Málaga a privileged space to address this challenge together.

María J.Bermejo B.

Researcher and PhD Candidate at the University of Málaga, part of the Horizon Europe project PhDs EU-Rail

Information Desk & Attendee Accreditation

EUPRERA 2026 brings the international community of Public Relations and Strategic Communication to Málaga: a space to meet, exchange ideas and think together about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Exequiel Gaston D.

Doctoral Researcher in Communication at the University of Málaga, focusing on digital communication, lobbying, and European platform regulation. Specialist in digital marketing and strategic communication

Session and Room Operations Coordinator

EUPRERA Málaga brings together an international community to rethink the role of public relations and strategic communication in a changing world, encouraging collaboration and more regenerative approaches to communication and society.

Silvia Olmedo Salar

Professor and Journalism Degree Coordinator at University of Málaga. Researcher in Communication and Culture Laboratory COMandalucia and activaES2030 project: Climate Activism and Strategic Communication in Spain

Information Desk & Attendee Accreditation

Málaga becomes the setting for rethinking and regenerating public relations and strategic communication in the face of new global dynamics, preparing the field for the challenges of a transforming world.

Stella Gómez G.

PhD Candidate. Master’s Degree in Strategic Management and Innovation in Communication. Bachelor’s. Degree in Advertising and Public Relations

Information Desk & Attendee Accreditation

Joining this gathering in Málaga, where the discipline comes together to think about how strategic communication can help us respond to a changing, challenging world.

Sara López Gómez

Postdoctoral researcher and team member in ActivaES2030 project

Information Desk & Attendee Accreditation.

Because transformation needs to be plural, at the Málaga School of Public Relations and Strategic Communication, we think together, from our diverse origins and fields, about the humans and more than humans bonds needed to build ecosocial justice

Claryed Castillo Q.

Digital communication specializing in social communication

Web design, visual communication and digital communication.

Regeneration also means creating more human spaces for conscious dialogue, sharing experiences, and rethinking how we relate to one another through communication. Málaga, an open, vibrant and international city, offers the ideal setting to connect perspectives, experiences and a global community around these conversations.

These are the Lighthouse Keepers preparing Málaga to welcome the EUPRERA 2026 Congress at the University of Málaga, Faculty of Communication Sciences!