About Us

The World Congress of History Producers is the pre-eminent international event for broadcasters, content creators, producers and other industry stakeholders in history and biography television. It is an annual opportunity for key players in the industry to come together to share ideas, debate the issues and explore the trends and best practices of this particular genre of programming. The forum features a keynote address, a wide range of seminars and workshops crafted to be of interest to the creators of history programs for television. In addition, there are a number of important social functions designed to bring delegates together and facilitate creative and business collaboration.

The History Congress is produced by Achilles Media, a Canadian-based organizer of international media events, including the world-renowned Banff World Television Festival. The Congress was created with advice and leadership from top international players in history programming. Each year, organizers work in close collaboration with a Host Broadcaster to determine the editorial content of the various conference sessions, to help raise money for the event, and to manage the many logistical details involved in staging a world-class conference for television professionals. The Host Broadcaster for the 5th History Congress, which takes place in Rome, is RAI Educational. An Editorial Committee and Advisory Council, both international in scope and representing many of the pre-eminent producers and broadcasters of this program genre, provide valuable assistance and direction to the Congress organizers.

Newly formed for the 2005 Congress is an elected Board of Directors. This Board of Directors will serve to both provide guidance and stability to the annual World Congress of History Producers event and serve to galvanize the interests of this growing and very important television genre. The Board consists of 13 leading executives selected by the history and biography television community as represented by the delegates to the most recent Congress held in Toronto. Of the 13, twelve were elected in a very popular election and one was acclaimed by the nominating committee as Host Broadcaster.

The World Congress of History Producers takes place in a different major city each year. It was successfully launched in 2001 in Boston and has since been hosted in Berlin, Paris and Toronto. The 2004 Congress in Toronto was the most successful to date attracting over 400 delegates from around the world with particularly strong representation from Europe and North America. In a comprehensive delegate survey, the vast majority of respondents gave the 2004 Congress a very high approval rating and expressed keen interest in attending the 2005 Congress scheduled for December in Rome.