Joint-the-Dots to be held shortly will have panel discussions, open forums and seminars on children's books.
A lot of work goes behind every book that is published, and a children's book is no different. It is with the aim to explore and understand the world of children's books that New Delhi will host Jumpstart 2010.
Join the Dots, a two-day event being organised by the German Book Office will be held on August 20 and 21 at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts. Along with numerous panel discussions, open forums and seminars on children's books, it will witness the coming together of leading writers, publishers, booksellers and library experts involved with and interested in children's literature.
The event will bring together personalities from not just India but countries like Norway, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Switzerland. Renate Reichstein, the Vice President of the AVJ - Association of German Children's Book Publishers, will be attending the event, as will Paro Anand, who has published 20 books for children and is a performance storyteller.
Other notable personalities at Jumpstart include Sarnath Bannerjee, Samit Basu, Anoushka Ravishankar, Anita Roy, Urvashi Bhutalia and Karthika V. K.
Full report here Hindu
Showing posts with label gbo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gbo. Show all posts
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Green meet for publishers
The printing and publishing industry in India has traditionally been looked upon as a noble sector because of its obvious contribution to literacy, education, and awareness. However, as ecological concerns rise in the form of water depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, chemical discharge into water bodies, energy inefficiency, and environmental hazards, the conventional idea of profit maximization by private firms is being replaced by the ideology of corporate social responsibility.
Recognizing this and the role that the publishing industry can play in going green to save the environment, TERI Press, the publishing arm of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) organized an event Pathways to Green Publishing: a stakeholders’ dialogue on ecological and sustainable publishing practices. With inaugural addresses by Dr RK Pachauri, Director General, TERI, Dr Vijay L Kelkar, Chairman, 13th Finance Commission, and Akshay Pathak, Director, German Book Office, the event brought together stakeholders involved in the process of publishing, including paper manufacturers and printers, on a common platform to discuss the environmental issues plaguing the publishing industry as a whole.
Giving his inaugural address Pachauri, said, “One of the most important frontiers in tackling the global threat of environmental degradation lies in greening the entire chain of printing and publication activity. If one were to assess the power of this extended sector, it would become apparent that the message of green practices applied in this field would reach every member of human society. India should be a leader in the field of sustainable development and consequently pathways to green publishing are important avenues for India to tread in a leadership position.”
Dr Pachauri further added that “It is critically important to set a motion of activities so that a radical change in the publishing industry can be seen. It is important to influence the thinking minds and it is heartening to see the enormous response TERI is getting from the stakeholders. It is crucial now to use the best methods & technologies to make publishing green in every aspect. He further stressed on the importance of involving the youth in this kind of initiative. “It is for you to be empowered & empower others. It’s high time that we not only need to correct the damages but to also reverse the damages too,” he added.
Kelkar said “Sustainable growth is crucial for the development and growth of any industry and the publishing industry is no different. We all are aware that the whole process of publishing a book really turns out to be, not only very wasteful in nature, but also harmful for the environment. And it is imperative that we protect our environment as time is running out.
Dr Kelkar while talking of the roles of all active stakeholders touched upon the role played by authors and intellectuals in encouraging a movement towards sustainable publishing. “There is more than mere lip service that authors can pay to the environmental concerns plaguing the industry in particular and the economy in general. Authors can play a significant role in first, becoming aware of the current scenario that is detrimental to sustainable growth in future and second, influencing the publishers they work with to follow environmental rules, make adjustments that lead to a greener and cleaner tomorrow and understand that being environmentally conscious is not an expensive decision to make.” He further added that “Most importantly, this conference fills the glaring information gap in the industry, which is also relevant for all other stakeholders in the supply chain beginning with authors and ending with the kabadiwalla.”
The highlight of the conference, however, was the high level Business Leaders Forum, which saw CEOs from the leading publishing conglomerates such as Pearson, Cengage, and Elsevier, as well as top printers like Thomson Digital and Gopsons in a discussion that looked at the ecological issues facing the industry as a whole and their quest for sustainable solutions.
Apart from important sessions on Business Leader forums, Sustainable best practices etc, this years conference had two special sessions titled ‘Educational institutions as drivers of a greener tomorrow’ and ‘Author Speak’. Teachers and students from leading schools of Delhi NCR, like The Shri Ram School, DPS Noida, and Kulachi Hansraj School participated in the conference to discuss the environmental initiatives that can be taken by schools and other educational institutions. This is in keeping with the vision of Dr R K Pachauri to inculcate the spirit of environmental awareness in young minds.
