1. BOOKS IN THE CONTEXT
OF DIGITIZATION
AND CREATIVE INDUSTRY
Jef Maes
Head of the Knowledge Centre Boek.be

2. Content
• Boek.be: introduction
• The economic impact of the book sector
• Flanders DC and the OCI platform
• Economic Impact of creative industry
• Publisher for the future
• Growing collaboration between publishers and audiovisual producers
• Educational publishers and serious gaming
• The e-comic platform
• The 360° model for publishers
• The e-pavilion on the Flemish Book Fair in Antwerp
• Conclusions

3. Boek.be: introduction
Boek.be: the confederation of
• The Flemish Publishers (VUV vzw):
• The Flemish Book Distributors (VBI vzw):
• The Flemish Booksellers (VBB vzw)
Service organizations set up by Boek.be
• Meta4Books vzw: the metadata center
• Knooppunt vzw: platform for educational digital content of all the
Flemish publishers
• Librius cvba: rights management association for the Flemish book
sector
Co-initiator of the OCI: The Platform of the Creative Industry in
Flanders

4. The economic impact of the book sector
• More than 28.000 new titles per year in
Dutch language area
• 105.000 Dutch titles are permanently
available
• The general trade market in Flanders in
2012: +/- € 250 million
• Sales school books, textbooks and specialist
literature: +/- € 320 million
• Foreign sales: approx. € 110 million
• Increasing presence on foreign markets:
125 translations in 2012
= 1 every three days

5. Flanders DC and the OCI Platform

6. OCI platform
12 SECTORS
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Architecture
Audiovisual Arts
Visual Arts
Communication & Advertising
Cultural Heritage
Design
Gaming
Fashion
Music
New Media
Performing Arts
Books and Printed Media

7. Economic Impact of creative industry
• 121.800 people are working in the
creative industry in Flanders
• 3% of the total number of
employees in Flanders
• Added value of € 7 billion
• Turnover of € 23.9 billion
• Sector represents 13.5% of the
number of self-employed in main
job in Flanders

8. Three main goals
Three main goals for this platform:
• Stimulate the cooperation
between different sectors
• Stimulate the innovation
within the creative industry
• Structuring the support of the
Flemish government to the
creative industry.

9. What are the effects?
1. The project Publisher for the future - supported
by IWT and in collaboration with iMinds
2. Growing collaboration between publishers and
audio-visual producers
3. Growing integration of serious gaming in the
products of educational publishers
4.Collaboration of publishers in comics in the e-comic
platform
5. Stimulate the 360° model for publishers
6. Visualization of all this innovation at the e-pavilion
on the Flemish Book Fair in Antwerp

10. 1. Publisher of the Future
A 4 year project powered by IWT and in partnership
with iMinds, supporting Flemish publishers by:
• research on new crossmedia and transmedia
concepts
• start-up of innovative pilots
• development of innovative products
• design of tailormade business models for various
publishing consortia
• search for future profit models
Publisher of the Future =
Demand driven + Collective goals

11. Interaction & participation
• POF analyzes opportunities of digital publishing
• POF generates needs and priorities of publishers
• POF facilitates the development of innovative and
enriched ebooks (ePub3 and html5) and new reading
environments including new retail and profit models
• POF initiates matchmaking between publishers and
technology
Publisher of the Future = Matchmaking
25 publishers + 6 ICT partners
Project will be finalized in 2016.

12. 2. Clustering en cooperation between sectors

13. Converging Media Conference
40 Different speakers from
different sectors
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Film and television
Gaming
Magazines
Advertising
educational
Researchers
Our Goals
• Sharing knowledge
• Looking for opportunities to collaborate between these different
sectors.

14. 3. Integration of serious gaming
Monkey Tales: very successful project, set up by
the educational publisher Die Keure
A series of educational games for children aged
7-12 that rehearses and practices math skills.
Adapted to official curricula of Belgium, Poland,
Bulgaria, Australia, UK and USA(common core
standards).
• Medea Jury price “Best professionally
produced media”
• Medea Audience award
www.monkeytalesgames.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuBp3mP-S4g

15. Game projects to be released in 2014
KWEETET.BE
An online 3D game and exercise platform for
primary school children, their parents, teacher
and professional tutors to stimulate children to
make their homework.
Will be presented on January 23rd 2014.
SKAN
An online multiplayer turn-based geography
game for children in secondary schools aged
12-14 years old.”
Release planned April 2014

16. Game projects to be released in 2014
RUDY THE ASTRONAUT
REALISED BY BALLON MEDIA & WORLD OF
WAW
- is a classic read-aloud book, combined
with augmented reality
- Will be launched in spring 2014
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBN9
srqF1M8

17. 4.The e-Comic platform
• A 2 year program set up by two
publishers (WPG/Standaard Uitgeverij
and Ballon Media) with the support of
iMinds
• The goal is to facilitate the creation of
digital comics, as well new and existing
ones
• to offer the reader a new, innovative
reading experience.
• The goal is to enrich the comic book to
match with the specific needs of the
reader
http://vimeo.com/81792939

18. Suske & Wiske: WPG/Standaard Uitgeverij

19. Suske & Wiske
An extract!

20. 5. Stimulate the 360° model for publishers
EXHIBITIO
N
TELEVISI
ON
PROGRA
M
BOOK
360°
Creative
Creation
WEBSITE
FACEBO
OK
ETC.

21. Birthday – Lannoo Publishing
How the world welcomes
its children
A multi-output of
• Book
• Exhibition
• Television series
• Calendar (fundraising)
• Enriched ebook
• Website
• Facebook
• Lectures
• internationalization

22. Birthday – Lannoo Publishing
• Trilingual (Dutch, French,
English)
• Brussels (9/10/2013 > 05/01/14)
• 2014: Palais des Nations in
Genève in collaboration with the
WHO
• 2015: Berlijn, Parijs, Amsterdam?
Book was handed to Queen Mathilde
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JO1t_S9Jlg

23. 6. ePavilion at the Flanders Book Fair

24. ePavilion on the Flanders Bookfair
• The class room of today and tomorrow
> Workshops with children
> Presentations of the digital products
of Flemish publishers
• E-reading
• Demos of digital applications
• Gaming hub with educational games
• Make your own comic (touch table)

25. ePavilion at the Flanders Book Fair
• Creative workshops with children
> Make your own animation movie
> Based on the book of Geert De
Kockere “Allemaal praatjes”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
EybDHYU648Q

26. Conclusions
• Innovation is a very important strategy for the Flemish book
sector
• Collaboration with the other sectors of the creative industry
plays a key role
• Flemish publishers are very strong in
• Educational publishing – integrating serious gaming
• Comics – collaboration on the e-comic platform
• Illustrated non-fiction – 360 degree model
• Flemish government supports this program mostly trough
• Flanders DC
• IWT – financial support
• iMinds – research & development support
• FIT – Flanders investment and Trade – export programs
• Results are already effective but the next 2 to 3 years will be
very important

27. Thanks for your attention
jef.maes@boek.be
twitter @jefmaesboekbe
Blog:
http://jefboeken.blogspot.com/