Dear friends and colleagues of CEPIC,
I will be honored to welcome you once more to the world’s biggest annual international gathering of companies and people working in the visual content industry. This year we will get together in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, a city that was ranked as 32nd most livable city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, a UK company providing forecasting and advisory services.
Warsaw is the largest city in Poland. It is the city of Frederic Chopin, Maria Skłodowska-Curie and Wladyslaw Szpilman. Its Old Town was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is a considered to be an important node in the global economic system, a major international tourist destination and a significant cultural, political and economic hub. The city will not leave you indifferent as it is an unprecedented blending of ancient and present times, with its fantastic combination of modern urban development and historical architecture.
In short, Warsaw is a great place where the highlight will be getting all of us together, networking with the providers and distributors of our images and videos, learning about the industry in seminars with experienced speakers and listening to what CEPIC has achieved in the last 12 months.
A great point of interest this year is the new 1st CEPIC Stock Photography Awards. Sponsored and in cooperation with East News Photo Agency together with support from Olympus and LG Electronics, photographers working within our industry have the opportunity to present their images to a jury of experienced editors. The winning Cepic Stock Photographer of the year will be announced at the prize delivery ceremony held during our Annual Industry Party.
We also can´t miss seminars like the Crowdsourcing hour, the IPTC Metadata Conference, the Cultural Heritage Seminar, the technology seminar organized by RDI which endeavors to answer the critical question “does our industry need standards?” and, yes, sure, much, much more.
Special mention has to be given to our newest CEPIC members Hero Images (Canada), Le Figaro (France), Fratelli Alinari (Italy), PicturEngine (USA), Pixelmedia (Croatia), SuperImageMarket (Hong Kong) and a really big thank-you to companies and delegates, and above all to our sponsors, Microsoft/Bing, ICOMP, IPTC, RDI, East News, Warsaw Tourism, PAP, CTK Fotobanka, BVPA, Dissolve, Olympus, LG Electronics, age fotostock and Come Alive Images. Without their joined effort CEPIC would not be the gravity Centre of the Picture Industry.
Given the exhausting journey to Warsaw and the multitude of meetings we will all have, the Congress will need to be balanced out with a party, so don´t miss the Annual Industry event! Located at the Warsaw Barbican between the Old and New Towns, it is one of the few remaining relics of the complex network of historical fortifications that once encircled the city.
I’m looking forward to seeing you all there.
Warm regards,
Alfonso Gutiérrez
