November – December 2008 : Awarded twice as European Trade Association of the year 2008
With a further endorsement the European Federation of Magazine Publishers (FAEP) based in Brussels, received its second award in the space of a month, confirming the press body as the best European trade association in 2008.
Having picked up the European Public Affairs Directory’s (EPAD) best association award on 5th November 2008, voted on by 800 EU affairs professionals, FAEP was praised by Kellen Europe as “an extremely effective organization with innovative ideas and creative best practices implemented with passion”. The European Agenda Award, given to FAEP on December 3rd, 2008 in Brussels acknowledged with its 20-men jury’s decision that selected FAEP as the Association of the Year, “how FAEP has grown in strength and influence and what it has achieved in doing so”.
David Hanger, President of FAEP and CEO and Publisher of Prospect Magazine in the UK comments on these two outstanding awards: “The three-man FAEP team in Brussels works with exceptional passion and creativity. In addition to the traditional monitoring and representation work they have set up innovative formats in order to be heard by and to help Europe’s leading decision makers. I especially want to thank all FAEP members – national associations as well as corporate members – who continuously contribute to the visibility of magazine publishers’ interest in Brussels and who promote the importance of EU decision making through their networks in the 27 EU Member States!”
FAEP set out to ensure legal certainty and a positive environment for this publishing sector in particular with the aim to maintain and develop the freedom of the press, freedom of advertising and copyright in the EU. FAEP has worked well with partner bodies to ensure that a raft of EU legislation and policy papers have not overly damaged the media sector as a whole.
The systematic approach of bringing publishers closer to EU decision makers by innovative formats, such as the Media Lounge in the European Parliament and FAEP’s Annual Gala Dinner on topics such as “magazines on the move: the periodical press in the digital era” (2007) and “ a relation of trust – magazines content connects” (2008) is considered as an innovative and creative lobbying approach by the young Brussels based FAEP team, consisting of David Mahon, Max von Abendroth and Ingrid de Ribaucourt.