The first draft of the program for the EuroBlog2008 Brussels Symposium is out. Just a reminder, the event will take place from March 13–15 at the IHECS campus in Brussels. The key themes for this 2008 edition are:

  • How can academic research lead and support the ways in which practitioners embrace social media?
  • How should academics approach teaching social media (both in terms of course content and pedagogy)?
  • What are the societal implications of social media (democracy, accountability, privacy)?

Here’s a first look at the draft schedule (expect more details in the coming weeks):

Social media and the future of PR: New ideas, new research, new business

Thursday, March 13:

12:00–1:45pm — Registration 2:00–2:30pm — Welcome 2:30–3:30pm — Opening session: Why does social media matter to public relations? 4:00–5:45pm — Teaching social media

  • Richard Bailey, Helena Makhotlova (Leeds Metropolitan University, UK): Teaching ms txt. A study of learning, literacy and mobile technology
  • Thomas Pleil (Hochschule Darmstadt, Germany): Social Media in PR Education
  • Kaja Tampere (University of Jyväskylä, Finland): Blogging as a teaching tool: a Finnish experience
  • Erkan Saka (Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey): Introducing New Media to new Public Relations Students

5:45–6:30pm — Panel: What is Next for New Media? Thinking & Acting in the New Environment 8:00pm — Dinner

Friday, March 14:

9:00am — Welcome 9:15–10:15am — Keynote 10:15am–12:30pm — Social media in action 12:30–1:30pm — Lunch 1:30–3:30pm — Plenary papers & discussion 4:00–5:30pm — Interactive seminar: Where we need to go and what we need to know to get there 5:30pm — Closing keynote 8:00pm — Dinner

Saturday, March 15:

9:00am — Welcome note – Sue Wolstenholme (Euprera) 9:15–11:45am — Ethics, Politics, and Public Sphere 12:00–12:45pm — Panel: Lessons learned, Future Directions: How can Theory and Practice work together? 12:45pm — Closing speech 1:00pm — Lunch 2:30–5:00pm — Euprera General Assembly

For more details, keep an eye on the EuroBlog site and check out the Facebook group.