Call for Papers
AVT Matters 2026
Theme: Navigating AVT in the New Era: Creativity, Accessibility, and Responsibility
Dates: 5-6 December 2026
Format: Online
Host: School of English Studies, Shanghai International Studies University
Co-organizer: Hong Kong Audio Description Studies Association (HKADSA)
Co-organizer: Centre for Translation Studies (CenTras), University College London
Conference Language: English
Abstract Submission Deadline: 15 October 2026
About the Conference
Audiovisual Translation (AVT) has become one of the most dynamic areas in Translation Studies, shaped by the rapid expansion of streaming platforms, new modes of media consumption, advances in language technologies, and growing attention to accessibility and inclusion. Practices ranging from subtitling/captioning, dubbing, voice-over, audio description (AD), and subtitling for the d/Deaf and hard of hearing (SDH) to game localisation and song/lyric translation are being reconfigured by changing audiences, multilingual media flows, and AI-assisted workflows.
Yet AVT is never shaped by technology alone. It is also made through specific languages, institutions, platforms, classrooms, professional routines, audiences, cultural memories and access needs. In China, East Asia and other multilingual contexts, screen translation and media accessibility raise questions that cannot be fully answered by global industry narratives: How do local media cultures reshape AVT concepts and methods? How do audiences experience translated and accessible media across linguistic, sensory and cultural differences? How can researchers, teachers and practitioners describe emerging practices without losing sight of human judgement, creativity and responsibility?
This international online conference aims to create a focused space for scholars, early-career researchers, postgraduate students and practitioners working on AVT, media accessibility and related fields. We welcome original theoretical, empirical, experimental and interdisciplinary research that generates new insights into AVT across media, contexts and communities.
The conference particularly encourages work that brings underrepresented languages, regions, genres, user groups, teaching contexts and methodological approaches into conversation with established AVT research.
Suggested Topics
We invite submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following strands:
A. AVT Modes and Screen Practices
AVT in film, television, streaming platforms, short video, social media and new media.
AVT in live events, opera, theatre, museums, cultural heritage and public communication.
Song, lyric, and musical theatre translation, music video covers, and participatory translation on digital platforms.
AVT for games, immersive media, virtual environments and other interactive screen cultures.
B. Accessibility, Audiences and Reception
Media accessibility, inclusive design, universal access and user participation.
Reception studies, audience research, cognitive approaches and experimental methods in AVT.
Audio description, audio subtitling, SDH and access services in different cultural contexts.
Accessibility for multilingual, ageing, neurodiverse, d/Deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind and partially sighted audiences.
C. Local, Regional and Transcultural AVT
AVT in China, East Asia and other regional, minority-language or underrepresented contexts.
Translation and accessibility of Chinese-language, Asian and non-English audiovisual content.
Fansubbing, fandubbing, danmaku/damu subtitling, participatory translation and user-generated accessibility.
Global circulation of local media and local reception of global media.
D. Technologies, Methods and Human Judgement
AI-assisted AVT, machine translation, automatic speech recognition, synthetic voices and AI dubbing.
Quality assessment, revision, post-editing and human evaluation of AI-mediated AVT.
Human agency, creativity, authorship and responsibility in technology-mediated AVT.
Ethical, legal and methodological issues in working with audiovisual data, platforms, users and AI tools.
E. Pedagogy, Professional Contexts and Knowledge Exchange
AVT pedagogy, translator training, digital competence and didactic AVT.
Teaching subtitling, dubbing, audio description, SDH, song translation or game localisation.
Research on innovative projects, software, workflows, classroom practices or community initiatives.
Working conditions, professional standards, copyright, data and policy in AVT and media accessibility.
Presentation Format
We welcome abstract submissions for individual paper presentations.
Each presentation will be allocated 15 minutes, followed by 5 minutes for discussion.
Accepted papers will be grouped into parallel sessions according to their topics and the overall structure of the conference programme. The conference will include keynote talks by invited international scholars and parallel paper sessions. As an online conference, it is designed to support focused exchange across time zones while keeping the programme compact. The final number of parallel sessions will depend on the number and thematic distribution of accepted abstracts.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit your abstract to avt.matters2026@outlook.com by 15 October 2026.
Abstract submissions should include:
Title of the presentation.
Abstract of 250-300 words.
3-5 keywords.
Name, affiliation and email address of each author.
A short bionote of 100 words for each presenter.
Preferred strand: A, B, C, D or E.
Indication of whether you wish to submit a full paper for the Best Conference Paper Award.
