Repeating a success story - Copenhagen in 2019
It is a little unusual for Intergraf to take back its conference and exhibition SecurityPrinters, Banknotes+Identity to some place it has already been - especially after a relatively short interval of four years. But a good experience does count for a lot. And the success of this second Copenhagen edition fully vindicated that decision.
Last October, SecurityPrinters, Banknotes+Identity again brought together 'issuing authorities and solution providers' from the two branches of the industry. Or, to put it differently, those people that need to consider and decide on new banknote or passport and ID card series, and those that develop new and improved ways to make these products more secure, more convenient to administer and use, and longer lasting or, to use a current buzzword, sustainable.
But neither the conference nor the exhibition could be a repeat of any past edition. The industry itself has changed. The real mission of the conference was therefore to look at the industry as it is now and to offer a vision of what it will or needs to become.
The stage was set by futurologist Rohit Talwar in his keynote. His presentation on ‘the many futures of identity and money’ suggested what may be in store for the next 10 to 20 years - not many futurologists dare to go much beyond this timeframe.
In the following days, the focus was more on what is already there or at least in development, encompassing augmented reality and AI as well as banknote and ID security features and counterfeiting trends, among many other subjects.
And there was also a celebration: Swiss security printer Orell Füssli marked its 500th anniversary with a discourse that stretched from the Renaissance to the present, unveiling its superb ‘jubilee’ house note.
The most topical question and high point of the conference was probably the panel discussion on the last day, in which high-level representatives of the Banque de France, Bank of England and National Bank of Denmark, the President of Crane Currency, and the CEO of G+D Currency discussed the ‘impact of changing ownership structures on the banknote supply chain’.
G+D Currency's CEO, Wolfram Seidemann, summed the discussion up as follows: ‘the changes in the industry and their impact on all parts of the supply chain is an important topic as the lively discussion with the industry experts on the panel and the interest of the audience demonstrated. While some of these changes may be painful, the panel also pointed out the opportunities that arise with these new developments, e.g. external investors showing a strong interest in the industry. And the discussion illustrated that we must all evolve and use digitalisation as well as sustainable technologies to grow our businesses and adapt with flexibility to new requirements from our customers.’
Intergraf's next event will take place in Lyon, France on 24-26 March 2021.
Manfred Goretzki
Editor, Infosecura
