Bodour commits to uniting industry, driving global growth

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Continuing her tour of pandemic-hit publishing markets worldwide, International Publishers Association (IPA) president Bodour Al Qasimi was in Madrid to meet publishers in the Spanish capital and reinforce the IPA’s commitment to engage with all stakeholders to identify opportunities for global cooperation to develop robust business ecosystems and fuel growth.

Addressing representatives of various publishing houses and board members of the Spanish Association of Publishers Guilds, Al Qasimi said that the IPA is in a unique position to unite publishers’ efforts globally, and to urge governments and international organisations to foster a nurturing environment for publishers and publishing to operate and flourish.

The association represents 86 organisations from 71 countries that together serve markets totalling more than 5.6 billion people.

Marking its 125th anniversary this year, the IPA continues to uphold the values on which it was founded, an integral element of which is its continuous support to members to advance policy agendas on educational publishing and accessibility. Al Qasimi also briefed attendees on efforts to unify the voice and vision of the industry ecosystem through new projects implemented following publication of its ‘From Response to Recovery’ report last year. Among the new projects are the IPA Academy, a centralised global training resource which aims to upskill and drive digital transformation, and the International Sustainable Publishing and Industry Resilience (InSPIRe) Plan, that aims to strengthen solidarity and collaboration between publishers and all stakeholders in the industry value chain including printers, authors, libraries, bookstores, and illustrators.

Stating that the InSPIRe plan will help unite the industry and boost its growth, Al Qasimi reiterated the importance of close cooperation among stakeholders to stimulate the future of the publishing industry.

The IPA president’s visit to Spain follows a series of meetings earlier this year with publishers’ associations in Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Georgia.

11th Sharjah International Book Fair Publishers Conference begins on Sunday: The 11th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) Publishers Conference, being held in partnership with the International Publishers Association (IPA), opens in Expo Centre Sharjah today (Sunday, October 31), ahead of the official opening of the 40th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) that runs from November 3 – 13.

The region’s frontrunning event for publishing professionals and industry-wide stakeholders has garnered the participation of more than 546 publishing professionals and agents and 35 speakers. With key discussions on book sales, potential agreements, translations, copyrights and distribution rights, the three-day conference features a rich agenda of keynote sessions and eight panel discussions that spotlights the key issues and challenges facing the publishing sector in the region and around the world.

A main highlight of the opening day’s proceedings is a keynote address by Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, President, International Publishers Association (IPA).

The SIBF Publishers Conference opens with a welcome address by Ahmed Bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of SBA. A panel discussion titled ‘Coming Together in Crisis: How the international sustainable publishing and industry resilience (Inspire) initiative is supporting industry recovery in unprecedented times’ will set the conference in motion. A distinguished panel of publishing professionals from around the world will discuss the ‘Inspire Charter’ and how the industry can ensure that the entire publishing ecosystem moves forward in coordination during times of crisis.

The second discussion of the day, titled ‘Arab Publishing Landscape: Guidelines to the different Arabic world markets’, will hear from Arab publishers about how publishing is evolving in Arabic-speaking countries and how international publishers can contribute to their growth.

The Guest of Honour at SIBF 2021, Spain, will host a special session in the afternoon to shed light on the Spanish publishing industry. Open exclusively to participants at the conference is a key session that highlights the application process for the $300,000 SIBF Translation Grant.