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

Over 30 Global Publishing Trade Associations, Book Fairs, and Freedom to Publish Champions sign Charter to Inspire Sustainable Post-COVID future for the Sector
on Sep 24, 2021

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 policymakers 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: