FRAPA and DISCOP’s Basic Lead are to co-organise this year’s The Format Day, the dedicated conference and pitching program to be held on Tuesday, March 1, during the sixth edition of the DISCOP Istanbul multiplatform content market. The co-operation marks the next step in FRAPA’s mission to create a safer, better-regulated format industry founded on free expression and the right to fair trade.

Now in its second year, The Format Day — one of DISCOP’s major anchor events — will include three conference sessions on IP protection, and the trends, challenges and opportunities to be found in the buoyant CEE and MENA markets. It will also feature The Formats Showcase, during which new formats across all genres will be presented to a panel of top industry executives.

FRAPA will be closely involved in the organization of The Format Day with DISCOP Istanbul organizer Basic Lead, helping to set the agenda in terms of both content and speakers. Missing Link Media’s Jan Salling, who was appointed FRAPA co-chair with The Gurin Company’s Phil Gurin last March, will moderate the first conference of the day: Why Protecting Your IP Will Build Your Business. The session will examine the creative, copyright and protection issues in a global formats industry changing at warp speed.

Following their appointment last year, Salling and Gurin pledged to strengthen FRAPA’s structure, effectiveness and impact, while uniting the format industry under a common code of conduct. DISCOP Istanbul, which is expected to attract 1,500-plus high-ranking delegates from some 85 countries this March, is seen as the perfect platform from which to spread this message of creative unity, commercial freedom and tolerance.

Jan Salling said: “This co-operation with DISCOP is a significant step in our mission to put FRAPA at the heart of our community. To be an effective player, we need to be where the formats industry is — and in early March, that place is Istanbul.”

Phil Gurin added: “FRAPA has a clear global mission to support the format industry and speak out on behalf of creatives everywhere. Attending DISCOP demonstrates our continued effort to advocate for industry best practices. In supporting the creative community in Istanbul, we hope to make a clear stand for fairness to all through international tolerance and co-operation.”

Patrick Zuchowicki, CEO of Basic Lead, said: "We are happy to renew our partnership with FRAPA and provide DISCOP Istanbul’s independent producer community with a strong and relevant conference and pitching program centered on the continuing popularity of formats."