PAM-IE 2026
Welcome
to the 4th International Conference Psychology and Music – Interdisciplinary Encounters!
Ljubljana, October 14 - 17, 2026
About PAM-IE
The first International Conference Psychology and Music – Interdisciplinary Encounters (PAM-IE) was held at the University of Arts Faculty of Music in Belgrade in 2019. A research interest and the application of scholarly knowledge in the psychology of music flourished in Serbia from the 1980s onwards. Therefore, the idea originator of the conference, Prof Blanka Bogunović, decided to go further and establish the first PAM-IE conference as a broader platform for exchanging knowledge, research, and ideas. The inaugural conference generated extreme interest, with participants from 19 different countries. Such a strong response implied that the interdisciplinary area of psychology and music is fascinating and challenging to a broader research community.
During the first PAM-IE conference, the Regional Network Psychology and Music (RNPaM) was founded to strengthen existing connections among field experts from the region (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia) who have already cooperated, as well as encourage new contacts and collaborations.
The second PAM-IE conference was also held in Belgrade three years later, in 2022 and the third PAM-IE conference was held at the University of Zagreb from 23 to 26 October 2024. The European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music (ESCOM) and the Society for Education, Music, and Psychology Research (SEMPRE) encouraged and supported both conferences.
Looking forward to new experiences and acquaintances, we announce with great pleasure that the fourth PAM-IE conference will be held at the University of Ljubljana from 14 to 17 October 2026!
Committees
Explore the dedicated individuals who make up the Organizing and Scientific Committees for Psychology & Music 2026.
Organizing Committee
Academy of Music
The University of Ljubljana Academy of Music was established 80 years ago as the nation’s only institution of higher learning in the field of music. It connects 160 teachers and over 400 students, both Slovenian and worldwide. Affiliating itself with established university associations, the Academy actively collaborates with music institutions in the many EU countries that border it.
You can read more about it in a flipbook.
ESCOM support and free membership
As an outcome of the ESCOM Regional Development Initiative in 2017 and following the three previous conferences held at the University of Arts Faculty of Music in Belgrade in 2019 and 2022 and at the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb in 2024, the PAM-IE 2026 conference in Ljubljana is also organised to promote research and enhance communication within the regional and broader international community.
ESCOM supports the conference financially and by giving free membership to new members and students.
ESCOM Free Membership
ESCOM is pleased to invite new members by giving the possibility of free membership to all Conference participants as well as to students:
1) Students (both Conference participants and non-conference participants) regularly enrolled in a university course or equivalent are eligible to obtain a free ESCOM membership (and renew it every year, proving the status of their studentship).
2) Other conference participants (non-students) are eligible to obtain a one-year, non-renewable, free ESCOM membership should they organise or participate in an ESCOM-related event (in this case, that event would be the PAM-IE Ljubljana 2026 conference).
Options to qualify for these discounts will be published in due time.
ESCOM introduced a policy to limit CO2 emissions reduction by asking participants at ESCOM and regional conferences to avoid or reduce flying, if reasonably possible when travelling.
Regional Network Psychology and Music (RNPaM)
The Regional Network Psychology and Music (RNPaM) idea appeared during the first International Conference Psychology and Music – Interdisciplinary Encounters (Belgrade, 24 – 26 October 2019). It is encouraged and supported by the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music (ESCOM).
The main reason for establishing RNPaM was to interconnect colleagues from academic institutions, researchers, and practitioners in the interdisciplinary field of psychology and music in Western Balkans. We intend to support, encourage, and enhance the development of the psychology of music as an academic and applied discipline in regional centres and to open possibilities for collaboration among colleagues with interdisciplinary orientations and interests from related social sciences and humanities. Furthermore, we aim to present the developments in this field and make them available to the broader public.
Visit the Regional Network Psychology and Music’s official website.
