Angelos Floros, Associate Professor in the Department of Audio and Visual Arts of the Ionian University, is presenting a paper at the international conference Communicating for a Better World. The conference is organised by the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University and the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, in collaboration with United Nations entities, and takes place in New York on 21–23 October 2026.
The paper, Interactive Art as Amplification: A Participatory Communication Model for UN Human Rights Outreach, will be presented on Friday 23 October in the panel Art and Design for a Better World. In the same panel Professor Floros has also been appointed discussant, responsible for commenting critically on the papers presented and for opening the scholarly discussion.
The paper examines the relationship between the institutional communication of the United Nations and interactive artistic practice. It draws on four works by graduates of the Department, developed in public space: Shadows by Christos Rachiotis, On Floors: Over Dead Bodies by tonia ainot (Antonia Ranto), Abused or Abuser? by Fenia Iliadou, and Bliss Machines by Vasilis Alexandrou. The paper has also been submitted for the Communicating for a Better World × ACUNS Academic Impact Award.
Key facts
- The conference: a first edition, with more than 300 proposals submitted and researchers participating from more than 20 universities and 10 entities of the United Nations system.
- A double role: presenter and discussant in the panel Art and Design for a Better World, chaired by Olga Touloumi (Bard College).
- The research question: how the open data and campaigns of the United Nations can be connected to artistic practices that turn information into embodied public engagement.
Attendance
Attendance is free of charge, subject to registration. The registration form asks whether you are presenting or attending, as the organisers have a limited number of seats for non-presenters at parts of the programme. The conference addresses those with a research or professional interest at the intersection of communication, the United Nations and global issues.
There are two separate registrations:
- Online attendance, Wednesday 21 October, the day of the virtual research panels.
- In-person attendance in New York, 21 to 23 October.
Please note that remote attendance applies only to the virtual panels of Wednesday 21 October, in which Professor Floros does not take part. His paper is presented on Friday 23 October, in an in-person panel that is not streamed.
Programme: https://communicatingforabetterworld.com/program/
Registration: https://communicatingforabetterworld.com/registration/
The working visit to New York runs from 20 to 27 October 2026 and includes, beyond the conference, meetings with academic institutions in the city.
Travel was covered by the Ionian University. Accommodation was provided by Father Grigorios-Tilemachos Stamkopoulos and the Hellenic Cultural Center of New York, with the support of the Ionian University Office in New York, to whom the Department extends its warm thanks.
The Department of Audio and Visual Arts continues to develop its international presence in the field of interactive arts and new media, through research collaborations and participation in international scholarly events.
Conference program
