“We are looking forward to the elections this Thursday at our headquarters in Brussels. It is with a mixture of sadness and pride that I step down as President of CEPIC when my term ends, after what has been an important two years as President, overseeing significant changes in our organisation – including our move to Brussels and CEPIC becoming officially registered as an A.I.S.B.L (Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif), which not only allows us to lobby at EU level but to welcome new Members from across the globe.
After a very tricky couple of years of the Pandemic, we got back on track and in the black, reinvigorating our membership and our international Congresses which have welcomed back delegates from around the world after the difficult days of lockdown and the global pandemic. We have worked hard to ensure we remain relevant to our National Associations, Membership and new voices across the industry and led the way in industry standards for Generative AI, launching the industry paper on Ethical and Sustainable AI, hosting the very first industry AI summit in May 2022 in Palma de Mallorca which was right at the start of the explosion of AI.
I am particularly proud of my insistence on an agenda of Diversity & Inclusion during my tenure, supported by our generous sponsors at Google, Adobe and Shutterstock who understand the societal impact that imagery can have and that a diverse and inclusive world is a positive and joyous one for all bringing with it opportunities for growth and abundance across our industry and beyond. There are so many people I wish to thank but especially our current Board, with whom it has been an honour to serve and work. We are deeply indebted to the teams at Belga, Activo, the great legal minds of Florian Koempel, Anna Skurczynska, Nancy Wolff and Marisol Muniz who support us constantly with their intellectual rigour as well as all the volunteers and committees who dedicate so much of their time towards the common goodwill of our industry.
For now, as I bow out, I would like to confirm my full endorsement of the new Board-elects and wish great future success to the potential new Officers of President (Emily Shelley – Alamy), Vice President (Gilles Deviq – Pond 5) and Treasurer (Sergi Grino) and new Members at Large, Philippe Francois (Belga) and Katherine Briggs (Envato).”
- Christina Vaughan
