YPPiB 2019 - An opportunity to learn and to network for young publishers

Report of the first YPPiB edition from 23 to 25 September 2019

From 23 to 25 September 2019 FEP welcomed 18 young publishing professionals from across Europe for an introduction to the impact of EU policies on publishing and of FEP in EU affairs. The young publishing professionals (YPPs) were welcomed on 23 September at the Permanent Representation of the State of Hessen to the EU with an introduction from Dr Parinas Parhisi from the State of Hessen PermRep, the FEP team, including President Rudy Vanschoonbeek and Thomas Ewert from DGCNECT. The latter presented our YPPs with an overview of their policies and the activities FEP carries out as representative of book publishers in Brussels. The day ended with a relaxed networking dinner with FEP staff and members.

The second day of YPPiB was even more hectic than the first, starting with a visit to the House of European History early on. Next, the YPPs had the chance to attend a meeting of the Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament; an opportunity to see the policies they’d learned about on the first day in action. A meeting followed with MEP Christian Ehler (DE, EPP), who detailed how his work influences European publishing.

YPPs also had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the Bertelsmann Brussels office to discuss their work, as well as Alessandro Da Rold, Project Manager of EU40, who introduced the network of young MEPs. They were then given a guided tour of the European Parliament before attending a cocktail hosted by the European Internet Forum, which included a presentation of a report on the top 10 digital trends toward 2030. This jam-packed day finished with another networking dinner where the YPPs were joined by representatives from DG EAC and MEP Niklas Nienaß (DE, Green) as well as the FEP team and members. This meeting provided an excellent opportunity to discuss the things learned with actual policymakers in a more informal environment.

The event was organised in the framework of the Aldus project, with the support of the Creative Europe Programme. Read the ultimate report on the Aldus website.