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Freedom to publish, diversity in the book industry, European Accessibility Act and Global Publishing Industry Report 2020 / With: Prix Voltaire laureate 2020 and speakers from IPA, WIPO, FEP, European Commission and Amnesty International

Frankfurt and Geneva, 17 September 2020 – The International Publishers Association (IPA) and Frankfurter Buchmesse (FBM) (14-18 October 2020) will be partnering on a series of online events that will be part of the book fair’s digital programme for international publishing professionals. Issues that are vital to the publishing industry, such as the freedom to publish, diversity in publishing, accessible publishing and international book market trends and copyright issues will be discussed during these online sessions. Speakers include Pham Doan Trang, former spokesperson of the Vietnamese Liberal Publishing House, which was awarded the 2020 Prix Voltaire; Will Nguyen, Vietnamese democracy activist and campaign organizer; IPA President Hugo Setzer; Bodour Al Qasimi, IPA Vice President; Peter Kraus vom Cleff, President-elect of the Federation of European Publishers (FEP); Nguyen Truong Son from Amnesty International; Inmaculada Placienca-Porrer from the European Commission; Sandra van Lente, Co-Author of Rethinking ‘Diversity’ in Publishing, and many others. The online sessions will be taking place from 14 - 16 October 2020, during the book fair week, and will be livestreamed.

Juergen Boos, Director of Frankfurter Buchmesse, says: “This year, more than ever before, it is important that the IPA and Frankfurter Buchmesse partner on events that help address some of the immediate and ongoing challenges in the industry.”

Hugo Setzer, IPA President, added: Frankfurt Book Fair has always been the occasion for us to bring our members together and exchange with the international publishing community. While many things are different this year, we are delighted to be able to partner with Frankfurter Buchmesse on this great programme that will enable us to keep that exchange with the international community going, especially on such important topics for our industry’s future.

The online events are jointly organised and hosted by IPA and FBM and are part of the book fair’s official live programme for publishing professionals. Further partners are the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Federation of European Publishers (FEP). All sessions will be livestreamed; to access the livestreams, a registration at My Book Fair is necessary: https://services.book-fair.com/login. All online events and the entire book fair programme for publishing professionals can be found here: www.buchmesse.de/conference

Improving Diversity in Publishing: Who Can Lead the Change Process?
Wednesday, 14 October, 10:00am (CEST); by FBM and IPA
The publishing industry knows, and the data shows, that there is much room for improvement with regards to how inclusive and diverse the publishing sector is. But promoting diverse authors is not only a necessary moral decision, it is a critical business decision if publishers want to reach more and new readers. But how can publishing approach this challenge and tackle the obstacles that run through the entire value chain? This panel will look at current quantitative and qualitative data, discuss concepts for change and look at what role publishers, associations, and other industry partners can and must play to bring about change on this urgent issue.
Speakers include: Michiel Kolman, IPA Presidential Envoy Diversity & Inclusion; Sharmaine Lovegrove, Publisher of Dialogue Books; Sandra van Lente, Co-Author of Rethinking ‘Diversity’ in Publishing. Further speakers to be announced.
More information: www.buchmesse.de/conference. To access the livestream, please register once via My Book Fair: https://services.book-fair.com/login

An International Outlook on Publishing, Creative Content and IP
Wednesday, 14 October, 11:00am (CEST); by WIPO, IPA and FBM
In this session, the new Global Publishing Industry Report for 2020, compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the IPA, will be presented. This annual survey covers international trends and patterns in three market segments: retail, educational and scholarly, academic and scientific publishing. Furthermore, discussions will take place on the adaptation of comic characters in the US. New research by WIPO has documented the re-use of comic characters across the book, movie and video game publishing industries, relying on a variety of data sources. The research also looks into the role played by copyright and trademarks in the creative re-use process, which will be further explored during the event with experts and stakeholders. Speakers will be announced soon.
More information: www.buchmesse.de/conference. To access the livestream, please register once via My Book Fair: https://services.book-fair.com/login

