WORLD FORUM ON CULTURE AND CULTURAL INDUSTRIES

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The Book Tomorrow: the Future of the Written Word
6 - 8 June 2011
Villa Reale di Monza
Lombardia - Italy

The Regione Lombardia is committed at various levels to the custody and development of the sites which are part of the World Heritage, with research, knowledge, conservation, promotion and communication even for tourism. A further task is the building of a network of all the Lombard sites that will be involved in an integrated project to realize initiatives in the coordination of development and promotion.

FOCUS 2011 is organized by UNESCO and the Italian Government in collaboration with the Regione Lombardia, which has provided financial support. Additional support for this event has been provided by the City of Monza, the Consorzio Villa Reale di Monza, the Camera di Commercio di Milano, and the Camera di Commercio di Monza. FOCUS 2011 will provide a unique opportunity to bring together numerous high-level stakeholders to discuss on the e-book economy, the Copyright in the Digital Era and the Digital Library; and to build bridges between often-opposing visions.

The objective of the meeting is to provide a highly visible, authoritative and global platform for discussing and exploring solutions to the principle challenges facing the diverse realms of publishing (traditional and electronic), and reading today. Selected by the Scientific Committee of FOCUS 2011, the participants are prominent high-level decision-makers in government and business, renowned innovators (digital entrepreneurs and bloggers), media professionals and experts from all regions of the world. The keynote speaker is a bestselling author.

The following themes will be discussed during the Forum:

Digital vs analog, "copyleft" and free access vs copyright, the blog vs the broadsheet, Google vs libraries,Wikipedia vs encyclopedias, printed book vs e-book, bookshops vs online markets, independent publishing vs multinational publishing houses: the world book market is today a changing battlefield opposing diverse, social, ideological, educational, political and commercial options that could have great impact on the future of all societies. Among the pressing topics to be discussed: the new economy of printing, the economy of e-book, copyright in the digital era and the digital library, new media.

The global book market is deeply affected by the rise of e-books and downloadable content. This is transforming the industry. It is impacting on publishers. It is touching on authors and readers. The implications of this transformation will be deep and long-term. Change is giving rise also to sharp new debates -- about the strengths and weaknesses of different kinds of products, about the nature of copyright today,, about the role of libraries relative to on-line knowledge, about the meaning of 'authorship' in a world of blogs and wikis. We must explore these complex debates. UNESCO is taking the lead. The Second UNESCO World Forum on Culture and the Cultural Industries will be held in June in Monza, Italy. The theme could not be more timely: "The Book Tomorrow; the Future of the Written Word". Books embody the human capacity to conjure up worlds of reality and imagination and to express them. They are the best voices of tolerance. They provide the strongest signs of hope. Books are pillars for free and open societies.