The event also focused on ‘green business’, the economics of sustainability, and the role of the media in bringing about a change. Therefore, students and faculty members from reputed management and media institutes such as NRAI School of Mass Communication, Management and Technology, Pioneer Media School, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology and, colleges such as Miranda House and Ramjas College participated in large numbers, where issues on how youth can be torch-bearers of change were dealt.
The special ‘Author Speak’ session saw renowned authors talking on best practices that the publishing industry can look into and also talked about the latest technologies available. Famous author, Paro Anand addressed the session and shared her thoughts on how authors can lead the ‘green revolution’ in publishing.
The conference is a culmination of a year-long series of workshops under the Green Publishers’ Guild in collaboration with the German Book Office, New Delhi. The first and second workshops addressed issues related to the publishing industry, such as the feasibility of using recycled paper and management of hazardous wastes in the printing industry. The second and third workshops addressed a wider audience with an emphasis on greening office buildings and educational infrastructure.
Prominent speakers included Vivek Govil, President and CEO, Sanjay Banerjee, Managing Director, Elsevier, India, R Srinivasan, Member, Corporate Management Committee, ITC Ltd, Lata Vaidyanathan, Principal, Modern School, Sanat Hazra, Technical Head, Times of India, and Urvashi Butalia, Director, Zubaan Books. Prof Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute, Columbia University, USA addressed the gathering through a video message. Representatives of renowned publishing houses such as Cambridge University Press, Pearson Education India, Pratham Books, Katha Books, Zubaan Books, Ratna Sagar Pvt Ltd, Narsinghdass and Co Pvt Ltd participated in the conference.
While giving the vote of thanks, Madhu Singh Sirohi, Head to TERI Publications said, “TERI press the publishing arm of TERI is perhaps the first publishing house in India to conceptualize a dialogue on the environmental impact of the process of publishing. I am hopeful that all those present here will benefit greatly from the deliberations and will also be inspired to lead from the front so that a pattern of sustainability is established throughout the supply chain.”
Sirohi also introduced the ‘Green Publishers’ Guild, which is a membership-based body of stakeholders from the paper, printing, and publishing industries as well as corporate houses, government institutions, media, and educational and knowledge-based institutions. The Guild is an active body that carries out workshops throughout the year, which finally culminates in the main event that is, Pathways to Green Publishing. The Guild also brings out a quarterly newsletter and is a platform for access to research conducted by TERI in the field of paper manufacturing, printing, and publishing.
Recognizing this and the role that the publishing industry can play in going green to save the environment, TERI Press, the publishing arm of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) organized an event Pathways to Green Publishing: a stakeholders’ dialogue on ecological and sustainable publishing practices. With inaugural addresses by Dr RK Pachauri, Director General, TERI, Dr Vijay L Kelkar, Chairman, 13th Finance Commission, and Akshay Pathak, Director, German Book Office, the event brought together stakeholders involved in the process of publishing, including paper manufacturers and printers, on a common platform to discuss the environmental issues plaguing the publishing industry as a whole.
Giving his inaugural address Pachauri, said, “One of the most important frontiers in tackling the global threat of environmental degradation lies in greening the entire chain of printing and publication activity. If one were to assess the power of this extended sector, it would become apparent that the message of green practices applied in this field would reach every member of human society. India should be a leader in the field of sustainable development and consequently pathways to green publishing are important avenues for India to tread in a leadership position.”
Dr Pachauri further added that “It is critically important to set a motion of activities so that a radical change in the publishing industry can be seen. It is important to influence the thinking minds and it is heartening to see the enormous response TERI is getting from the stakeholders. It is crucial now to use the best methods & technologies to make publishing green in every aspect. He further stressed on the importance of involving the youth in this kind of initiative. “It is for you to be empowered & empower others. It’s high time that we not only need to correct the damages but to also reverse the damages too,” he added.
Kelkar said “Sustainable growth is crucial for the development and growth of any industry and the publishing industry is no different. We all are aware that the whole process of publishing a book really turns out to be, not only very wasteful in nature, but also harmful for the environment. And it is imperative that we protect our environment as time is running out.