IPA Prix Voltaire 2020: Guerilla Publishing and International Support
Thursday, 15 October, 1:30pm (CEST); by IPA and FBM
This session will feature Pham Doan Trang, former spokesperson of the Vietnamese Liberal Publishing House which was awarded the 2020 Prix Voltaire. The discussion will shed a light on guerilla publishing and the situation in Vietnam as well as on the role of the international publishing community in freedom to publish.
Speakers include: Kristenn Einarsson, Chair of the IPA’s Freedom to Publish Committee; Will Nguyen, campaigner; Pham Doan Trang, former spokesperson for Liberal Publishing House; Nguyen Truong Son, Amnesty International. Moderator: James Taylor, Director Communications and Freedom to Publish, IPA.
More information: www.buchmesse.de/conference. To access the livestream, please register once via My Book Fair: https://services.book-fair.com/login

European Accessibility Act (EAA) : A Chance for Publishing
Friday, 16 October, 11:30am (CEST); by FEP, IPA and FBM
Last year, the European Accessibility Act was passed. This event will highlight the opportunities of the European Accessibility Act for publishers and feature statements from the Presidents of the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) and IPA.
Speakers include: Luc Audrain, accessible publishing expert; Monica Halil, Head of Accessible Books Consortium, WIPO; Cristina Mussinelli, Secretary General, LIA Foundation; Inmaculada Placienca-Porrer, Senior Expert Social Affairs at Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission; Hugo Setzer, President of the International Publishers Association (IPA); Peter Kraus vom Cleff, President-elect of the Federation of European Publishers (FEP)
More information: www.buchmesse.de/conference. To access the livestream, please register once via My Book Fair: https://services.book-fair.com/login

In addition to the events on which the IPA partnered with Frankfurter Buchmesse, IPA will also be hosting further online events during the book fair week. Registration for these events is already open on the IPA website. All of these events will also be part of Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Calendar of Events, which will be online soon.

Freedom to Publish Committee Open Meeting
Wednesday, 14 October, 12:00pm (CEST)
An exclusive advance presentation of a new IPA report presenting the freedom to publish situation around the world and the opportunity for participants to share their stories.

Presentation of Jakarta, Host of the 33rd International Publishers Congress 2022
Wednesday, 14 October, 1:00pm (CEST)
The governor of Jakarta will open a session presenting the newly announced host city of the 33rd International Publishers Congress in November 2022.

Challenging Big Tech: Establishing Platform Responsibility and Accountability Online
Wednesday, 14 October, 2:00pm (CEST)
A line-up of international experts will look at the current situation of online platforms in the USA, Europe and Africa and the legal responsibilities of those platforms for the creative works they may host.

Release of the State of Publishing Reports
Thursday, 15 October, 11:00am (CEST)
The IPA will release seven new reports covering a range of areas of vital importance to the publishing industry including international perspectives on the freedom to publish, copyright, publishing’s contribution to achieving the UN’s sustainable development goals, reading habits, international book policies, educational publishing and digital licensing.

Inclusive Publishing and Literacy
Thursday, 15 October, 4:00pm (CEST) by IPA and LitCam
An exclusive in-depth look at a new IPA report looking at the evolution of reading habits around the world, followed by an international panel on literacy.

Educational Publishers Forum Open Meeting
Friday, 16 October, 1:00pm (CEST)
A dedicated focus on education publishing will see the OECD’s Andreas Schleicher talk about PISA programme and China Education Publishing and Media Group’s Vice President, Yu Chun Chi talk about education in China.

Sustainable Development Goals – Publishers Compact
Following the success of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Book Club, the IPA is backing a new compact, a kind of charter, to encourage all publishers to play their part in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Date and speakers to be confirmed.


Contact for the media:

Frankfurter Buchmesse
Katja Böhne, Vice President Marketing & Communications, Phone: +49 (0) 69 2102-138, press@buchmesse.de
Kathrin Grün, Head of Communications, Phone: +49 (0) 69 2102-170, gruen@buchmesse.de
Ines Bachor, PR Manager, Phone: +49 (0) 69 2102-189, bachor@buchmesse.de

International Publishers Association
James Taylor, Director of Communications and Freedom to Publish
Phone: +41 79 821 22 30, taylor@internationalpublishers.org