A finale of flag-waving and fireworks closed WAN-Ifra's 65th World Newspaper Congress on a high note last night.

 

It had been a memorable event... not just for its plethora of informed speakers, lively discussion and emerging technology, but for the world-scale networking it brought to Asia for the first time.

And for the fact that it took place here at all: Place Asia-Pacific chairman Pichau Chuensuksawadi's recollection, 18 months ago, of being asked whether Bangkok would like to host the global event into the context of what had happened there in the previous couple of years - including floods and political unrest which had seen this week's venue firebombed - and the achievement is the more remarkable.

The credit goes to Chuensuksawadi and a team which rallied and organised the support needed to make it possible. Key contributors included regional newspaper associations, publishers, the Thai tourist authority and the office of the prime minister, whose seal was on the opening ceremony and gala dinner.

WAN-Ifra brought not only the congress to Bangkok, but also the World Editors Forum and for the first time, the World Advertising Forum, and then added workshops, round tables and special interest events - such as one for smaller and family-owned publishing businesses - to the mix.

Some 1530 people took part, including Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who spoke to delegates and later met a delegation of publishers. There had been some disappointment the PM had not addressed the issue of lèse majesté laws in her address. A meeting afterwards said so, in what WAN-Ifra described as a "free flowing discussion".

They urged a dialogue to eliminate misuse of the country's laws, which criminalise criticism of the royal family and have been used as recently as January to jail a journalist for ten years. The focus on freedom of the press is fundamental to WAN-Ifra's aims, and earlier the efforts of publishers in neighbouring Myanmar had been recognised with the presentation of the organisation's Golden Pen of Freedom to Eleven Media founder Than Htut Aung.

For newly elected president Thomas Brunegard, his leadership of the delegation was a first... as was, he later admitted, attending a WAN-Ifra event (Wednesday's closing folk night) in jeans and a casual shirt.

The three main business days delivered a strong line up of speakers across the themes of its three concurrent conferences, while the aisles of the small exhibition were thronged with at least as many vendor representatives again as had taken stand space.

Here the themes were predominantly digital, while emphasising - as the conference did - the need to make sure print was not neglected. New mobile-related products abounded, including augmented reality, where new player Layar received an enthusiastic plug from delighted Canadian user Glacier Media.

Another theme emerging is the professionalisation of outsourcing. Rakhal Ebeli, who launched Newsmodo in April says one of the results of media company rationalisation is the availability of a rich pool of freelance talent, for which the Australian former TV presenter has created a web-based marketplace.

It was my first World Newspaper Congress - apart from the one which was merged with IfraExpo in Vienna - and punched home the vibrancy of the industry around the world. And of course, the challenges: News accounts for less than one per cent of online page views, and presenting the World Press Trends report, chief executive Vincent Peyregne reminded delegates, many of these visitors were not sufficiently engaged to stay on newspapers' sites.

We're all leaving Bangkok with a bagful of ideas about how those problems might be addressed... and the contacts to assist in doing so.

• Next year's Congress and WEF events are bing held in Turin, Italy, from June 9-11, 2014.

 

Pictured: Job done, Pichau Chuensuksawadi and outgoing president Jacob Mathew reflect on a successful congress