April 14, 2008

• The upcoming IAPA General Assembly will be held in the Spanish capital October 3-7

Dear members and friends of the IAPA,

For the second time in its history – the first was in Madrid, in 1992 – the IAPA General Assembly will be held in the Old Continent rather than in the Western Hemisphere. The 64th General Assembly will be held at the Meliá Castilla Hotel in Madrid, October 3-7, with a program full of panel discussions, roundtables and illustrious names.

This will be an encounter that no one will want to miss. The Host Committee, chaired by Ignacio Polanco of El País, has made arrangements for the guests from the Americas and the rest of the world to witness a sensational program, including the official opening ceremony inaugurated by Spain’s King Juan Carlos I. The country’s Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will attend another featured event.

Enclosed are the registration and hotel reservation forms. Don’t wait another day, sign up right away. The conference hotel will not guarantee room reservations after September 15.

Madrid, Madrid, Madrid

However you define it, Madrid is Madrid. Here are just a few comments that highlight the site of the General Assembly:

—“Without the art in the Prado Museum it would be impossible to understand the History of Art.”

—“In Madrid you can find practically anything. People have come to this city searching for things ranging from the sophisticated to the bizarre. From the most luxurious stores in the Salamanca district to Fuencarral Street, Madrid transcends the trendy; its style cannot be defined.”

—“History is directly linked to the future. It is impossible to imagine this city without the bohemian style of the Belle Epoque or the poets of the Golden Age.”

—Madrid has 1,962 monuments, such as the Alcalá Gate, the Cibeles Fountain, the Puerta del Sol and the imposing Main Post Office.

—Madrid is the only city in the world where within a radius of 60 miles, and less than one hour’s drive, there are four cities named by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites – Toledo, Avila, Segovia and Alcalá de Henares.

Key aspects of the program

The Host Committee has taken the lead in developing and planning the program which features a number of panel discussions, special presentations and first-rate seminars.

The panel discussions will be on practical topics:

• Integration of newsrooms. The digital newspaper, center of the universe in newspaper production. The multimedia company demands a physical adaptation of spaces. Working online: cases and experiences of integration in Europe.

• How do we sell ourselves? Self-promotion. Promotions to increase circulation. Transformation of advertising for new media. From newsprint to the web.

• Training new professionals to adapt to the new technologies. Journalism schools and universities modify their study plans. The digital “natives,” like fish in the water without allowing themselves to be caught in the Net.

• The distribution of content and the big search engines. The Google example - Friends or enemies? Copyright issues.

There will also be a cultural program whose theme will be the Spanish language, with the participation of the presidents of the Spanish language academies of Spain, Mexico and Argentina.

The seminars are scheduled daily during the General Assembly and will cover such topics as:

— The value of what is given away. The phenomenon of the free press. Newspapers that are easy to read.

— Journalism and climate change. The media’s responsibility in protecting the planet.

— In search of new readers. Audiences’ interests have changed. New technologies for new audiences (blogs). Mobile phones. News alert services.

— Compilation of ethical and professional standards. Stylebooks.

— Journalists’ on-the-job safety: Dying to Report.

 

Lunches, dinners, spouses program

Work is still under way on confirming the participation of prominent personalities as keynote speakers for the lunches scheduled for Saturday, October 4 through Tuesday, October 7. There will also be exciting activities for spouses, with visits to cultural, artistic and commercial centers in Madrid and nearby areas.

On Saturday evening, along with special musical entertainment, the welcoming reception will be held in the Los Tapices Room of the Meliá Castilla conference hotel.

The following evening the Madrid City Council will host a dinner at the Cecilio Rodríguez Gardens in Retiro Park. Scheduled during the event is the presentation of the 2008 IAPA Awards for Excellence in Journalism. The Retiro is a beautifully landscaped park in the very heart of Madrid that local residents and visitors alike enjoy as a place to meet and have fun – it features boating, puppet shows, open-air concerts and it plays host to singers, musicians and painters.

On Monday evening the dinner sponsored by El País will be at the Fine Arts Circle on Alcalá Street. This is one of Europe’s most important privately-owned, multi-disciplinary cultural centers. Its activities include the visual arts, science, theater, dance, thought, literature and music. It was founded in 1880 and is characterized by its inclusive attitude towards the most innovative currents of international culture.

On Tuesday Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will deliver an address during the General Assembly’s final session. That evening the closing ceremony has been scheduled to be held at the Convention Center located in the Madrid Fairgrounds. Opened 40 years ago, it is Spain’s oldest convention center. It is located in the heart of the city, is accessible by all forms of transportation and can accommodate up to 2,000 attendees.

Madrid and Spain

Madrid, Spain’s capital since 1562 is also the geographical center of the Iberian peninsula. It is a city with an impressive wealth of monuments, with a well-visited historic core dating from the time of the Hapsburg dynasty, and one of the principal art galleries in the world, the Prado Museum.

Madrid is certainly well worth visiting just for its cultural heritage. But that is not all. It also offers upscale shopping, with a blend of the outlandish, traditional and modern, plus a pulsating, nightlife that goes into the small hours of the morning. No matter what time of day or night, you can eat, dance, chat, and be merry. In Madrid, going out at night is a way of life. And for those leisure times there is a full range of plays, operas, operettas and concerts.

As for dining, you can find every kind of regional and foreign cuisine in Madrid. Typical Madrid main dishes are cocido and tripe. Fresh vegetables from Aranjuez and typical sweet desserts add to the rich and varied gastronomy.

This is one of Europe’s great capital cities.

Travel, hotel, climate

Iberia, the Spanish national airline, will be the official airline for the IAPA’s 64th General Assembly and has offered discounts of from 25% to 45% off the full fare. Additional information will be posted on the Web site and in future calls.

The Meliá Castilla Hotel, located just a few yards from the majestic Paseo de La Castellana, has offered specially-discounted room rates for IAPA delegates. The rates are listed on the reservation form. The hotel is regarded as one of the most modern convention centers in Europe, with a capacity for more than 1,000 persons, and including an auditorium equipped with the latest technology. It also features a varied menu in its famous restaurant, L’Albufera, noted for the largest selection of rice and paella dishes in all Madrid.

The hotel, located in a modern residential and business district, is surrounded by restaurants and stores, is very close to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, and just a five-minute walk from the Convention Center. Thus it is a perfect place for such an important meeting.

The climate in Madrid in early October is very pleasant, which together with the previously-mentioned advantages means the conditions will be perfect.

In addition, visits are being organized to newspapers and other new media outlets in Madrid and in other Spanish cities. We will provide more details shortly.

We invite you to join us in Madrid to build on the success of the previous General Assemblies in Mexico City and Miami and the Midyear Meetings in Cartagena and Caracas. There is no doubt that the IAPA continues on its successful path thanks to the outstanding attendance of its delegates at all those places where it calls on its members to support the organization’s agenda and its unswerving commitment to defend freedom of expression.

We look forward to greeting you in Madrid.

Warmest regards,


Julio E. Muñoz, Ph.D
Executive Director