This Convention which aims to, among other things, ‘protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions’ is strongly aligned with IPA’s twin policy pillars of protecting copyright and promoting freedom to publish. In his opening address to the conference UNESCO Assistant Director General, Ernesto Ottone, stressed the importance of copyright protection in the context of the current global attacks on it. And freedom to publish is a clear enabler of cultural diversity.
An important outcome of the Conference was an agreement to begin the process of developing a new binding Protocol to the Convention addressing the digital environment and Artificial Intelligence. A Protocol, is a supplementary agreement to a convention, treaty, or other international agreement that can modify, clarify, or add to the original agreement. Although agreed to in Paris in June, any such Protocol would not be finalized until 2027 at the earliest, so the Conference agreed to short-term measures to address urgent challenges, including a revision of the Operational Guidelines on the implementation of the Convention in the digital environment.
The Convention also saw the launch of a major new UNESCO publication, The African book industry: trends, challenges & opportunities for growth . This first-ever comprehensive 249-page mapping of Africa’s book industry gathered statistics and data from all African states and concluded that the African publishing industry represents only 5.4% of global book market of USD 129billion, despite Africa’s accounting for over 18% of the world’s population. Significantly, to harness and develop Africa’s publishing potential, the UNESCO report recommends that governments and decision makers, ‘strengthen legal and institutional frameworks, by developing and implementing book legislations, modernizing copyright laws and strengthening enforcement, establishing national book development councils and creating domestic ISBN agencies’.
While in Paris, Hoepli and Borghino took the opportunity to meet with key contacts in UNESCO’s education and World Book Capital City sections as well as its senior leadership. They also met with senor staff of IPA’s French member, the Syndicat National de l’Édition; and with the President and CEO of the French CMO, La Sofia.