The elections saw some long-standing contributors to IPA’s work step down: Trasvin Jittidecharak did not seek re-election to the Freedom to Publish Committee after being involved since 2008; Myung-hwan Kim also stepped down from the Freedom to Publish Committee ending his 5-year commitment to its work; Giovanni Hoepli’s second term on the Executive Committee came to an end although he will remain a member of the Membership Committee; and Joachim Kaufmann stepped down from the Membership Committee having expertly chaired their work for the last 6 years. The IPA would like to thank all four for their expert and generous contributions to the work of the organisation.
The General Assembly was also the occasion for IPA to launch its new website and confirm details of the 2024 International Publishers Congress, which will take place in Guadalajara, Mexico, from 3-6 December 2024.
More news on the IPA Congress and the launch of a report on international publishing data will be announced during the 2023 Guadalajara Book Fair.
Commenting on the membership applications, IPA President, Karine Pansa, said: It is wonderful to see so many publishers’ associations applying for IPA membership and recognizing the value that IPA brings to the international publishing community. Congratulations to all of them for their successful applications. We can’t wait to start working together.
Commenting on the new committee members, IPA Secretary General, José Borghino, said: The members of our committee are what makes IPA tick. We are so grateful to all of them for the time they dedicate to supporting global publishing. My congratulations to all those who have been re-elected and particularly to Ahmed Rashad, Yoshiaki Yoshino, Jaeho Kang, and Ramesh Mittal who will be new members of the Executive, Freedom to Publish and Membership Committees respectively.
New IPA members from 1 January 2024 will be:
Provisional members:
- Bangladesh Publishers & Booksellers Association
- Bulgarian Book Association
- Cámara Costarricense del Libro
- Book Publishers Association of Malawi
- Book Development Association of the Philippines
- Publishers Association of Tanzania
- Cámara Uruguaya del Libro
Patron members :
- Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Philippine Book Publishing Development Federation
The full election results are:
IPA Executive Committee:
Carlo Michele OLIVERO (Italy) succeeds Giovanni HOEPLI for the statutory seat held by the AIE. Iroo Joo (Korea) was appointed for a second three-year term for the statutory seat held by the Korean PA.
The successful candidates for the 5 open Director Seats were:
- Kathy BAIL (Australia, re-elected)
- Roberto BANCHIK (Mexico, re-elected)
- Kenan KOCATÜRK (Türkiye, re-elected)
- Ahmed RASHAD (new member, Egypt)
- Pedro SOBRAL (Portugal, re-elected)
The successful candidates for the 4 open seats on the Freedom to Publish Committee were:
- Roberto BANCHIK (Mexico, re-elected)
- Kristenn EINARSSON (Norway, re-elected)
- Jessica SAENGER (Germany, re-elected)
- Yoshiaki YOSHINO (new member, Japan)
The General Assembly also accepted Jaeho Kang (Korea) as a replacement for Myung-hwan Kim (Korea).
The successful candidates for the 5 open seats on the Membership Committee were:
- Catherine BLACHE (France, re-elected)
- Dante CID (Brazil, re-elected)
- Giovanni HOEPLI (Italy, re-elected)
- Ramesh MITTAL (India)
- Maxwell WAHOME (Kenya, re-elected)
