The Vietnam Publishers Association (VPA) and the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City are organizing an annual conference of the Executive Committee of the ASEAN Book Publishers Association (ABPA) and sidelines activities from September 14-19, VNA citied VPA.

The conference, slated for September 15, will be a forum for ABPA members to exchange experience and propose solutions to strengthen cooperation in the publishing industry in the region, especially in the context that digital transformation and international integration are becoming more extensive.

It will focus on topics such as reviewing the current status of the publishing industry of the ABPA member countries, setting forth orientations to promote intra-bloc cooperation, enhance exchanges and copyright transactions and deciding which country will assume the rotating presidency of the ABPA for the 2024-2025 term.

Ho Chi Minh City's Book Street.

Pham Minh Tuan, deputy editor-in-chief of the Communist Magazine and President of the VPA, who is holding the rotating presidency of the ABPA for the 2022-2023 term, said that after reviewing the publishing situation of each country over the past year, delegates will contribute ideas to further strengthen current activities and further promote the association's role in the regional and international arena.

An international scientific conference on protecting copyrights for books in cyberspace will be held on September 15 by the VPA on the sidelines of the conference.

It will serve as a forum for scientists, policymakers, managers, and publishing units in Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries to exchange experience and solutions to strengthen the effectiveness of copyright protection in the context of digital transformation and international integration in the publishing sector.

An international book fair will be organized on HCM City's Book Street which features about 100 book titles about President Ho Chi Minh and other Party and State leaders.

In addition, ABPA members also will participate in sideline activities to better understand Vietnamese culture and publishing, such as visiting Nha Rong Wharf relic, HCM City's Book Street, Phuong Nam and Fahasa bookstore systems.

Founded in 2005 by Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore, the ABPA aims to provide a friendly community where ASEAN-based publishers and industry partners can share knowledge and experience.

In January 2022, the VPA has recently taken on the rotating presidency of the ASEAN Book Publishers Association (ABPA), for the new term 2022-23, from its Thai predecessor.

The role creates great chances for the publishing industry to boost development and promote Vietnamese culture and people to the region, experts say.

Vietnam also has become a member of the Berne International Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works since 2004, but copyright infringement still runs rampant across the country.

Not only facing the issues of pirated books, as the boom of digital technology leads to the development of ebooks and audiobooks, copyright piracy seems to be more and more serious, and hard to prevent.

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