UN Highlights Info Integrity at Beijing Book Fair 2025

UN joined 1,700 exhibitors at BIBF 2025, advocating for information integrity, AI ethics, and diverse voices through publishing and global knowledge exchange.

on Jul 28, 2025

UN Highlights Info Integrity at Beijing Book Fair 2025

UN Publications was among the 1,700 exhibitors at the 31st edition of the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), which is one of the globe's most powerful literary events.

Organized under the theme of Promoting the Inheritance and Development of Civilizations and Fostering Exchange, Mutual Learning, and Win-Win Cooperation, the fair hosted a record number of 1,700 exhibitors and close to 300,000 visitors from 110 countries and regions.

Speaking for the United Nations, Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, engaged in a number of senior-level debates, projecting the Organization as an information integrity issues thought leader.

With Malaysia being the guest of honour at the fair, the Malaysian Book Publishers Association invited Ms. Fleming to address the role played by publishers in the modern world. Gvantsa Jobava, President of IPA, and Mingzhou Zhang, Chinese publisher and ambassador of Congress, accompanied her to the event.

During the session, Ms. Fleming emphasized the responsibility of publishers to prioritize books that offer accurate, timely information on critical global issues – content that can help change the world for the better.

Publishing artificial intelligence was the main theme at the Beijing International Publishing Forum opening, where Ms. Fleming spoke to the rising danger created by the continuous release of disinformation and misinformation wearing down confidence in facts, news, and science.

She emphasized the new UN guidelines for a healthy and secure information environment, stressing that "digital actors must be made responsible for the content they post, and social media must favor facts. AI players must obey copyright, licenses, and human rights."

Ms. Fleming also addressed the panel Innovative Pathways of Children's Book Publishing in the New Era, which was held as part of the BIBF World Children's Book Forum. She implored publishers to "publish diverse voices all around the world - especially from the vulnerable groups under attack and misconceived in our digital age.

As part of the United Nations stand at the Silk Road Publishers Club booth, UN Publications featured a selection of flagship publications to one of the world's most dynamic book markets. Ranging from Frieda Makes a Difference to The Essential UN, visitors were able to discover the wide range of publications published throughout the United Nations system.

Mary Glenn, Head of UN Publications, met with many publishers to showcase the UN iLibrary, the SDG Publishers Compact, the SDG Book Club, and the larger portfolio of UN publications.