Dr Kelkar while talking of the roles of all active stakeholders touched upon the role played by authors and intellectuals in encouraging a movement towards sustainable publishing. “There is more than mere lip service that authors can pay to the environmental concerns plaguing the industry in particular and the economy in general. Authors can play a significant role in first, becoming aware of the current scenario that is detrimental to sustainable growth in future and second, influencing the publishers they work with to follow environmental rules, make adjustments that lead to a greener and cleaner tomorrow and understand that being environmentally conscious is not an expensive decision to make.” He further added that “Most importantly, this conference fills the glaring information gap in the industry, which is also relevant for all other stakeholders in the supply chain beginning with authors and ending with the kabadiwalla.”
The highlight of the conference, however, was the high level Business Leaders Forum, which saw CEOs from the leading publishing conglomerates such as Pearson, Cengage, and Elsevier, as well as top printers like Thomson Digital and Gopsons in a discussion that looked at the ecological issues facing the industry as a whole and their quest for sustainable solutions.
Apart from important sessions on Business Leader forums, Sustainable best practices etc, this years conference had two special sessions titled ‘Educational institutions as drivers of a greener tomorrow’ and ‘Author Speak’. Teachers and students from leading schools of Delhi NCR, like The Shri Ram School, DPS Noida, and Kulachi Hansraj School participated in the conference to discuss the environmental initiatives that can be taken by schools and other educational institutions. This is in keeping with the vision of Dr R K Pachauri to inculcate the spirit of environmental awareness in young minds.
The event also focused on ‘green business’, the economics of sustainability, and the role of the media in bringing about a change. Therefore, students and faculty members from reputed management and media institutes such as NRAI School of Mass Communication, Management and Technology, Pioneer Media School, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology and, colleges such as Miranda House and Ramjas College participated in large numbers, where issues on how youth can be torch-bearers of change were dealt.
The special ‘Author Speak’ session saw renowned authors talking on best practices that the publishing industry can look into and also talked about the latest technologies available. Famous author, Paro Anand addressed the session and shared her thoughts on how authors can lead the ‘green revolution’ in publishing.
The conference is a culmination of a year-long series of workshops under the Green Publishers’ Guild in collaboration with the German Book Office, New Delhi. The first and second workshops addressed issues related to the publishing industry, such as the feasibility of using recycled paper and management of hazardous wastes in the printing industry. The second and third workshops addressed a wider audience with an emphasis on greening office buildings and educational infrastructure.
Prominent speakers included Vivek Govil, President and CEO, Sanjay Banerjee, Managing Director, Elsevier, India, R Srinivasan, Member, Corporate Management Committee, ITC Ltd, Lata Vaidyanathan, Principal, Modern School, Sanat Hazra, Technical Head, Times of India, and Urvashi Butalia, Director, Zubaan Books. Prof Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute, Columbia University, USA addressed the gathering through a video message. Representatives of renowned publishing houses such as Cambridge University Press, Pearson Education India, Pratham Books, Katha Books, Zubaan Books, Ratna Sagar Pvt Ltd, Narsinghdass and Co Pvt Ltd participated in the conference.
While giving the vote of thanks, Madhu Singh Sirohi, Head to TERI Publications said, “TERI press the publishing arm of TERI is perhaps the first publishing house in India to conceptualize a dialogue on the environmental impact of the process of publishing. I am hopeful that all those present here will benefit greatly from the deliberations and will also be inspired to lead from the front so that a pattern of sustainability is established throughout the supply chain.”
Sirohi also introduced the ‘Green Publishers’ Guild, which is a membership-based body of stakeholders from the paper, printing, and publishing industries as well as corporate houses, government institutions, media, and educational and knowledge-based institutions. The Guild is an active body that carries out workshops throughout the year, which finally culminates in the main event that is, Pathways to Green Publishing. The Guild also brings out a quarterly newsletter and is a platform for access to research conducted by TERI in the field of paper manufacturing, printing, and publishing.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Seminar on green publishing
The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) and the German Book Office (GBO) are organising a seminar on publishing and ecology on March 14.Pathways to Green Publishing 2009: Industry perspectives on the economics of ecological practices is an event which aims to create a common platform for stakeholders from the publishing, paper manufacturing, and printing industries to interact and find clean-green solutions for this sector. It will also bring together policy makers from the high echelons of the Indian government to deliberate on issues related to sustainability.
