The ‘crisis of climate change and the crisis among democracies’ lead the 75th Frankfurt’s opening press conference.

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

See also:
Frankfurt: Gaia Vince Keynotes at Opening Press Conference
The Slovenian Pavilion: Urska and Jure Sadar at Work

A 75th Anniversary Opening Press Conference

In an extraordinary if not entirely desirable demonstration of the social and political relevance of the world’s largest international book publishing trade show, Frankfurter Buchmesse led its opening press conference this morning (October 17) with a confirmation that the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, would not be at tonight’s opening ceremony as planned because he’s traveling to Egypt and to Israel.

Before the program opened in the Frankfurt Pavilion, it was learned that the Indonesian Publishers Association and Malaysia’s educational ministry have elected to withdraw their participation. This follows, of course, other organizations’ exits, including those of the Arab Publishers Association, the Emirates Publishers Association, the Sharjah Book Authority, and PublisHer, the international women-in-publishing network.

As a Reuters report confirms this morning, these latest withdrawals from the fair again reflect what some critics have perceived as a pro-Israel stance in the ongoing crisis in the Palestinian territories and Israel—something the fair’s leadership has said is simply not the case, signaling in statements that its concern and dismay are held for Palestinians and Israelis alike—for those civilians caught most immediately in the Gaza Strip crisis as well as for Israeli citizens under attack.

Boos: ‘Everyone in Israel and Palestine Suffering’

Juergen Boos, president and CEO of Frankfurt Book Fair, said to journalists at the press event, “We have the crisis of climate change and the crisis among Western democracies.

“We have been experiencing Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine for over a year and a half. And on 7 October, Hamas’ terrorist warfare against Israel reached a whole new, terrifying level. We are all horrified.

“Frankfurter Buchmesse has always been about humanity; the focus is on people interacting with each other. This humanity was shattered on 7 October by the attack on Israel carried out by Hamas’ terrorists.

“Our sympathy goes out to the people whose loved ones have been the targets of this violence and everyone in Israel and Palestine suffering because of this war. We condemn the terror against Israel and condemn those who are financing it and thus making it possible.”

Schmidt-Friderichs: ‘Debates Are Heating Up’

Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, head of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, Germany’s publishers and booksellers association, also contributed extensive comments from the stage, saying, “Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel shock us deeply. We condemn these acts of violence in the strongest possible terms. Our condolences go out to all victims of violence in Israel and Palestine.

“For a year and a half, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which violates international law, has been raging elsewhere, on the edge of Europe.”

Making the point that many can ascribe allegiances where they’re not actually in play, Schmidt-Friderichs said, “Democracy, freedom, and diversity are cornerstones of our society. We must defend them, as individuals, as an industry, and as a society. The book industry makes a fundamental contribution to this. In order to be able to take on this important function in the future, we need stable framework conditions.

“Debates are heating up,” she said. “Words are triggering waves of agitation. All around us, populism and nationalism are gaining ground at an alarming rate.”

‘Our Remarkable Species’

The British author Gaia Vince gave a powerful keynote address on the climate crisis and its impact on human displacement, as what she calls the “human zone” around the Earth’s fast-warming center becomes less habitable, driving many populations northward.

“Where shall we put our remarkable species?” she asked.

“Globally, we are on track for a heating of some three or even four degrees this century. This is catastrophic.

“It means large areas of the globe , many of the most populated places in Asia, Africa and the Americas — will become increasingly dangerous. Not just gradually but also in sudden step changes.

“In the next few decades,” Vince told reporters, “large swaths of the tropics, of coastlines and river deltas, where many of our most populous cities are located, will become unlivable for at least part of the year; whereas the globe’s far north will experience lesser impacts and will be better able to adapt.

“People will move north. Wherever you live now, this migration will affect you and the lives of your children.

“Have no doubt,” Vince said, “the climate threat presents a species crisis–but we can manage it. We can survive, but to do so will require a planned and deliberate migration of a kind humanity has never before undertaken.”

Seeing Guest of Honor Slovenia’s Pavilion

If anything, Slovenia was awaiting to remind everyone at the opening press conference about the value and beauty of the natural world Vince studies and writes about.

Members of the press followed the news conference with a tour of the Guest of Honor Slovenia pavilion in Messe Frankfurt’s Forum building, an open, airy display of books and symbolic elements of the natural setting and light so influential in that market’s culture.

Special foam “canyon” seating and bookshelves the designers of the space call “the forest” stand under softly billowing lace clouds in the 4.1 display at the Forum. Sprigs of green jump from the “canyon” seating and the huge windows of the Forum this time are open to the daylight.

Designers Jure and Urska Sadar of Studio Sadar were joined by the program director, Katja Stergar, in discussing with media representatives the “Honeycomb of Words” concept behind this year’s extensive guest of honor display and programming plans.

Stergar—a reliably wry speaker—thanked the Sadars for listening to the many “stupid ideas,” as she put it that she and her fellow organizers had for the pavilion, and for following up those ideas with such a clean, uncluttered, and broad space, a kind of indoor meadow with theater spaces, a cafe, and “a lot of seating because everyone told us that’s what’s wanted at Frankfurt.”

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More from Publishing Perspectives on Frankfurter Buchmesse is here, more on Slovenia is here, more on the world’s international trade shows and book fairs is here, and more on guest of honor programs is here. To learn more about this year’s Guest of Honor Slovenia program, see its dedicated site at SloveniaFrankfurt2023.com/en.