6th July 2026 (Monday) – International Publishers Congress

IPA Congress Day 1

6th July 2026 (Monday) IPA Congress Day 1
Time	Event/Session
9:00 am	Cultural performance (Details TBC)
9:10 am	Welcome by MoC Prashant Pathak, Co-founder, Publishers Without Border
9:15 am	Welcoming Speech: Sheikh Faisal Sheikh Mansor President MABOPA
9:22 am	Introductory Speech Gvantsa Jobava, IPA President
9:30 am	Keynote: YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister, Malaysia
9:50 am	Keynote : Thad Mcllroy, The Future of Publishing (USA / CANADA)
10:20 am - COFFEE BREAK (15 mins) (announced as 10 minutes)
10:35 am 40 mins	Ethics of publishing: Accountability in the Age of AI and Misinformation. Moderator: Richard Mollet, RELX (UK) Kai Zenner, European Parliament Melissa Fleming, United Nations
11:15 am - Transition (5 mins)
11:20 am 40 mins	A Snapshot of the Educational Publishing Market Across the Globe Moderator: Trasvin Jittidecharak, Silkworm Books (Thailand) Nadia Kandrusevich, Koska Books (Poland/Belarus) Rasha Al Ameer, Dar Al Jadeed (Lebanon) Khaled Lotfy, Tanmia Books (Egypt)
12:00 pm - Transition (5 mins)
12:05 pm	Book to Screen to Games to Books Moderator: Brian Gilsenan, Chair, IPA Educational Publishers Forum Ramiro Villalba, Director, AZ Editore (Argentina) Lawrence Njagi, Mountaintop Publishers (Kenya) Siva Sofhinathan, Director, Uma Publications (Malaysia)
12:45 pm - LUNCH (70 mins, Announced as 60)
14:00 pm 40 mins	Stream 1 (General) Emerging Markets: New technologies: New Challenges Moderator: Fatimah Abbas, Egypt Speakers: Law King Hui, Sasbadi (Malaysia) Geum Joo Lin, (Korea) Ali Abd El-Moneim, ArabBookverse (Egypt) Stream 2 (Children/YA) Bridging Worlds: Cross-cultural storytelling and reading for the next generation Moderator: Simon de Jocas, les 400 Coups (Canada) Speakers: Elena Pasoli, Bologna Children's Book Fair (Italy) Ahmad Redza, IBBY Malaysia (Malaysia) Stream 3 Educational publishers ... swimming against the tide or catching the wave? Moderator: Brian Gilsenan (Ireland) Speakers: Dr. Stephanie Riady, SPH Group (Indonesia) Lih Kang Sum (Malaysia) Catriona Stevenson (UK)
14:35 pm - Transition (5 mins)
14:40 pm 35 mins	Stream 1 (General) Indigenous languages: Great Languages Spoken by Few People Moderator: Olatoun Gabi Williams (Nigeria) Speakers: Eboni Waitere, PANZ (New Zealand) Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo (Philippines) Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún (Nigeria) Stream 2 (Children/YA) Sustaining a Legacy: Half a Century of Children’s Publishing Moderator: Karine Pansa (Brazil) Speakers: Hedwige Pasquet, Gallimard Jeunesse (France) Stream 3 Redefining Boundaries: Innovation in Publishing Growth Models Ao Ran (Sec Gen, CADPA) Beyond the Buzz: Practical AI in Educational Publishing Song Yidong (CEPMG, China)
15:15 pm - COFFEE BREAK (20 mins) (announced as 10 minutes)
15:35 pm 35 mins	Gateway to Asia: Entry Paths, Pitfalls & Payoffs Moderator: Ahmed Rashad (Egypt) Speakers: Sheikh Faisal Sheikh Mansor, ASEAN Book Publishers Association (Malaysia) Li Pengyi, Publishers Association of China (China) Pranav Gupta, Federation of Indian Publishers (India)
16:10 pm - Transition (5 mins)
16:15 pm 40 mins	Freedom to Publish: 20th Anniversary of Prix Voltaire Moderator: Alisha Noor Hassan, Helsinki Film Lab (Finland) Speakers: Ahmed Mourad, Author, Screenwriter (Egypt) Mac Hawkins, President, Pragmatic Pictures (USA) Mufizal Mokhter, Virtuos (Malaysia)
16:55 pm	MoC closing
17:00 pm	Prix Voltaire Ceremony