FESPA Launches 2007 Conference Programme In Partnership With National Associations

Following the enthusiastic response of visitors to FESPA Digital towards the on-site conference programme, FESPA will work in partnership with its national associations to roll out a more extensive European programme of stand-alone, not-for-profit educational conferences, beginning in spring 2007. The conferences will aim to provide an informative and educational experience for delegates, involving internationally renowned speakers from the screen and digital printing communities, including vendors, academics, consultants and printers. The affordable conferences will be open to non-members of FESPA associations, though members will receive a discount on delegate fees. FESPA is working with its national associations to devise a topical programme for the conferences, taking into account input from local members. The programme will begin in the spring of 2007 with three conferences serving the Iberian market, in Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon, on the general theme of 'The Future of the Graphics Industry'. FESPA will publish a full schedule of its conference events early in 2007, and may also run particularly successful conferences as road-shows, with the objective of extending their reach to a wider geographical audience. FESPA Projects Manager Chris Smith comments: 'The response of our associations and their members to the educational initiatives we have funded to date has been inspiring, and feedback to the conference sessions which ran alongside FESPA Digital was exceptionally positive. However, we recognise that conference at major exhibition can only reach a limited audience, and cannot realistically take into account the characteristics of particular niche markets or regions. 'By working in close partnership with our national associations to devise a more tailored conference programme, we aim to build on the general content we are delivering by means of our event-led conferences, while making absolutely sure that FESPA is deploying its project funds appropriately to meet local and market-specific educational needs.'