MMSYM 2023

Organised by the GrEP Research Group (Prosodic Studies Group, Dept of Translation and Language Sciences, UPF) and the GEHM Research Network (GEstures and Head Movements in Language)

The 1st International Multimodal Communication Symposium, MMSYM 2023, aims to provide a multidisciplinary forum for researchers from different disciplines who study multimodality in human communication as well as in human-computer interaction. This 2023 edition of the MMSYM symposium is organised by the GrEP Research Group (Prosodic Studies Group), from the Department of Translation and Language Sciences of the University of Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia, in conjunction with the GEHM research network (e.g., GEstures and Head Movements in Language) https://cst.ku.dk/english/projects/gestures-and-head-movements-in-language-gehm/.

The symposium follows up on a tradition established by the Swedish Symposia on Multimodal Communication held from 1997 until 2000, and continued by the Nordic Symposia on Multimodal Communication held from 2003 to 2012. Since 2013 the symposium has acquired a broader European dimension, with editions held in Malta, Estonia, Ireland, Denmark, Germany and Belgium. This year the symposium will be held in Spain for the first time and has a truly international ambition, hence the new name.

This year we focus on three research themes, which are of particular interest to the GEHM network. The first is language-specific characteristics of gesture-speech interaction, which seeks to account for how speakers’ ability to process and produce gesture and speech is affected and changed by their language profile.  The second is multimodal prominence, which investigates the theoretical question of how linguistic prominence is expressed through combinations of kinematic and prosodic features. The third is conceptual and statistical modelling of multimodal contributions, with particular regard to head movements and the use of gaze.

Topics

We welcome works aimed at exploring different approaches to multimodal communication, including research on multimodality in human communication and/or in human-computer interaction. In addition, this year’s symposium has a particular interest in three main research themes:

1. the language-specific characteristics of gesture-speech interaction
2. multimodal prominence
3. the conceptual and statistical modelling of multimodal contributions, with particular regard to head movements and the use of gaze

Therefore, we particularly encourage contributions dealing with––but not limited to––the three topics described above.

We provide a detailed list of topics below.

• Speech, gestures and signs in human communication
• Intercultural aspects of multimodal behaviour
• Multimodal aspects of language acquisition (both L1 and L2)
• Multimodal learning
• Multimodal language processing
• Multimodal human computer interaction and conversational agents
• Multimodal systems for sign language users
• Multimodal health communication
• Multimodal communication disorders and communication support 
• Multimodal dialogue systems
• Multimodal corpora
• Sign language corpora
• Annotation schemes and tools for multimodal corpora
• Automatic recognition and interpretation of different modalities and their interaction
• Machine-learning techniques applied to multimodal data

Submission Guidelines

• Abstracts should be written in English and should not exceed 2 A4 pages (max. 700 words) including examples, figures and references. The format should comply with the MS Word model provided here.
  
• Add at least three keywords to your submission.
  
• Abstracts should be anonymous and submitted in pdf format. All references to authors should be omitted for purposes of blind review.
  
• Authors may submit one abstract as first author and up to three abstracts as a co-author.

Abstracts received after the deadline will not be considered. Accepted abstracts will be allocated as either oral talk or poster presentation, and will be published in the book of abstracts. 

Resubmission Guidelines

• All abstracts must be resubmitted non-anonymized and in editable format before February 27.

• To check the guidelines for abstract resubmission click the button below.

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Presentation Guidelines

Oral talks

• Please aim at a 15-minute presentation plus a 5-minute Q-A period.
• Your slides, sound, and video files should be tested in the conference computer before your session. You can do this during the coffee breaks preceding the session or before the first session in the morning.
• Slides must be provided in an external USB.

Posters

• Poster format: A0 portrait (vertical layout).
• Poster sessions are scheduled after a coffee break. However, if you wish, you can start presenting the poster during the break.

Registration Fees

• Please take into account that we have a maximum number of 100 places for the conference dinner, and that we will take dinner reservations on a first-come, first-serve basis.
• Registration is non-refundable.

Program

At a glance

Detailed Program

Poster Sessions

Conference location

The conference will be held in Campus del Poblenou, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

C/Roc Boronat, 138 – 08018

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The Campus del Poblenou is an urban campus comprising five buildings (Roc Boronat, La Fábrica, La Nau, Tànger, and Tallers), four of which surround a main square, the Gutenberg Square.

Entrance to Campus del Poblenou

Campus del Poblenou: Map

Oral Sessions and Keynote Speeches

The oral sessions and keynote speeches will take place in the Auditori room. The Auditori can bee accessed through the stairs in the Gutenberg Square.

Auditori

Stairs to the Auditori in Gutenberg Square

Poster Sessions and Coffee Breaks

Posters will be on display in the Technology tunnel, next to the Auditori. Coffee breaks will take place in the Gutenberg Square.

Technology Tunnel

Gutenberg Square