READMAGINE 2019

Learning to work at the boundaries

Readmagine 2019 was again the result of a group of alliances of the FGSR with different partners among which the most relevant was again the joint undertaking with IPDA, focused on the most industrial aspect. The general motto of the convening this year was «Learning to work at the boundaries», focusing on three fields of innovation:

  • Encouraging new strategic thinking, with the conference “Publishing in the exponential age” by Brian O’Leary (BISG) and the analysis of new audiences, with a presentation on the consumption of Generation Z , by Chris Beer (GWI).
  • Insights on two areas of intense growth: e-sports (Fernando Piquer, Movistar Riders) and AI (Colin Lovrinovic, Gould Finch).
  • The generation of proposals for an innovation agenda for the book sector, through a playful dynamic, which produced the Manifesto for Innovation in the creative sector in Europe.

Some of the sessions were design -for the first time- with a much “hands-on” approach with three concrete tools through workshops on the design of quality experiences (Luis Villa, Accenture), Blockchain (Sebastian Posth) and accessibility (Gregorio Pellegrino, Fondazione Lia).In the context of Readmagine 19, the “Learning to work at the boundaries” perspective was implemented by a group of experts from various fields of the book sector to design prototypes for a possible agenda for the innovation in the book industry. The approach was fundamentally European because most of the participants were professionals from various countries in Europe and because the Germán Sánchez Ruipérez Foundation (FGSR) itself had proposed this workshop as part of a process that had begun with the preparation of the Manifesto by the Innovation of the Cultural and Creative Sector in Europe (promoted by the Frankfurt Fair), in which the FGSR had intervened.The scheme was based on three models based on the following seven proposals for preparing an agenda for innovation in the book sector:

  1. Exploitation and use of traditional and sui generis skills in the book sector to strengthen and market the concept of soft innovation before public authorities.
  2. Promotion of the intelligent use of data and information generated from the activity of the book sector, through metadata, artificial intelligence and tools for the protection of copyright.
  3. Create alliances between companies from different fields of the creative and cultural sector to create business models based on the same intellectual property more sustainable through multi-channel strategies.
  4. Seek agreements with technology companies to scale the value proposition of traditional practices in the publishing sector and promote the creation of innovative solutions to make more profitable intangible assets, focused on the people who work in this sector.
  5. Launch strategies aimed at ensuring that content remains the fundamental value for the remuneration of this industry, promoting the exploitation of IP in different channels and the growth of dimension through internationalization.
  6. Drive interoperability and standardization across the industry as a tool to compete with platforms.
  7. The seventh proposal has been incorporated from the FGSR based on the vision and experience and the objectives that the members of its team have been developing in recent years. This proposal refers to: Collaborate with public reading networks (libraries) and learning networks (schools and universities) to generate projects that involve reader participation, experimental schemes, big data and other contributions capable of balancing some variables with which the platforms operate.

Within the framework of Readmagine, the 6th International Digital Distributors Meeting took place, with presentations by Rüdiger Wischebart ( Global Ebook Report ) on the ebook distribution market and a report on trends in digital consumption (Global Web Index). The Focus Market this year was India and Shweta Khurana presented the publishing scene in that country.

Three round tables took place later on:

  • Subscription models
  • Voice Tech
  • Discoverability of books
On the last day, the week ended with a meeting dedicated to start-ups in the book sector (the Emprendelibro program shared by FGSR and Factoría Cultural) and a professional meeting with Oren Teicher (CEO of the American Booksellers Association).
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