The United States, Honorary Guest Country

The United States will be the honorary guest country at this third edition of FICOD (International Forum on Digital Content) to be held at the Madrid Municipal Convention Center on November 17th, 18th and 19th, 2009. The purpose of this exceptional invitation is to promote relations between the Spanish and American industries and administrations. And, moreover, it is an excellent opportunity to strengthen the ties between both nations. This cooperation has already begun with the choice of the key topics for FICOD 2009.

The importance of the US as guest country at FICOD 2009 lies in that it is a world leader in the generation of digital content, with a fundamental role in the production of this kind of content for Spanish speaking markets. Moreover, it is the second largest market in the world as far as the Hispanic population, surpassed only by Mexico. On the other hand, there is yet another connection: the US and Spanish content industries are facing common challenges and global opportunities, and these are the central topics of debate at FICOD.

Because of this invitation, the United States will have an honorary role in the opening ceremony. And therefore, a large number of visitors from American corporations and the US government are expected to attend the Madrid forum to hear the speakers and groups of experts and participate in the roundtables and workshops. For this edition of FICOD, bilateral work sessions involving American and Spanish corporations and administrations have also been planned during the forum.