Over 30 Global Publishing Trade Associations, Book Fairs, and Freedom to Publish Champions sign Charter to Inspire Sustainable Post-COVID future for the Sector

 September 20, 2021 – Geneva, Switzerland:

Following IPA’s landmark report From Response to Recovery: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Publishing Industry, President Bodour Al Qasimi formed the International Sustainable Publishing and Industry Resilience (InSPIRe) Plan Taskforce in early 2021 to lead an industry consultation to identify key pandemic-induced challenges facing publishers and promote cooperation on the way forward.

“Publishing is facing an uncertain recovery if our industry doesn’t come together. While developed publishing markets have fared better, our colleagues in emerging publishing markets are facing existential challenges. The global pandemic doesn’t just affect publishers – the livelihoods of millions of publishers, authors, illustrators, printers, distributors, and booksellers around the world are at risk,” said IPA President Bodour Al Qasimi.

The InSPIRe Charter, is one of the first achievements of the Taskforce. Charter signatories have committed to industry-wide cooperation on a forthcoming plan for the post-pandemic future of publishing. By endorsing the Charter, signatories have agreed to ten areas of cooperation targeting the sector’s interactions with policy makers but also building inter-sector dialogue and closing skill gaps.

The InSPIRe Plan is unique in its intentional inclusion of a broad spectrum of the publishing ecosystem.

“The publishing industry’s post-pandemic future looks likely to be even more dependent on cooperation, unity, and solidarity. The Inspire Charter is a formal framework for coordinated action so the entire publishing ecosystem can learn and move forward together in these unprecedented times. We want all organizations committed to positively shaping global publishing’s post-pandemic future to join us,” said Al Qasimi.

To date, the following entities have joined the 86 members of the IPA in endorsing the Inspire Charter:

Notes for Editors

About the International Publisher Association’s International Sustainable Publishing and Industry Resilience (InSPIRe) Plan Initiative

IPA is leading a wide-ranging consultation to develop consensus on the global pandemic’s impact on global publishing and what’s next. The consultation, which will culminate in an industry-wide analysis on the state of global publishing and advance recommendations to enhance resilience and sustainability, is being overseen by a multi-stakeholder taskforce called the Inspire Plan Taskforce. The taskforce is composed of 11 members of the IPA Executive Committee.

In May, the Inspire Plan Taskforce developed the Inspire Charter to be endorsed by publishing stakeholders as a symbolic commitment to continuing the high level of industry-wide cooperation that emerged in response to the global pandemic. The Inspire Plan consultation has been designed to reinforce this cooperation by including the entire publishing ecosystem to develop a systemic, collaborative approach to building industry sustainability and resilience.

The ten commitments are:

1. Asserting the value of publishing to policymakers as an essential industry.
2. Advocating for publishing-specific government stimulus programs to build a more sustainable and resilient global publishing industry that continuously adapts to changing consumer and competitive dynamics;
3. Fostering dialogue between publishing ecosystem stakeholders to build resilience, expand partnerships, mitigate risks from global supply chain disruptions, and minimize the environmental impacts of the publishing supply chain;
4. Demonstrating the damaging effects of piracy, and advocating for the development, protection, and enforcement of fit-for-purpose copyright frameworks that guarantee fair competition and protect the rights of publishers and content creators;
5. Identifying common ground between publishing stakeholders, rights organizations, and governments to fight censorship and promote freedom to publish;
6. Closing emerging workforce skills gaps through capacity building, mentorship, and partnerships;
7. Exploring partnerships and programs that emphasize the role of publishing in promoting access to knowledge, continuity of education and lifelong learning for all children and young people, with equal opportunities for girls and boys;
8. Empowering underrepresented voices to ensure diversity and inclusion in the publishing ecosystem;
9. Supporting indigenous language publishing through targeted initiatives and partnerships;
10. Highlighting the role of small and medium-sized independent publishers and booksellers, which make up the vast majority of the publishing industry globally, in ensuring bibliodiversity and supporting measures needed to future proof their businesses.

About the International Publishers Association (IPA)

The International Publishers Association (IPA) is the world’s largest federation of national, regional and specialist publishers’ associations. Our membership comprises 86 organizations from 71 countries in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe and the Americas. Through its members, IPA represents thousands of individual publishers around the world who service markets containing more than 5.6 billion people. The IPA’s mission is to promote and protect publishing and to raise awareness of publishing as a force for economic, cultural and social development.

www.internationalpublishers.org

About the From Response to Recovery report

In late 2020, the International Publishers Association (IPA) interviewed 33 senior publishing executives in more than 30 countries accounting for 70% of global publishing sales and 3 billion readers. In these discussions, a clear finding emerged: markets in which publishers, booksellers, libraries, teachers, technology companies, regulators, and other publishing stakeholders came together in response to Covid exhibited more resilience and staged faster recoveries. This prompted industry calls for enhancing solidarity as the industry begins to recover.