A major round table conference on China Africa Communications is set to be held in June where scholars and practitioners will presents arguments in academic and conference papers. Organised by the Africa Communication Research Centre (ACRC) and the Communications University of China, the conference will consist of a mix of plenary and parallel sessions running from 12-13th June 2015 at the Communication University of China (CUC), Beijing, China. 

While the interest is only increasing among nations in applying branding practices in promoting tourism, investment and overall country perception, the academic treatment of the subject has been narrow and cursory. In my new book Shaping China’s Global Imagination: Branding Nations at the World Expo, I delineate the concept and practice of nation branding by comparing the various ways nations sought to engage the Chinese populace through the medium of pavilion space at the Shanghai World Expo.

Having recently returned from the International Studies Association (ISA) conference in Toronto, I wanted to share some thoughts with the PD community, and particularly the scholars who for some reason or other couldn’t attend.