A Photoarchivenews.com Industry Report
photo montage – John Balean
The Cepic Congress 2011 ran last week – Photoarchivenews.com reporter John Balean sent us this summary of the event:
Istanbul is home to 15-20 million people but that does not stop you running into old friends in the street when the CEPIC congress is in town.
Most delegates resigned themselves to a hotel in the Taksim district which was quite a distance from the Halic Congress Centre. For those who did not opt for the CEPIC shuttle buses this meant a taxi cab ride and sadly there were stories of drivers attempting to overcharge or short change passengers. Once there however the venue was one of the best that CEPIC has seen with a modern building which had plenty of space, natural light and if you managed to catch a moment of sunshine one could conduct meetings or take some fresh air at the beautiful outdoor area beside the Golden Horn.
The CEPIC AGM on Wednesday confirmed the 2012 Congress destination as London but neither a date nor venue has been established. There was much speculation that an Olympic Arena maybe obtained following the fashion of Dublin’s Aviva Stadium inauguration in 2010 but we will just have to wait and see.
At the AGM, 7 places from 9 candidates were elected to the CEPIC committee from the various Member Associations in Europe. Although providing a significant membership to CEPIC it was the UK, BAPLA representative who lost their place on the board in favour of the Swiss Association (SAB) candidate. The BLF, Sweden representative also failed to get enough votes. CEPIC have expressed that both Associations are still important to the organisation as a whole and they will have active participation in some of the many of activities that it does. The board also sees new faces representing the Spanish (AEAPAF) and Dutch (NLimage) Associations.
The Congress attendance list topped 550 this year, some familiar faces were missing but new ones were found, particularly from Asia. The general trend suggested that economies are now showing signs of recovery or at the very worst have bottomed out so 2010 faired better than 2009 with 2011 hopeful but the rise and rise of micro stock is still meaning for many the continued diversification from stills into footage and/or other services.
Delegates who could spare a space in their schedule for some seminars could listen to experts discuss Orphan Works, Metadata, Photography Beyond Europe and the fluent in German could join a workshop in copyright and the publishing market. The seminars culminated in the full day New Media Conference on Saturday which opens the floor to Microstock and Technology Services amongst others.
For those lucky enough to take some time to enjoy the sites of Istanbul CEPIC also offered an exclusive tour to the Hagia Sofia, the annual CEPIC Golf Tournament, a Sunday Tour of Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque and as always signed off the main Congress business with the Annual Industry Party.
Overall the CEPIC 2011 Congress was well organised and maintains it’s position as the most important international networking event for Picture Agencies to meet their overseas partners.
More CEPIC Congress news and links on our May 21st article – scroll down