September 27, 2012

More than 150 performers and actors’ union representatives from 75 countries are in Toronto for the 2012 International Federation of Actors (FIA) World Congress to discuss critical issues surrounding arts and culture, such as:

•The campaign to stop privatization of theatres in Turkey
•The struggle to start up an actors’ union in South Africa
•The protection of performers’ rights in international co-productions
•The promotion of equality and non-discrimination on and off the stage and screen
•The impact of digital distribution, and
•The strengthening of performers’ intellectual property rights

FIA is an international, non-governmental organization based in Brussels, representing some 100 performers’ unions in 75 countries. As the governing body of FIA, the Congress meets every four years to develop policies that support performers. This year’s Congress is co-hosted by three Canadian performer unions – the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (Equity), and Union des Artistes (UDA). This is only the second time in FIA’s 61-year history that a Congress has met in North America.

Contacts:
Carol Taverner: ACTRA, Tel: 416.644-1516, ctaverner@actra.ca
Lynn McQueen: CAEA, Tel: 416.867.9165, lynn@caea.com
Ariane Baillie-Gendron: UDA, Tel: 514.288.7150, ext 1146, abaillie@uda.ca

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