The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is geared up to organize the 71st World News Media Congress, the 26th World Editors Forum and the 3rd Women in News Summit to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 1 to 3 June 2019.
Organized in partnership with the Scottish Newspaper Society (SNS), the events will take place at Glasgow’s Scottish Event Campus. It is situated on the north bank of the River Clyde. Glasgow, Scotland’s most important location for broadcasting, media, digital and the creative industries, is home to the headquarters of BBC Scotland, STV and a range of major press titles including The Herald, The Daily Record, The Scottish Sun and Scottish Daily Mail.
“Scotland is a market with a remarkable diversity of national, regional and local media. We are privileged to be hosted in Glasgow by the SNS and their affiliate members,” said Vincent Peyregne, chief executive officer of Wan-Ifra.
“The Congress, incorporating the one-of-a-kind Women in News Summit, and the World Editors Forum, is a milestone on our annual program of professional events. It is of value to every news professional seeking to better understand and address the unprecedented forces at work at this time. The Congress is a vital forum for discussions – on the future of news, press freedom and issues facing our society and its citizens,” said Peyregne.
Scottish Newspaper Society director and former Scotsman Publications editor-in-chief John McLellan said, “We are thrilled to be able to stage the 2019 World News Media Congress. And, we are confident that delegates will find Glasgow and Scotland an appropriately stunning and stimulating host. Scotland is steeped in the finest traditions of freedom of expression but also of media innovation. It is home to one of the most competitive and vibrant news markets anywhere in the world.”
Scotland has been a crucible for the development of publishing and the concepts of freedom of expression from even before the 18th Century Age of Enlightenment. It is the home of Adam Smith, where Encyclopaedia Britannica was founded in 1768 and where three of the daily newspapers, The Herald, The Scotsman and The Courier, are over 200 years old.
Program elements
The World News Media Congress is the annual meeting of news executives, including publishers, editors and owners of newspapers from all over the world. It is hosted in a different city each year. The 2018 Congress in Portugal drew around 1,000 people from over 60 countries for three days of conferences, executive meetings, networking, and social events. A list of previous host cities for WAN-IFRA Congresses, from 1948 to the present, can be found on wan-ifra.org.
