PANAM, 1997 – 2010
By José Marques de Melo
The event now known as Pan American Congress of Communication began in Brazil in 1997 on the initiative of INTERCOM - Brazilian Society for Interdisciplinary Studies of Communication, intercropped with Orbicom - World of Communication Networks Chairs.
Its first edition - without the actual name, Panam - was organized by UNESCO Chair of Communication in UMESP, with support from the Catholic University of Santos and held in September 1977 as an activity pre-congress of the XX Brazilian Congress of Communication Sciences, under the format of the Colloquium of NAFTA-Mercosur on Industries of Culture and Communication.
Its memory was rescued in the book “Communication in the Americas: South-North dialogue” , organized by José Marques de Melo and Rosa Nava, published by Catholic University of Santos, 1998. Then it was formed an Academic Committee composed of José Marques de Melo, Joseph Straubhaar, Gaetan Tremblay and Delia Clovis to continue this Pan American movement, being projected biennial meetings, according to the following schedule: USA - 1999, Canada, 2001 and Mexico - 2003.
The Consortium of Austin (USA) occurred normally, but the meeting in Montreal (CA), scheduled for September 2001, was surprised by the terrorist events that culminated with the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York. The Colloquium tooked place only in 2002. The fourth meeting proceeded in Mexico City, according to the schedule, completing the initial cycle.
In sequence, it was realized two others Congresses in South America - Argentina (2005) and Chile (2008) - completing the cycle with the second meeting in Brasilia - December 2010, where the movement's scientific council, consisting of the coordinators all events, will meet to decide on the future of this international connection, analyzing proposals for future events and international research networks.
Timeline
Meeting of Santos, Brazil - 1997 - embryo of PANAM-COM
- Coordinator: Dr. José Marques de Melo
PANAM-COM - Austin, Texas, USA - 1999
- Coordinator: Dr. Joseph Straubhaar
PANAM-COM - Montreal, Canada - 2002
- Coordinator: Dr. Gaetan Tremblay
PANAM-COM - Mexico, Mexico - 2003
- Coordinator: Dr. Delia Crovi
PANAM-COM - Buenos Aires, Argentina - 2005
- Coordinator: Dr. Guillermo Mastrini
PANAM-COM Santiago, Chile - 2008
- Coordinator: Dr. Lucía Castellón
PANAM-COM - Brasilia, Brazil - December 2010
- Coordinator: Dr. Cosette Castro