Ukraine to Host World Newspaper Congress Next Year

KYIV, Ukraine, June 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

The Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv was chosen as host city for the 64th World Newspaper Congress to take place in 2012. The decision was released by the Executive Committee of the World Association of Newspapers and Publishers (WAN-IFRA) during a meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.

Christoph Riess, the CEO of WAN-INFRA, uttered his delight that Kyiv would host the 2012 Congress noting that Ukrainian press still faces difficulties when it comes to independent reporting. He expressed hope that the presence of hundreds of editors and publishers from all around the world could help focus attention on the freedom of press issue.

The Congress will take place in Kyiv between 2nd and 5th September 2012 and is expected to bring over 1500 delegates - representatives of influential international media. The Congress will also feature the World Editors Forum as well as the annual Info Services Expo.

Last year the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych invited Christoph Riess to visit Ukraine and consider it for hosting the 2012 World Newspaper Congress. As a result of his two-day visit to Ukraine in October 2010, Christoph Riess examined the existing infrastructure and expressed positive impression. Notably, Kenya and Spain were Ukraine's rivals in its bid to host the 2012 Congress.

Borys Lozhkin, the Vice President of the Ukrainian Association of Press Publishers believes that the fact that the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum will take place in Kyiv sends the right message to the Ukrainian state officials working on the legislation on free press in Ukraine.

World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers is a non-profit organization created in 1948 and based in Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany. WAN-IFRA is a global organization of the world's newspapers and news publishers that represents over 18 000 publications, 15 000 Web sites in 120 countries. It has a status of an official consultant, which represents the interests of newspaper industry in UNESCO, United Nations and the European Council. Major tasks of WAN-IFRA are to protect and promote economic independence of the newspapers, freedom of press, and quality of journalism.