On June 18, Jobava addressed the Beijing International Book Fair Publishers Gala, where leading figures from the global book industry gathered to celebrate excellence and international collaboration.  In her keynote speech, Gvantsa addressed some of the most pressing responsibilities facing the publishing industry today – from protecting copyright and ensuring accessibility to upholding sustainability and defending the freedom to publish.

“Publishing is all about cooperation. It is the cooperation between authors and editors, publishers and booksellers, between different markets, different languages. It overcomes cultural and linguistic boundaries. It brings citizens closer together as they hear each other’s stories and understand each other’s worlds a little more.”

Jobava also spoke alongside United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Melissa Fleming, and Chinese publisher Mingzhou Zhang about the 35th International Publishers Congress, scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur form 5-9 July 2026. Read more about that here.

The following day, at the Beijing International Publishing Forum, Jobava addressed the transformative impact of technological innovation on the global publishing landscape.

In her address, she reflected on publishing’s long-standing relationship with technology, from distributed printing and metadata to artificial intelligence, and reaffirmed that publishers have always been at the forefront of adapting innovation to serve creativity, sustainability, and global connection.

“So when we push back at the approach taken by the world’s biggest technology companies, who have decided that they don’t need to license our books to train their platforms, who have decided that they can steal our books from pirate platforms, we do that not because we are scared of technology but because the technology has to respect our creative work.

Of course our books make great training data. They are written by professional authors, they are edited and proofed correctly. They contain the best writings that mankind has produced. This is the best of the best. These platforms want it for free and we shouldn’t stand for that.”

She emphasized that the IPA is working closely with its members to demand transparency over the use of copyrighted works and to secure fair remuneration, while encouraging publishers to keep using technology to strengthen the publishing ecosystem.

On June 20, IPA Copyright Committee Co-Chair and Publishers Association General Counsel and Deputy CEO, Catriona MacLeod Stevenson, addressed the 2025 International Publishing Enterprise Senior Forum, where leading figures from the global book industry gathered to explore themes of digital intelligence, innovation and international cooperation.

In her keynote speech, Stevenson reported on the latest industry figures for the UK-China market and described different in ways in which publishers are embracing the opportunities afforded by AI. She also addressed the policy landscape for copyright and AI, in the UK, EU and US, and the issues raised by AI developers training of generative AI models on copyright-protected content without permission.

The same day, Stevenson also addressed the Third International Conference for Publishing Education, where industry stakeholders, educators and students gathered to explore themes of mutual learning and collaboration within global publishing education ecosystem. She described different opportunities for starting out in the industry, including degrees, apprenticeships and initiatives to support young people from diverse backgrounds. She also talked about what publishers do and described key topics facing the industry at present.

“Publishing brings ideas and stories to life. Publishing is the home of creativity and communication. It’s where the world’s most brilliant and original minds bring their ideas to be presented to the world. From research scientists to children’s book illustrators, from celebrity chefs to Nobel Laureates, publishing is about communicating ideas and connecting people with content that matters. Publishers are at the heart of the information economy, getting those ideas out to the world and the people that need them.

At its most fundamental, publishing is simply making concepts public. It’s about communicating ideas, making connections, linking people who are creating content with people who need that content. The information economy is powered by ideas, and publishers are at the heart of getting those ideas out to the world and in a way that will have the most impact.

We produce trusted information. We connect creators and audiences. We invest in people and ideas. And we underpin the global knowledge economy. We take the risks and discover the talent that no-one else can. We think long-term about how to better serve the reader, learner or researcher.

We are active partners in reading and learning in all its forms. We are the catalyst that brings to life the creativity and innovation associated with all human endeavour.

As our countries strive to build a global future, publishing is our best envoy, sharing our language, culture, expertise and stories with the world.”