SACOMM 2026 Brings South Africa’s Communications Community Together at Wits
SACOMM 2026 is underway at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, bringing communication academics, students, researchers and industry professionals together for three days of discussions about technology, media and the changing communications landscape.
The South African Communications Association (SACOMM) 2026 conference is taking place from 9 to 11 September at the New Commerce Building on Wits University’s West Campus in Braamfontein.
This year’s conference is centred on the theme “Asserting the Human in the Time of Technofeudalism: Global South Perspectives.”
The theme places the human experience at the centre of conversations about rapidly changing technologies, digital platforms and the growing influence of technology companies on society.
A closer look at technology and communication
SACOMM 2026 arrives at a time when artificial intelligence, social media platforms and digital technologies are transforming the way people communicate, consume news and participate in society.
According to the conference organisers, this year’s programme explores issues including media innovation, journalism, strategic communication, access to information and the implications of technological change from Global South perspectives.
The conference is therefore not simply about technology.
It is also about asking what happens to people, communities and institutions as technology becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life.
Putting the Global South into the conversation
One of the most important aspects of SACOMM 2026 is its focus on Global South perspectives.
Much of the global conversation around artificial intelligence, platforms and digital transformation is dominated by technology companies and institutions based in North America, Europe and other wealthy markets.
The SACOMM programme creates space for researchers and practitioners to examine these developments from African and Global South perspectives.
Topics being explored include decolonial perspectives on technofeudalism, agency in the Global South, media innovation for sustainability and the role of universities and media training in a changing technological environment.
Bringing academics and professionals together
SACOMM’s annual conference provides a platform for researchers from across Southern Africa and internationally to present their work and engage with wider debates within communication scholarship.
The organisers describe the conference as a meeting point for academics, students, communication professionals and practitioners.
That mix is particularly important as the boundaries between traditional media, technology and communication continue to disappear.
Journalists are working with artificial intelligence.
Businesses are communicating directly with consumers through digital platforms.
And audiences are increasingly becoming creators themselves.
What does “technofeudalism” mean?
One of the key concepts behind this year’s conference is technofeudalism.
The term refers broadly to arguments that powerful digital platforms and technology companies increasingly control important parts of economic and social life, creating relationships that can resemble older forms of concentrated power.
SACOMM’s organisers say the conference will consider whether contemporary capitalism is changing into a system in which digital platforms and technology owners exercise increasingly significant influence over information, communication and society.
For African countries, these questions are particularly relevant as governments, businesses, universities and ordinary citizens become increasingly dependent on global digital platforms.
A busy programme at Wits
The main conference runs from 9 to 11 September, following a pre-conference programme for emerging scholars on 8 September.
A conference gala dinner is scheduled for 10 September, while a post-conference Digimethods workshop is planned for 12 September for a limited number of participants.
The conference venue is the New Commerce Building at Wits University’s West Campus, accessible via Empire Road in Braamfontein.
Why SACOMM 2026 matters
As South Africa navigates the opportunities and challenges created by artificial intelligence and digital platforms, conversations about who controls technology — and whose voices are represented in the digital future — are becoming increasingly important.
SACOMM 2026 provides an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to examine those questions through an African and Global South lens.
The conference also highlights the continuing importance of communication scholarship at a time when technology is changing how information is produced, distributed and consumed.
For Everyday Mzansi readers, the discussion has relevance far beyond university campuses.
Whether you are a journalist, student, entrepreneur, educator, content creator or simply someone who spends time online, the changing relationship between technology and communication affects everyday life.
And SACOMM 2026 is putting those questions firmly on the table.
