GENEVA - The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Publishers Association (IPA), the Sudanese Publishers Union and the Government of Sudan jointly organized in Khartoum August 22-23, 2007, a national workshop on the management of Intellectual Property in the publishing industry.
According to a press release by the IPA, the speakers included, the Secretary General of IPA Jens Bammel, the esteemed Kenyan Publisher, Henry Chakava, the Copytrain (UK) Publisher, Richard Balkwill and the Executive Manager of Dar Al Manhal Publishing House in Jordan, Khaled Bilbeisi.
“The goal of this workshop is to combine hands-on practical training with an awareness for the greater concerns of the publishing industry,” Jens Bammel of IPA said.
“We also want to support the Sudanese publishers’ community in their efforts to foster a sustainable and competitive publishing industry in Sudan. We see this event as a pilot for this kind of workshops that address publishers and government officials alike. It is IPA’s
aim to develop this format throughout the developing world,” he added.
“Our message is that for society a healthy publishing industry is important, that government policies can do much to support its development and that copyright provides important tools to enable publishing to flourish,” Bammel concluded.
Established in 1896, the International Publishers Association (IPA) is a federation of national, regional and specialist publishers' associations. Its membership comprises more than 60 organizations from more than 50 countries from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, IPA represents the interests of the publishing industry in international fora and wherever its interests are at stake.