The conference will try to provide a common platform for the media, corporates, the world of writing, and education to interact and find solutions for a greener tomorrow.
It will also provide a unique opportunity to share the immense knowledge of the best known names in the publishing and printing industry and the media to the participants who attend the conference. The conference aims to offer the intellectual research base of TERI to the participants for conducting energy audits in their respective organizations and also put before the members research carried out by TERI in the field of publishing, waste management in printing, paper etc.
Among those expected to participate are Manas Saikia, Managing Director, Cambridge University, Kapish G Mehra, Managing Director, Rupa and Co, Chetan Bhagat, author, Himani Dalmia, author, Paro Anand, Urvashi Butalia, Director, Zubaan Books and Prof Ramu Ramaswamy, Scholars without Borders.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
'Indian publishing has opportunities'
At a time when the world seems to be focusing solely on the financial crisis, there are regions where the talk is about using that very fact as an opportunity!
This also rather succinctly sums up the Publishers’ Round Table “Global:Local” held February 27, organised by the Frankfurt Book Fair and the German Book Office New Delhi. With the presence of arguably the local industry’s most significant publishers and other players, as well as international participation from Argentina, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, China and the Arab World, the one-day round table represented a hitherto seldom experienced platform on the Indian subcontinent.
“Global vs. local” was the theme that set the ball rolling by questioning the whole notion of publishing for a local market and the need to be thinking globally. Moderated by publisher Karthika VK of Harper Collins India, this particular session had speakers like Ajay Shukla talking about the success of STM publishing. He illustrated the global reach of a nation like India, where content is now being developed not only to cater to the indigenous market but also to global markets. Insights were also offered on local experiences in different parts of the world like China, Morocco and South America.
The second session focussed on publishing services. The key word for globalisation in the last decade has been outsourcing. With its huge knowledge base and skilled manpower, India has been tapping into this opportunity rather well. Similar trends in China and South America were observed, as well. Naresh Khanna, publisher of Indian Printer and Publisher, moderated the discussion and also presented his research on the huge and unexplored potential of the Indian market. The session was then steered into a rather animated discussion about the competence of outsourcing companies and service providers. Richard Charkin of Bloomsbury cited his own experience of printing in India, which was not such a profitable activity for his own publishing house.
The session after lunch dealt with the role of independent publishers in a global scenario. Urvashi Butalia moderated the discussion and pointed out the challenges and advantages of being an independent publisher, as opposed to a multinational publisher which is governed more by market forces, minimising risk and slow decision making processes. This view was immediately countered by Mike Bryan of Penguin who said that the reverse is true for them. Their passion and risk taking is sometimes much greater than that of the independents. Interestingly, it was later discussed that both these publishing houses have also found a harmonious way of co-publishing which is a good marriage of the global and local!
The last, highly anticipated session was about the global financial crisis and its impact on publishing. With input coming from every part of the world, the picture looks rather fuzzy. Richard Charkin established that the UK is witnessing a very bad slump, primarily due to the breakdown of retail. Ana Maria Cabanellas from Argentina pointed out that publishers in South America are already coping with the crisis by coming up with innovative models. Haissam Fadel remarked that the Arab World, when it comes to trade publishing, is rather new in the field and, hence, still hasn’t seen good days to be able to talk about bad ones. Stella Chou from China was very optimistic and considered this to be a very temporary phase. The opinion from India was on the one hand similar to the UK with a huge slump in retail but in the words of the major educational publisher Dhanesh Jain of Ratna Sagar, this is also clearly a time for opportunities: “If mobile telephony can reach 400 million people, then books or content of any sort has a huge potential.”
Positively associated with the Frankfurt Book Fair, the platform was well received by Indian publishers as an activity for bringing people together and creating an exchange. Prepared by the German Book Office New Delhi, the event, in the words of Richard Charkin, “is the very essence of publishing having a global consensus”.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is the largest book fair in the world – with more than 7,000 exhibitors from over 100 countries. It also organises the participation of German publishers at more than 25 international book fairs and is associated with the Cape Town Book Fair in South Africa and the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. It maintains the most visited website worldwide for the publishing industry at http://www.book-fair.com/. The Frankfurt Book Fair is a subsidiary of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association.
