Afro Asian Book Conclave held successfully

Afro-Asian Book Council (AABC), CAPEXIL, Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP) and Indian Reprographic Rights Organisation (IRRO) recently organised the Afro-Asian Book Conclave (book publishing and printing – printing and challenges). The conclave was chaired by Asare Konadu Yamoah, Ghana. The Guest of Honour was Dr (Prof) Prasanna Kumar Patasani, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha while the keynote speaker was Prof Rajen G Harshe.

The welcome speech was given by Ramesh Mittal, Secretary General, AABC and President, FIP, followed by the address by Asare Konadu Yamoah, Chairman, AABC. Pranav Gupta, Director, AABC and Joint Secretary, FIP, gave an interesting presentation on Publishing and Printing Opportunities in the Afro-Asian region.

Pranav remarked, “Talking about African countries, with high imports from India, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Burundi make it to the list of top 6 countries. There is a rapidly growing market for Indian textbooks and academic books. According to the stats of various academic institutional presence, Indian publications have a large segment of market to cater to. Africa offers promising prospects for Indian exports in terms of literature, academic and children’s book to this continent.” He further said, “Africa is the next big market for translation. Also, there is a rise in the education level in Africa. This paves way for the academic publishing industry.”

There were deliberations and interactive session by the Excellencies and officers of high Commissions and Embassies of Afro-Asian region. The vote of thanks was given by Kailash Balani, vice chairman, AABC.

A seminar on copyright issues and challenges for publishers and authors was organised by IRRO. The speakers included NK Mehra, SS Awasthy and Prof (Dr) Vijay Bhushan Aggarwal, Member, IRRO.