What happens to the thousands of samples produced at graphic artsâeuros shows? Rather than see them end up in waste or in closets, the trade organization for the visual communications sector Fespa is launching the Fespa Foundation, an association dedicated to the recovery and reuse of prints produced at its events. Under the motto "Print for Good", the initiative aims to reduce waste and redistribute these materials to educational and community projects.
"By diverting printed exhibition samples that would normally be wasted to meaningful community support projects, the Fespa Foundation's work clearly aligns with the standards of Fespa's ISO 20121 sustainable event management system, reducing event waste and maximizing the positive legacy of Fespa exhibitions." she explains.
A first action in a South African school
The first project was carried out in South Africa, where the foundation helped renovate a rural school for 90 pupils. Thanks to Fespa's donations and logistical support, the school benefited from renovation work, sanitary improvements and the distribution of educational posters and creative materials to enrich the learning environment.
More at Fespa Global Print Expo 2025 next May
During the Fespa Global Print Expo 2025 trade show, to be held from May 6 to 9 in Berlin, Germany, the Fespa Foundation will be organizing its first major fund-raising event.
Exhibitors will be encouraged to produce and offer useful printed materials, such as educational posters and school supplies.
Visitors can also make donations in kind (reading glasses, notebooks, pens) or financially, earmarked for concrete actions such as the purchase of anti-malaria mosquito nets or drinking water filters.
The prints and donations collected will be shipped free of charge to southern Africa through partnerships.
Eventually, the Fespa Foundation hopes to extend these initiatives to other regions, notably Mexico and Brazil, by reusing materials printed at Fespa shows for local educational and social projects.
