AMPLIFYING SYNERGIES – IGNITING OPPORTUNITIES – CELEBRATING COMMITMENT
IELA, the International Exhibition Logistics Association, invited peer associations from the event and exhibition industry to talk about leadership, tireless advocacy and vision for a better event & exhibition industry during the ASSOCIATIONS DAY online event.
Why? In the wake of the pandemic, associations spotlighted more than ever the key instrumental and strategic role they play for their industries. But behind every achievement, every successful outcome, every fight won, is a team made up of single individuals. IELA wanted to acknowledge and celebrate the people behind the scenes that keep us connected.
The association designed an innovative immersive set-up with a rapid-fire format to create a crispy, fruitful and lively conversation, where representatives from guest associations had one minute each to answer the question asked to them.
Topics of discussion turned around going BACK TO HUMAN as it is what really matters, fostering a Culture of meaningful transformation, resilience & mental health and a collaborative mindset and connectivity. They also discussed about the trends & threats in our industry.
IELA – Let’s start with A, ADVOCACY: What do you think was the key strategic impact of associations over the past 22 months? What was your personal experience?
KAI HATTENDORF – MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CEO, at UFI, GLOBAL ASSOCIATION OF THE EXHIBITION INDUSTRY
“The key is collaboration and changing the narrative of our sector: we are not a sub-sector of tourism. We are a strategic tool and asset with our event industry. We build and grow economies and societies and help to prosper on the other side of the pandemic”.
IELA – Being a professional for many years, how do you foster a culture of transformation in your team that will help you in facing new challenges?
DAVID AUDRAIN – CEO / EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR at SISO, SOCIETY OF INDEPENDENT SHOW ORGANIZERS
“The essential thing is hiring the right people from the beginning, people who are able to work under their own supervision and don’t require managing. We must encourage them to stretch us and themselves and bring forward their ideas”
IELA – Resilience is key to surviving the issues and challenges of today—and the unforeseeable threats and changes of tomorrow. But what does it mean to truly develop resilience, and how can our associations do it successfully within their teams?
CATHY BREDEN – CEO OF CENTER FOR EXHIBITION INDUSTRY RESEARCH FOUNDATION EVP/COO of INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS INCOMING CHAIRPERSON OF EVENTS INDUSTRY COUNCIL
“In terms of what we can do for our associations and our teams, we must make sure that we are constantly planning, continuity planning, creating different scenarios for budgets, for events. Regarding staff, we remained as transparent as possible: being clear on financial perspective, with layoffs, getting staff to become resilient by helping them to understand the situation and how we are dealing with the unforeseen consequences of the pandemic”.
IELA – With mental health on the increase, How can Associations be a factor of positive change, like the German winemakers, to inspire & motivate people to do something positive?
SONIA PRASHAR – PRESIDENT of IEIA, INDIAN EXHIBITION INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
“You can be battered and damaged, but what eventually matters is what is inside.” This is what makes the difference. As exhibition people, we need to empathise and rally with our members in order to empower them. This is what we did for the past 22 months”
IELA – The next ten years will bring fundamental changes to our working world, adapting employees in almost every role and industry which will need new skills to be acquired. How are you supporting your team and members? Do you have a capability-building agenda?
JOÃO DE NAGY – VICE-PRESIDENT of UBRAFE
“The next ten years will be very challenging with fundamental changes. We need to focus on delivering what the client wants without any possible waste. It will demand from us to have a very united team, trained and focused on transparency”
IELA – BACK TO HUMAN: Team mental health & well-being are top on HR leaders’ agenda. How can we support and empower our association team individuals?
BIANCA KENNEDY – PRESIDENT of CAEM
“Firstly we must commit to recognising the symptoms and taking steps to avoid serious consequences. Thankfully, conversations about mental health are less taboo in modern working environments. By acknowledging, talking openly and demonstrating flexibility with open-mindedness and adapted solutions, we can fully support our teams”.
IELA – Have you laughed at work today? Why is humour in the workplace serious business? (Is humour a recipe for empowering the individual?)
SILVIA BAUERMEISTER – LEGAL ADVISOR / BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT at AUMA
BARBARA LÜDER – MANAGER LEGAL AFFAIRS at AUMA
Barbara – “We strongly believe that humour boosts the team spirit, raises motivation of all employees, promotes well-being and reduces stress. Humour nips conflicts at the bud”.
Silvia – “We cannot underestimate the importance of humour in our daily work. Humour is a key to staying healthy, retaining energy and is very important when building up relationships with policy makers or in difficult situations. Humour is a great tool for creating conversation”.
IELA – How do you do the magic and always launch agile “shortcuts” to new projects and campaigns to support the Italian Trade Fair Industry?
LOREDANA SARTI – GENERAL SECRETARY at AEFI
“When we start a new project, we start with the product of the Italian fair. We aim to tackle a problem by being aware of our limitations but with a positive spirit. We work with the same partners who know very well our industry and we always have a very small budget so we are obliged to be creative”.
IELA – Countries in Latin America left our industry to cope alone. Which role did associations play in building a sense of community and how did this sense of belonging help to navigate the crisis?
ANA MARIA ARANGO – SPONSORSHIP AND PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR AND DIRECTOR LATAM at UFI, GLOBAL ASSOCIATION OF THE EXHIBITION INDUSTRY
“Associations were fundamental. Let’s think about information: by translating to Spanish the reopening requirement papers. Let’s think about lobbying: Associations persuaded the governments to lift restrictions, like ABEOC did in Brazil. And finally, networking & education, for members to feel they were not alone”.
