The ‘New Chapter’ conference of Börsenverein in Berlin this month has included a ‘three presidents’ event onstage.

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

As the Börsenverein Turns 200

The Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, Germany’s publishers’ and booksellers’ association, this month has observed its 200th anniversary, presenting a two-day public program of discussions, debates, and workshops at Berlin’s Wilhelm Studios.

Many of these events were focused on the interaction of the book industry and a society faced with uncertainty and challenging political dynamics, one finely titled session being Mental Resilience: Motivation and Composure in Times of Digital Change. More than a few had traditional questions of ecology and climate crisis at heart, as in How Many Books Can the Forest Tolerate? And some seemed to lie in the field of futurism, with titles such as Human-Machine Cooperation: New Horizons for the Creative Industry.

One event on Thursday afternoon (June 5), however, drew our attention for its emphasis and a unique “three presidents” structure.

The International Book Sector Organizations: Meet the Presidents was moderated by the Börsenverein’s director of European and international affairs, Jessica Sänger, and the deputy director of European and international affairs, Kristina Kramer. The event took advantage of the fact that while we think of the Börsenverein as a body made up of its own publisher and bookseller members, the organization is, itself, a member of three international organizations:

• The International Publishers Association (IPA);
• The Federation of European Publishers (FEP); and
• The European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF).

Bringing the presidents of these three organizations together, the program created a chance to hear from the trio on issues in the freedom to publish; artificial intelligence; and political engagement and cooperation between the associations themselves.

The three presidents are quite well known to many of our Publishing Perspectives readers, of course.

• Tbilisi’s Gvantsa Jobava, who had spoken earlier in the week at the World Expression Forum in Lillehammer, is the president of IPA;
• Sonia Draga of Katowice is president of FEP; and
• The Hague’s Fabian Paagman is president of the EIBF.

The Freedom to Publish

As you may know, the freedom to publish is one of the two “pillars” of focus in the work of the IPA, the other being copyright. IPA’s Jobava, had been onstage at Lillehammer for the handover of the 2025 IPA Prix Voltaire, which honors the valor of publishers who face serious challenges in the freedom to publish.

The Belarusian publisher Dmitri Strotsev, who now works from Germany for safety, as Jobava recalled, received the Prix Voltaire saying, “This award is not only for me. It’s for those who are fighting.”

About the ongoing tension in her home market of Georgia, where nightly protests are nearing the 200th day, Jobava said, “This difficult situation gave us the strength to survive. The new laws in Georgia are against the freedom to publish, so if we’re not fighting for the freedom to publish, what’s the sense of our work?”

“At the same time, she said, “You’re always a winner when you resist.”

FEP’s Sonia Draga of Poland said, “The freedom of expression is a central value.

“We’re now living in the crucial years to do something in order to pressure our values”, she said in the context of solidarity activities for Boualem Sansal.

“We have to fight for the representatives of our industry everywhere.”

And the EIBF’s Fabian Paagman, as always quite economic in is comments, said, “We should be allies along the spectrum of our industry,” going on to remind the audience that the freedom to publish is being curtailed even in some countries in which such a constraint would never be expected.” 

Artificial Intelligence

When asked for views on AI and its stance and potential in relation to publishing, Draga, who recently spoke at Madrid’s Readmagine from the Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez, said, “Big Tech is overtaking our everyday life.”

She drew a parallel to the Digital Services Act (DSA), saying, “This act protects our industry, while the AI Act only offers timid protection. It doesn’t protect our industry properly, so we’re fighting for transparency.”

And Jobava spoke to the AI question from the IPA’s position as an observer entity with the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO.

“The problem, however,” Jobava said, “is that WIPO does not solely represent the interests of publishers when it comes to copyright issues. IPA sees it as its task to continuously point out the interests of publishers.” With regard to AI, she said, “AI companies need creative content, but they have to pay for it.”

Political Engagement