Abstracts should clearly indicate the research background, objectives, materials/data or case study, methodology/approach, expected findings and relevance to the conference theme.
All abstract submissions will undergo quality control and review by the organizing committee. Submissions that do not meet basic academic, ethical or language standards may be declined. Notification of acceptance will be sent by 30 October 2026.
Best Conference Paper Award
The conference plans to offer Best Conference Paper Award(s) to recognise outstanding full-paper contributions, especially from postgraduate students and early-career researchers.
Participation in the award is optional. Authors whose abstracts are accepted may submit a full paper for award consideration after receiving the acceptance notice. Authors who do not wish to be considered for the award may present at the conference on the basis of their accepted abstract only.
Only submitted full papers will be considered for the award. Abstracts, slides and oral presentations without a submitted full paper will not be eligible. To qualify, the paper must be accepted for presentation, submitted by the full paper deadline, and presented online by at least one author.
Subject to the number and quality of eligible submissions, the conference may present one Best Conference Paper Award and one or more honourable mentions. Awardees will receive certificates.
Tentative award timeline:
Abstract submission deadline: 15 October 2026.
Notification of abstract acceptance: 30 October 2026.
Full paper submission deadline for award consideration: 20 November 2026.
Award announcement: closing session of the conference.
Full Paper Requirements
The following requirements apply only to authors who wish to be considered for the Best Conference Paper Award.
Research papers: 5,000-7,500 words, including notes and references.
Abstract: 250-300 words(counted separately, not incorporated into the main word count).
Keywords: 3-5.
Language: English.
Citation style: APA 7th edition.
File format: Microsoft Word. Authors may also include a PDF copy.
Formatting: Times New Roman, 12 pt, 1.5 line spacing, standard margins.
Structure: title, abstract, keywords, main text, references and appendices if applicable.
Research papers should present a clear argument, appropriate engagement with relevant literature, and a robust theoretical, empirical, experimental or analytical contribution.
Files to Submit
Authors submitting a full paper for award consideration should submit two files:
An anonymised review manuscript without author names, affiliations, email addresses or ORCID IDs.
A separate author information file including the paper title, author names, affiliations, email addresses, ORCID IDs if available, short bionotes, and funding information if applicable.
Originality, Citation and Permissions
Full papers must be original and must not have been previously published or be under consideration elsewhere. Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of all references. All references listed must be cited in the text, and all in-text citations must appear in the reference list. Where available, URLs or DOIs should be provided.
Authors should place illustrations, figures and tables within the text at the appropriate points. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to use copyrighted material, including audiovisual stills, screenshots, figures, tables or other third-party material.
For papers involving AI tools, corpora, audiovisual materials, participant data or software, authors should briefly describe the relevant data/tools, permissions or ethical considerations, and limitations of the study where applicable. Authors are advised to have their manuscripts carefully spell checked, grammar checked and language edited before submission.
Award Review Criteria
The award review will consider:
Relevance to the conference theme and selected strand.
Originality and significance of the contribution.
Clarity of research question, argument and structure.
Appropriateness of methodology or analytical approach.
Quality of evidence, data or case analysis.
Contribution to AVT, media accessibility or related fields.
Awareness of ethical, cultural or technological implications where relevant.
Overall writing quality.
Authors of shortlisted or awarded papers may be invited to submit a short lay summary of 100-150 words in plain language for conference publicity.
Key Dates
CfP release: 31 August 2026.
Abstract submission deadline: 15 October 2026.
Notification of acceptance: 30 October 2026.
Full paper deadline for award consideration: 20 November 2026.
Registration deadline: 30 November 2026.
Conference: 5-6 December 2026.
Registration
Registration details will be announced after acceptance notices are sent.
The conference is planned as an online event. The conference platform will be confirmed in due course.
Keynote Speakers
The conference will feature keynote talks by invited international scholars in AVT and related fields. Confirmed speakers are listed below in alphabetical order.
Jorge Diaz-Cintas,University College London, UK
Johan Franzon, University of Helsinki, Finland
Siwen Lu, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China
David Orrego-Carmona, University of Warwick, UK
Carol O’Sullivan, University of Bristol, UK
Dingkun Wang, The University of Hong Kong, China
Weiqing Xiao, Shanghai International Studies University, China
Jackie Xiu Yan, City University of Hong Kong, China
Noa Talavan Zanon, Universidad Nacional de Education a Distancia (UNED), Spain
Xiaochun Zhang, University College London, UK
Contact
For inquiries and submissions, please contact:
Conference updates will be released via the official channels of the School of English Studies, Shanghai International Studies University.
