Seminar hosted by the Pan African Association Convergence, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and Canal+ with the support of the French Development Agency (AFD).
Leading experts and thought leaders share best practices and identify solutions that help promote a safer online environment.
ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST – For the first time ever, the Pan African Association Convergence, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and Canal+ with the support of the French Development Agency (AFD) have joined forces and hosted the International Seminar on IP Protection & Audiovisual Internet Piracy in Africa. The objective of the 2-day seminar was to identify solutions and share best practices to tackle piracy and promote a safer online environment for creators and consumers.
The 60 participants which included judicial authorities, government officials, intellectual property specialists, lawyers and other stakeholders discussed the ongoing challenges and threats of piracy and identified strategic solutions to better protect creators, consumers and everyone working in the audiovisual sector. Targeted workshops held by leading practitioners in IP protection also offered hands-on expertise, tactics and best practices.
“The Convergence association advocates the rights of creators and players in the audiovisual and Internet sectors faced with piracy. In so doing, it speaks to governments, institutions, the law, security officials and consumers. This international seminar in Abidjan, supported by the MPA, ACE, Canal+ and the AFD, provides her with an excellent platform to make her case heard throughout Africa and beyond,” declared Béatrice Damiba, President of the Association Convergence.
“We’re very proud and pleased to see so many French- and English-speaking African countries represented, as well as international experts. This shows that the problem is global and that collaboration against piracy must be global”, said Simon Minkowski, Anti-Piracy Director for Canal+ International.
“I am thrilled that we were able to join forces and forged new strategic alliances with authorities and government officials determined to support us in upholding the rule of law and by doing so open the doors to jobs and economic growth for Africa’s audiovisual sector’, said Stan McCoy, President and Managing Director, for MPA Europe, Middle East and Africa. “I am equally excited of our ongoing partnership with Convergence on educational campaigns that highlight the impact of piracy on actors, creators, producers and all those millions of hard-working people that help bring these fantastic films, series and great stories to life,” he continued.
“Piracy continues to be a major threat to our global audiovisual community. It harms films and businesses of all sizes and nationalities; threatens jobs; undermines investment; reduces tax contributions to governments and stifles the very creativity that is the heartbeat of our industry,” said Jan van Voorn, Executive Vice President and Chief of Global Content Protection for the Motion Picture Association and Head of ACE. “ACE’s ambition is to pioneer a much more comprehensive, cross-border approach to combating piracy and with this event, we have been able to further strengthen our presence in the Africa region.”
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About the Motion Picture Association
The Motion Picture Association, Inc. (MPA) serves as the global voice and advocate of the motion picture, home video, and television industries. It works in every major market around the world globe to advance the creative industry, protect its members’ content across all screens, defend the creative and artistic freedoms of storytellers, and support innovative distribution models that bring an expansion of viewing choices to audiences around the world.
Its member studios are: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Netflix, Inc.; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Universal City Studios LLC; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Charles H. Rivkin is Chairman and CEO.
About Convergence
Convergence is an African association that defends intellectual property. Its main focus is the fight against piracy. This scourge appears to be one of the major obstacles to the development of creation, with disastrous economic, social and cultural consequences.
About the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) is the world’s leading coalition dedicated to protecting the legal creative market and reducing digital piracy. Driven by a comprehensive approach to addressing piracy through criminal referrals, civil litigation, and cease-and-desist operations, ACE has achieved many successful global enforcement actions against illegal streaming services and unauthorized content sources and their operators. Drawing upon the collective expertise and resources of more than 50 media and entertainment companies around the world—including sports channels and associations—and reinforced by the Motion Picture Association’s content protection operations, ACE protects the creativity and innovation that drives the global growth of core copyright and entertainment industries. The current governing board members for ACE are Amazon, Apple TV+, NBCUniversal, Netflix Studios LLC, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Warner Bros. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE. For more information, visit www.alliance4creativity.com.
About CANAL+ Group
CANAL+ Group, a subsidiary of Vivendi, is a major player in the creation and distribution of content worldwide, with 25,5 million subscribers, a presence in more than 50 countries and 7 600 employees on every continent. CANAL+ Group has 9,5 million subscribers in France and 7,6 million in Africa. It is the leading television operator in French-speaking Africa and the largest shareholder in MultiChoice, the leader in pay-TV in English and Portuguese-speaking Africa.
With STUDIOCANAL, CANAL+ Group is also a European leader in the production, acquisition and distribution of feature films and TV series. CANAL+ Group is wholly-owned by worldwide integrated content, media and communication group, Vivendi.
