ICBC 2026 to bring global scholars together to bridge cultures and disciplines
Building on the success of its inaugural edition in 2024, the Multidisciplinary Biennial International Conference on Bridging Cultures: Advanced Discourses (ICBC 2026), Chapter II, will bring together an international community of scholars, researchers, academics and students from 20 to 26 November 2026.
Organised in a hybrid format, the conference will feature academic sessions hosted by City University on 20, 22 and 23 November, followed by a full-day, in-person programme at Bishwo Shahitto Kendro (BSK) in Dhaka on 26 November.
The four-day academic programme is expected to feature eight keynote speakers, 15 individual plenary speakers from Bangladesh and abroad, around 100 research paper presenters and approximately 300 participants.
Building on the spirit of the 2024 edition, this year's conference will further expand its international reach and interdisciplinary engagement.
The inaugural address at the onsite programme will be delivered by Dr Mostofa Sarwar, Professor Emeritus of Geophysics at the University of New Orleans, USA, and the initiator of ICBC 2026. A distinguished scientist and academic, Professor Sarwar's intellectual interests also extend to literature and the humanities.
The opening online keynote address, scheduled for 20 November, will be delivered by Professor Dr Azfar Hussain, a Bangladeshi-American theorist, critic and interdisciplinary academic affiliated with the Global Center for Advanced Studies (GCAS) and Grand Valley State University, USA. Widely recognised for his engaging public lectures and interdisciplinary scholarship, Professor Hussain will set the intellectual tone for the conference.
The eight keynote speakers are Professor Dr Mostofa Sarwar, Professor Emeritus of Geophysics and former Associate Provost at the University of New Orleans, USA; Professor Dr Khaliquzzaman Elias of North South University and Jahangirnagar University; Professor Dr Azfar Hussain, Vice-President and Professor at GCAS and Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Grand Valley State University, USA; Professor Dr Renée AP Bricker of the University of North Georgia, USA; Professor Dr Beatrice de Salles of the University of San Francisco, USA; Professor Dr Johann Malawana, founder of the Healthcare Leadership Academy and Medics Academy, UK; Professor Dr Shamsad Mortuza, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) and Professor of English at the University of Dhaka; and Professor Mashrur Shahid Hossain of Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh.
The 15 plenary speakers represent a wide range of disciplines and academic institutions. They include Professor Dr Maswood Akhter, Professor Dr Sarker Hasan Al Zayed, Ms Shahnaj Parvin, Ms Tina Nandi, Professor Dr Md Maniruzzaman, Professor Dr Laizu Nasrin, Ms Moumita Haque Shenjutee, Professor Dr Mohit Ul Alam, Professor Dr Shamim Reza, Professor Rokhsana Chowdhury, Professor Dr Md Masood Imran and Professor Dr Anirudha Kahaly, alongside other distinguished participants from Bangladesh and abroad.
Their areas of expertise include comparative and postcolonial literature, translation, linguistics, cultural studies, gender studies, archaeology, heritage and Bangla literature.
The keynote and plenary sessions will bring together distinguished voices from universities and research institutions in Bangladesh and overseas. Discussions will cover comparative literature, cultural studies, the humanities and sciences, and the expanding role of artificial intelligence in academia and beyond.
Professor Dr Rahman M. Mahbub, Chair of the Conference, emphasises that a conference should be more than a gathering of scholars; it should be “a meeting of minds” — a shared space in which to question established assumptions and imagine more humane, inclusive and sustainable futures.
He says ICBC seeks to build bridges across cultures and languages, literature and philosophy, the humanities and sciences, theory and practice, and technological innovation and human values.
Emphasising the urgency of this mission in the age of artificial intelligence, Professor Mahbub argues that technological progress must remain grounded in ethical judgement, empathy, imagination and human responsibility.
As he puts it, “The humanities give knowledge a human soul, while science expands the possibilities of human action.”
He maintains that these are not competing domains but inseparable partners in the progress of humankind.
ICBC 2026 is jointly organised by City University, the Department of English Language and Literature, IBC Foundation, and IDEAS: International Journal of Literature, Arts, Science & Culture.