Inaugural Emerging World Symposium – Latin America

Co-located with ACM Multimedia 2026 · Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · 10–14 November 2026

ACM Multimedia 2026 will be held in Latin America for the first time. To mark this important occasion, the ACM MM 2026 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Chairs are organising the Inaugural Emerging World Symposium – Latin America, a one-day event dedicated to strengthening the participation and long-term engagement of Latin American researchers and students in the global multimedia community.

The symposium will bring together researchers working in multimedia, machine learning, multimodal data engineering and related areas. It will provide opportunities for research students and early-career researchers to present their work, receive feedback, build professional networks and connect with experienced members of the ACM Multimedia community.

The programme will include keynote presentations by leading Latin American researchers, five-minute lightning talks by research students, mentoring and networking activities, and a roundtable discussion on increasing the sustained participation of Latin American scholars in future ACM Multimedia conferences.

Invited Speaker

Photo of Alessandra Alaniz Macedo

Alessandra Alaniz Macedo

Associate Professor III | University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil

Alessandra Alaniz Macedo is an Associate Professor III in the Department of Computing and Mathematics at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil. She earned her BSc in Computer Science from the State University of Londrina in 1996, followed by an MSc (1999) and PhD (2004) in Computer Science from USP. She also undertook a research internship at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, focusing on smart classrooms.

Her research spans information extraction, multimodal data fusion, artificial intelligence, and assistive technologies, with a strong emphasis on healthcare and social inclusion. She coordinates SofiaFala, which develops speech- and multimedia-based tools for speech-language pathology, and SofiaFala ECOA, which supports the ethical collection and organisation of audio and video data from people with speech disorders. These initiatives advance atypical-speech research and inclusive speech technologies.

She also coordinates InReDD, an interdisciplinary research group in digital dentistry, and leads a FAPESP-funded project on multimodal fusion for digital oral health. Beyond her research programmes, she contributes to the Artificial Intelligence Ethics Task Force Group at Columbia University in New York, engaging with questions of fairness, transparency, accountability and human-centred safeguards, including the future of work through 2050.

Her work connects multimedia, machine learning and human-centred AI to advance responsible data practices and technologies with meaningful societal impact.

Call for Lightning Talks

We invite research students based in Latin America, including Master's and PhD students, to apply to present a five-minute lightning talk.

The lightning talks are intended to provide emerging researchers with an accessible opportunity to:

Submissions may address any topic relevant to ACM Multimedia. Applicants should submit:

  1. a title and abstract of up to 250 words;
  2. a brief biography of up to 100 words;
  3. their institution, country and current degree programme;
  4. a short statement explaining how participation would support their research development and engagement with the ACM Multimedia community.

Selected speakers will deliver a five-minute presentation, followed by opportunities for discussion, feedback and networking.

Call for Mentors

We invite academics, industry researchers, postdoctoral researchers, and experienced PhD candidates to volunteer as mentors for the Inaugural Emerging World Symposium – Latin America.

Mentors will support research students and early-career researchers from Latin America by sharing their experience, providing constructive feedback, and helping participants build stronger connections with the international multimedia research community.

Two mentoring roles are available.

Depending on their experience and interests, mentors may contribute by:

Prospective mentors will be asked to provide:

  1. their name, affiliation, and research areas;
  2. their availability during ACM Multimedia 2026.

Participation Support

Research students and early-career researchers from Latin America can apply for a grant of up to 500 USD to support their participation. Grant applications are made through the participation and lightning talk form by 25 October 2026.

A limited Special Inclusion Fund may also be available to support participants who identify as marginalised or underrepresented within the multimedia community and who do not have sufficient institutional funding. This may include researchers from non-WEIRD societies, researchers from underrepresented genders and researchers with caregiving responsibilities.

Further information about eligibility, application requirements and the level of support will be announced separately.

Who Should Participate?

We warmly welcome:

Participation in the symposium is not limited to lightning-talk presenters or mentors. Researchers at all career stages are encouraged to attend, contribute to the discussion and help build a sustainable network connecting Latin American research communities with ACM Multimedia.

Everyone interested in attending, with or without a lightning talk, is invited to fill in the participation form by 25 October 2026.

Contact

For enquiries, please contact the ACM MM 2026 EDI Chairs:

We look forward to welcoming you to Rio de Janeiro and working together to strengthen the visibility, participation and long-term integration of Latin American researchers within the global ACM Multimedia community.