By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Jobava: ‘The Impact of Publishing’
In its release of several new speakers for the 34th International Publishers Congress (December 3 to 6), the International Publishers Association‘s (IPA) vice-president, Gvantsa Jobava, has announced that Oleksandra Matviichuk will be one of the key voices heard from the stages of the El Conjunto Santander de Arte Escénicas in Guadalajara.
Matviichuk is the chair of the Ukrainian human rights organization known as the Center for Civil Liberties. And that agency won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize along with the Belarusian rights champion Ales Bialiatski and Russia’s human-rights initiative, Memorial International.
When she spoke during the inaugural World Expression Forum (WEXFO) event at Lillehammer in 2022, Matviichuk made an eloquent appeal to the world audience, saying in her keynote there, “Hundreds of thousands of people are escaping from shellings in the bomb shelters—having no food, no water, no electricity, and no medical care.
Related article: ‘Ukraine’s Oleksandra Matviichuk at WEXFO: The ‘Interconnected World.’ Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson
“Russia uses war crimes and the madness of warfare. No military necessity can justify such actions. There is no need to destroy residential buildings, churches, schools, or theaters. There is no necessity to fire upon evacuation corridors, or forcibly deport more than 1 million people. There is no necessity to terrorize people in the occupied territories; to shoot people along the street; to break into houses and rape women and children; to abduct and torture civilians.
“Russia is attempting to break the resistance of the country by means of what they call the ‘immense pain of civilian populations.’ … Vladimir Putin is not afraid of NATO. Putin is afraid of the idea of freedom.”
Gvantsa Jobava
Speaking about Matviichuk’s upcoming appearance in Guadalajara at the Publishers Congress, IPA vice-president Gvantsa Jobava says, “We are delighted to have another excellent keynote speaker for our program alongside other excellent speakers.
“We’ll be able to look at the democratic impact of publishing and the future society.”
As Publishing Perspectives readers know, Jobava is referencing the theme of the upcoming conference, which is produced by the Mexican Publishers Association, the Cámara Nacional de la Industria Editorial Mexicana (CANIEM) led by IPA past president Hugo Setzer and the Association of American Publishers (AAP).
In fact, Maria A. Pallante, president and CEO of the American publishers’ association—whose background intellectual property law and in the US Copyright Office has become a go-to resource for many—will also be speaking at the congress in Guadalajara.
Badenes, Lindberg, Njagi, Pallante, Hernandez, Clement
Speakers newly announced for the 34th International Publishers Congress (December 3 to 6) in Guadalajara are, top row from left: Jésus Badenes, Planeta; Steffan Lindberg, V-Dem Institute; and Lawrence Njagi, Kenya’s Mountain Top Publishers. On the lower row: Maria A. Pallante, Association of American Publishers; Jonathan Hernandez, IFLA Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression committee; and Jennifer Clement, PEN International
The newly announced group of speakers in addition to Matviichuk, are:
- Jésus Badenes, CEO of Planeta, Spain
- Staffan Lindberg of the V-Dem Institute
- Lawrence Njagi, CEO, Mountain Top Publishers, Kenya
- Maria A. Pallante, president and CEO, Association of American Publishers, United States
- Jonathan Hernandez, chair of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression committee
- Jennifer Clement, president emerita, PEN International
Coordinating in the organization of the International Publishers Congress are the Guadalajara International Book Fair and the University of Guadalajara.
As our readers know, some of the key themes planned for the congress are copyright; the freedom to publish; the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals; trade; education; and STM publishing.
A dedicated site for the congress is here, with registration details now available here.
Our coverage of the Russian war’s impact on Ukraine’s publishing industry is here, along with international reactions. More from Publishing Perspectives on the International Publishers Association is here, more on the IPA’s biennial International Publishers Congress series is here, more on the Guadalajara International Book Fair is here, more on the Mexican market is here, more on the Mexican publishers’ book chamber CANIEM is here, more on the Association of American Publishers is here, and more on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and related programs and initiatives in book publishing is here.
Publishing Perspectives is the International Publishers Association’s world media partner.