WPC8 is crucial for the survival of the print industry

Chris Sykes

WPC8 was opened by the Premier of the Western Cape, Ebrahiem Rasool, who extended a special welcome to the overseas delegates and outlined the torrid history of Apartheid South Africa where newspapers and publications were often banned. "The battle today," he said, "is to overcome illiteracy... this is a global issue."

The challenge, Rasool said, was how to promote a reading culture amid poverty and the "fast food" information age we were living in... with "the tyranny of the soundbite... and the dominance of the visual medium"?

Against the conference theme of "The World Print-Profiting Today and Tomorrow", a variety of sub-themes will be presented by a number of industry specialists who are actively involved in the print and communications arena in markets all over the world. It is expected to be the biggest gathering of producers and users of printed media and products ever in South Africa.

The four-day conference and exhibition, including tours to various local printing and packaging works, started with a cocktail reception in Cape Town on Sunday, 23 January 2005. At the opening today, Monday, 24 January 2005, the exuberance of the de rigueur African dance troop and singers, delivering an enthusiastic performance against the background of the scenic setting of the Cape Town International Convention Centre at the harbor mouth, thrilled delegates (judging by the number of cameras hauled out by the largely international delegates!).

Of the close to 700 delegates, China has fielded the largest delegation - certainly the most high profile one - to attend an event in the South African creative industries of media, marketing, advertising, design, branding, and so on.

In an interview prior to the start of WPC8, Sykes, said this conference was critical to the survival of the printing industry in the future, particularly in South Africa, where the printing and packaging industry is a young entrant into global markets due to previous international isolation.

"Print is part of the whole communications industry and we need to get the industry to stop viewing alternative media as a threat. The print message is not effectively going out to the world, ie, our end users, the advertisers and marketers. We need to focus on the positive 'power of print', rather than being reactive to challenges," Sykes reiterated.

Sykes said the print industry needed strategies in place to address threats, maximize opportunities and innovation and a firm campaign to promote the possibilities of print. It was hoped that the debate among the illustrious delegates at WPC8 would go a long way to setting agendas to maximize opportunities.

China intends to become a leading print global power

The keynote address at the opening of WPC8 was delivered by the vice-minister of China: press and publication, Yu Yongzhan, who advised delegates that China intended to turn itself in to one of the major printing bases in the world by 2010 (contributing 2.5% of its GDP), and by 2020 - in meeting its goal to "become a truly well off society", Yu said China's printing industry would realize its transition to a global leading printing power. To this end, the Chinese printing industry was: