MM

We are delighted to welcome you to Melbourne, Australia for ACM Multimedia 2024, the 32nd ACM International Conference on Multimedia. ACM Multimedia is the premier international conference series in the area of multimedia within the field of computer science. Since 1993, ACM Multimedia has been bringing together worldwide researchers and practitioners from academia and industry to present their innovative research and to discuss recent advancements in multimedia.

For the first time since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's conference returns to the Asia-Pacific region and resumes as a full-fledged, inperson event. With no travel restrictions or significant visa challenges, we are excited to once again experience the warmth of face-to-face gatherings, where we can reconnect with colleagues and friends.

The enthusiasm and support from the community have been incredible. ACM Multimedia 2024 received over 4,300 main conference submissions, accepting more than 1,100 papers (please refer to the TPC Chairs' message for details). In addition, 10 Grand Challenges were selected from 22 submissions, 18 workshops from 30 submissions, and 8 tutorials from 13 proposals. We've prepared an exciting five-day program: workshops, grand challenges, and tutorials will be held on the 1st and 5th days, with the main conference occupying the middle three days. All accepted papers will be accessible online prior to the conference, and we are working to ensure proceedings are available through the ACM Digital Library around the conference period.

This year's conference features three distinguished academic keynote speeches, several prestigious SIGMM award talks, a panel discussion on Generative AI in Multimedia, a refreshed Brave New Idea (BNI) session, and our inaugural industry program.

The opening keynote will be delivered by Prof. Pascale Fung from HKUST, a Fellow of AAAI, ACL, and IEEE. Her talk will explore the pressing topic of Agents in the Large Language Model (LLM) Era. Prof. Judy Kay from the University of Sydney, a renowned expert in HCI, user modeling, and ubiquitous computing, will give the second keynote on how to empower individuals to harness and control their multimodal data. The final academic keynote will be presented by Prof. Jiebo Luo from the University of Rochester, a Fellow of ACM, AAAI, IEEE, SPIE, and IAPR, as well as a member of Academia Europaea and the US National Academy of Inventors. He will discuss leveraging LLMs as social multimedia analysis engines.

This year, we continue using OpenReview to ensure an open and transparent review process. Thanks to the exceptional efforts of the technical program committee, every paper received at least three reviews before the review announcement. The BNI track has also revamped its review process to align with the main conference, promoting visionary papers. Additionally, we are excited to introduce the industry program to ACM Multimedia for the first time, featuring industry keynote speeches, expert talks, and demonstrations (please refer to the industry chairs' message for further details).

We are also committed to making the conference inclusive and accessible. To support students with financial constraints, we have awarded travel grants to at least 25 students from the ACM Multimedia 2024 budget, with an additional 20+ students receiving SIGMM travel grants. Over 20 local students have also been recruited as volunteers, benefiting from complimentary registration. Furthermore, we have arranged childcare facilities to accommodate attendees with young children. A welcome reception will take place on the 2nd day of the conference, followed by a gala dinner on the 3rd day, featuring exciting cultural performances.

We hope you find this year's program engaging and thought-provoking and that it offers valuable opportunities to exchange ideas with fellow researchers and practitioners from around the globe. We also encourage you to take time to explore the beautiful city of Melbourne and its surrounding regions.