Thanks to the efforts of my predecessor as IPA President, Michiel Kolman, publishers have been particularly committed with the SDGs, through the SDG Book Club and then the SDG Publishers Compact.
The SDG Publishers Compact is a voluntary commitment that recognizes the responsibility of the publishing industry to create a sustainable future through action. Signatories aspire to develop sustainable practices and act as champions of the SDGs during the Decade of Action (2020-2030), publishing books and journals that will help inform, develop and inspire action in that direction.
I had the honour of signing the Compact on behalf of IPA during its launch at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2020, when we also heard UN’s Under-Secretary-General Melissa Fleming’s message: “We at the United Nations are excited to know that the publishing industry is becoming part of this global movement. This Compact is a welcome initiative and one we hope will showcase innovative ideas from a sector that has a critical role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”
We are now delighted to have Mrs. Fleming as a confirmed speaker for the International Publishers Congress, to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico, 4-6 December 2024.
UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said in September 2023, during the UN summit, that ‘We all need to step up’ to rescue the SDG’s and fight for a better future.’
Publishers are stepping up. After witnessing the signing of the Compact by the Mexican and Colombian Publishers Associations, as well as the Guadalajara and Bogotá Book Fairs, I am thrilled to announce the video presentation of the SDG Publishers Compact in Spanish, where I am joined by my friend Carmen Morales, Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. You can read the SDG Publishers Compact in Spanish.
I trust many publishers in the Spanish speaking world will now be able to also sign this important Compact. For the future of our world and the legacy for our children.