This also rather succinctly sums up the Publishers’ Round Table “Global:Local” held February 27, organised by the Frankfurt Book Fair and the German Book Office New Delhi. With the presence of arguably the local industry’s most significant publishers and other players, as well as international participation from Argentina, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, China and the Arab World, the one-day round table represented a hitherto seldom experienced platform on the Indian subcontinent.
“Global vs. local” was the theme that set the ball rolling by questioning the whole notion of publishing for a local market and the need to be thinking globally. Moderated by publisher Karthika VK of Harper Collins India, this particular session had speakers like Ajay Shukla talking about the success of STM publishing. He illustrated the global reach of a nation like India, where content is now being developed not only to cater to the indigenous market but also to global markets. Insights were also offered on local experiences in different parts of the world like China, Morocco and South America.
The second session focussed on publishing services. The key word for globalisation in the last decade has been outsourcing. With its huge knowledge base and skilled manpower, India has been tapping into this opportunity rather well. Similar trends in China and South America were observed, as well. Naresh Khanna, publisher of Indian Printer and Publisher, moderated the discussion and also presented his research on the huge and unexplored potential of the Indian market. The session was then steered into a rather animated discussion about the competence of outsourcing companies and service providers. Richard Charkin of Bloomsbury cited his own experience of printing in India, which was not such a profitable activity for his own publishing house.
The session after lunch dealt with the role of independent publishers in a global scenario. Urvashi Butalia moderated the discussion and pointed out the challenges and advantages of being an independent publisher, as opposed to a multinational publisher which is governed more by market forces, minimising risk and slow decision making processes. This view was immediately countered by Mike Bryan of Penguin who said that the reverse is true for them. Their passion and risk taking is sometimes much greater than that of the independents. Interestingly, it was later discussed that both these publishing houses have also found a harmonious way of co-publishing which is a good marriage of the global and local!
The last, highly anticipated session was about the global financial crisis and its impact on publishing. With input coming from every part of the world, the picture looks rather fuzzy. Richard Charkin established that the UK is witnessing a very bad slump, primarily due to the breakdown of retail. Ana Maria Cabanellas from Argentina pointed out that publishers in South America are already coping with the crisis by coming up with innovative models. Haissam Fadel remarked that the Arab World, when it comes to trade publishing, is rather new in the field and, hence, still hasn’t seen good days to be able to talk about bad ones. Stella Chou from China was very optimistic and considered this to be a very temporary phase. The opinion from India was on the one hand similar to the UK with a huge slump in retail but in the words of the major educational publisher Dhanesh Jain of Ratna Sagar, this is also clearly a time for opportunities: “If mobile telephony can reach 400 million people, then books or content of any sort has a huge potential.”
Positively associated with the Frankfurt Book Fair, the platform was well received by Indian publishers as an activity for bringing people together and creating an exchange. Prepared by the German Book Office New Delhi, the event, in the words of Richard Charkin, “is the very essence of publishing having a global consensus”.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is the largest book fair in the world – with more than 7,000 exhibitors from over 100 countries. It also organises the participation of German publishers at more than 25 international book fairs and is associated with the Cape Town Book Fair in South Africa and the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. It maintains the most visited website worldwide for the publishing industry at http://www.book-fair.com/. The Frankfurt Book Fair is a subsidiary of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Publishers' meet in Delhi
A day-long round table by organised by the German Book Office (GBO) in Delhi saw a number of participants - including most of India's leading publishers and printers, engaged in rather spirited discussion over the future of publishing in India.
The usual divide between the multinational subsidiaries and independent publishers was a part of the story. The meet looked at whether publishing was local or global - and there was this realisation that while publishing had to be essentially local, the main tasks for publishers was to find the next big author who could transcend boundaries and languages.
The usual divide between the multinational subsidiaries and independent publishers was a part of the story. The meet looked at whether publishing was local or global - and there was this realisation that while publishing had to be essentially local, the main tasks for publishers was to find the next big author who could transcend boundaries and languages.
Among the participants were Juergen Boos, President, Frankfurt Book Fair, who has been visiting India fairly frequently in recent times. Another interesting participant was an old India hand, Richard Charkin, executive director, Bloomsbury, in the past with Macmillan in India.
Among the Indian publishers present were Mike Bryan (Penguin), SK Ghai (Sterling), VK Karthika (Harper), Urvashi Butalia (Zubaan), Thomas Abraham (Hachette), Renuka Chatterjee from Westland, Pramod kapoor (Roli), PM Sukumar (Harper).
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