About SICO
Held bi-annually since 2014, the International Seminar on Organizational Communication (SICO) is a reflection of the growth of research in the area of Organizational Communication, in which both a theoretical and practical redefinition of the relationship between communication elements, processes and tools and organizations is observed. .
SICO is also the result of an academic partnership carried out between research groups belonging to Postgraduate Programs in Social Communication at the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC-Minas), the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and, from 2023, from the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), dedicated to the field of Organizational Communication: Research Group Communication in the organizational context: theoretical-conceptual aspects (Dialorg), coordinated by professor Dr. Ivone de Lourdes Oliveira (PUC Minas) ; Research Group on Institutions, Publics and Collective Experiences (IPÊ), led by professor Dr. Márcio Simeone Henriques (UFMG), and the Pollen Research Group – Experimentation Laboratory in Communication and Organizations, led by professors Dr. Rennan Lanna Martins Mafra and Dr. Isaura Mourão Generoso, both already participating in SICO since its first edition, but now institutionally incorporated, in a movement to strengthen research networks in the area in Brazil.
SICO aims to promote scientific exchange between researchers, professors and undergraduate and postgraduate students on epistemological and discursive issues in the field of Communication in the organizational context at national and international levels. The difference of its proposal lies precisely in the creation of panels composed of leaders of research groups from different institutions in Brazil (USP, PUC-RS, PUC-Minas, UnB, UFMG, UFV, UFRGS, UFSM, UERJ) in which they seek revisit the contribution of researchers to the field of knowledge, thus producing an innovative contribution in the field of Organizational Communication.
By defining the theme Organizational Communication and Regionalities: challenges in globalized contexts for the 2023 edition, VI SICO seeks to promote discussion about regionalities and their interface with communication, a topic little explored in studies in the area, which has already been worked on. in the contexts of the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) as an epistemological-theoretical-analytical lens to understand communication processes, especially in organizational contexts. In this vein, regionalities seem to emerge against the flow of globalization movements, marking differences and associations in the configuration of interactions and relationships. In the modern world, with universal claims to totality, regionality has become a factor of difference and approximation, presenting the power to study communicational experiences that are accommodated as a result of their particular characteristics and/or elements.
The aim is to, through this theme, reinforce dialogue with researcher partners of the Seminar at the international level and, in this proposed edition, win over new researchers, focusing on the United States and France, in order to strengthen Organizational Communication studies in Brazil and consolidate its internationalization.
History of SICO
The first SICO, held in November 2013, at UFMG, brought together academics, theorists and professionals from all over Brazil who discussed the theoretical, human and discursive dimensions of Organizational Communication. Around 30 works were presented and debated by researchers, doctoral students and master's students at five thematic tables. Round table participants, including prof. Denis Mumby (Chapel Hill), contributed to the systematization and advancement in the approach of a conceptual repertoire that allows us to critically understand some articulations between the main notions and theories used in the area of Organizational Communication. The edition included 130 external participants.
In 2014, the II SICO was held at PUC Minas, whose central theme was the epistemological and discursive dimensions of communication in the context of organizations. Seeking to delve into the theoretical and empirical investigations of the field and continue the internationalization of the lines of research that strengthen the epistemological discussions of Organizational Communication, the second International Seminar featured the participation of three renowned French professors/researchers in the area of Communication Organizational: Gino Gramaccia (Université Bordeaux 3), Nicole D'Almeida (Celsea, Sorbonne) and Jacques Bonnet (Université de Bourgogne). In addition to the international researchers invited to the event, another ten Brazilian professors, consolidated references in the field, participated as lecturers and coordinators of work presentation tables.
In 2016, the III SICO was held at PUC Minas, with the theme Organizational Communication: conceptual and methodological aspects. This seminar allowed the creation of forms of academic-scientific cooperation between guest professors and their respective research groups. In addition to the presence of renowned national researchers, the event also included the participation of international professors: Nicole D'Almeida (Universite Paris IV), Gino Gramaccia (Universite Bourdeaux I), Jean-Luc Moriceau (Telecom Business School) and Pablo Múnera Uribe (Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana).
The IV SICO, held at UFMG in 2018, was influenced by the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and adopted the theme Organizational Communication: Communication and Human Rights. The edition was attended by French researcher Jean-Luc Moriceau (Telecom Business School) and the main Brazilian researchers in the field, who discussed the similarities between the human rights agenda and communication.
The fifth edition of the event would be held in 2020, but due to the pandemic, it was transferred to 2022 and, later that year, in a remote format. The theme Organizational Communication: research in exceptional contexts - Theoretical-methodological challenges in transnational approaches sought to debate the issues imposed by that unique moment, imposed by the covid-19 pandemic on the world, which impacted on ways of life and, above all, on processes communicative within organizations.
Thus, V SICO promoted dialogue with a view to understanding the challenges posed to research in Organizational Communication in that period, in national and international contexts. To this end, a panel was held with researchers from Portugal, a panel with researchers from France and two Conversation Rounds with Brazilian researchers, in addition to working groups and thematic workshops for undergraduate students. With this design, the Seminar revisited the production of national knowledge, strengthening dialogue and encouraging studies with French and Portuguese researchers. Furthermore, the event resulted in the production of the e-book Search in exceptional contexts: challenges of Organizational Communication, with free access via the link:
Research in exceptional contexts: challenges of Organizational Communication