BolognaFiere has hosted this year the Conference of International Directors of Book Fairs: an opportunity for the city of Bologna to position itself ─once again and thanks to the key role that the BCBF plays in the world publishing panorama─ at the center of the community and the international publishing market.
The Conference, a true global network, was born in Italy with the aim of promoting the creation of solid links between directors of book fairs from around the world: the first edition was held in Bellagio, in 1994, also thanks to the support of the Rockefeller Foundation.
Since then, thirty years ago, this tradition has been consolidated: the group meets every year in Frankfurt on the occasion of the Fair and, every two years, as a guest at one of the fair venues. In addition to these meetings, the pandemic has also prompted frequent online meetings.
A three-day multicultural dialogue began on June 10 to record and debate the major changes taking place in the publishing industry on a global scale. In fact, the initiative serves as a think tank in which directors of publishing-related events from around the world meet to discuss ideas, methods and strategies that provide the global publishing market with unprecedented new business opportunities.
Among the topics discussed at this meeting, it is worth highlighting the changes in the global publishing landscape (legislative aspects, the rise of youth literature, the decline of independent bookstores, the increase in costs, etc.); new competitors and the balance between creating new and valuable offerings and maintaining a strong identity; the election of the guest of honor country; the need to create cultural bridges to encourage confrontation regarding the world political situation; the challenges and opportunities of technological innovations, new media and forms of communication; the new audiences; or the possible integrations between B2B and B2C, among many others.
They have participated in the 2024 edition together with the Bologna Children’s Book Fair: the Frankfurt Book Fair, Guadalajara International Book Fair, China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair, New Delhi World Book Fair, the Istanbul Book Fair , Book World Prague, Taipei International Book Exhibition, Leipzig Book Fair, and Warsaw International Book Fair.