IELA – The UAE will be the host country for COP28 in 2023. Sustainability is an active choice. We have the right moment now to drive sustainable and inclusive growth. What can associations do to help their members?
NAJI EL HADDAD – REGIONAL DIRECTOR MENA at UFI, GLOBAL ASSOCIATION OF THE EXHIBITION INDUSTRY
“After the launch of the Net Zero Carbon Events Initiative and the pledge presented at the COP26 conference, the next step over the next 12 months will be to invite all supporters of the initiative to work together to define an industry net zero roadmap for events that are aligned with the target of the pledge. It will be launched at COP27 in 2022 in Egypt”.
IELA – You have been working in sustainability for so many years. How can we take every single individual with us on the new transformation path?
JUSTIN HAWES – PRESIDENT of IFES
“What happened at COP26 is the biggest thing that happened in sustainability in our industry. Everybody is at a different place in the path to sustainability and it is important to start somewhere, like when training for a marathon when you start slowly but surely and build it up over a period of time”.
IELA – UNIMEV created CLEO, an event performance calculator which evaluates the impacts of events from different perspectives: the impact of the event in terms of business, knowledge sharing and influence, the economic and tourism impact and also the environmental aspect. How was this experience and how is the project a strong pillar of the Net Zero Carbon Event Initiative?
RAPHAËLE NEVEUX – PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIRECTOR at UNIMEV
“We designed our performance calculator to measure 3 issues: the performance of an event, the economic and tourism impact and the environmental impact. In order to improve the environmental impact of events, we need to measure their performance. We are happy to share the CLEO scheme with other UFI members to support the Event Zero Carbon Event Initiative”
IELA – EIC embraces sustainability & social impact. Your message is to be a driver of change & to take part in our industry initiatives. At this point in time, as we come to the end of 2021, what would your message be to an Association leader?
AMY CALVERT – CEO at EVENTS INDUSTRY COUNCIL
“As leaders, we all have to lead by examples, to take opportunities to participate, to share our knowledge and be part of the solution. We put together the Center for Sustainability and Social Impact and the Equity Acceleration Plan because we believe that sharing our purpose beyond just economic impacts is so important. As a sector we have the ability to drive meaningful changes and impact”. https://www.eventscouncil.org/Sustainability/CSE
IELA – In the EEIA Position Paper, you are calling for a coordinated approach to swiftly adapt the EU Digital Covid Certificate’s validity & to adapt it to focus on a person- based approach for travel / exhibition platforms instead of a country-based approach. In which way can this tool be a game-changer for our industry?
BARBARA WEIZSÄCKER – SECRETARY GENERAL at EEIA, EUROPEAN EXHIBITION INDUSTRY ALLIANCE SECRETARY GENERAL at EMECA
“We push for harmonised approaches to avoid fragmentation and for the unified digital solutions to avoid red zones and travel bans. The EU Digital COVID Certificate (QR Code) has been adopted by more than 80 countries, and now with the boosters, it needs to be adapted. Another digital tool that could be helpful in harmonising and allowing travel, on a person-based approach, is the Unified Passenger Locator Form developed by the EU. It has not been taken on as much as the EU QR Code, but we hope it will be a game-changer”.
IELA – What do you think are the next threats to come and how can we get better prepared as Associations?
ALOYSIUS ARLANDO – IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT of SACEOS
“The first threat is to be prepared for evolving Covid variants and the travel restrictions that follow, as Covid moves into endemic mode. We must be prepared for business continuity plans. The second threat is the loss of talent to new and attractive industries like technology and e-commerce. The challenge lies in attracting new and old talents and ensuring that the skills gap is filled by equipping the workforce with capabilities that are needed in this new normal, like design thinking, UX, digital analytics, sustainability practices and cyber security.
We are actually battling 2 crises: Covid and Climate change.
The last threat is the threat of climate change. The focus of our industry must be in building back better by taking a more sustainable approach. Carbon neutrality and climate positivity should be the goals.
What we can do as an association is COLLABORATION. We must work closely with our authorities, with our global bodies and associations, with our local communities, to internalise a safe business event framework, harmonised protocols across countries and regions, develop programmes to equip our workforce with new and hybrid skills and continue to raise awareness, and truly implement sustainable practices for the betterment of our industry, our economies and our communities”.
IELA – In one minute only, how would you sum up the 5 trends to watch in 2022?
KAI HATTENDORF – MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CEO, at UFI, GLOBAL ASSOCIATION OF THE EXHIBITION INDUSTRY
The key we have to face is that we are in an “in-between time”. Nothing will be like before and there will not be a new normal anytime soon. We have to live with the stop & go and the new variants.
Red listing, green listing, Certificating, standardising, are all happening at the same time. Digitization, climate change, staffing and the new narrative for capturing talent in our industry, are opportunities as much as threats.
Climate change and the threats and policies around this are to stay and will probably change the face of our industry. Read the UFI Blog for a complete response on the 5 TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2021: http://blog.ufi.org/2020/12/02/5-trends-to-watch-in-2021/
IELA – Iain, representing global exhibition industry media worldwide, what do you see will be the global challenges in 2022 for the global industry?
IAIN STIRLING
“Most markets have lost nearly a third of their workforce and we cannot compete in terms of salary. There is still a great deal of uncertainty with the new variant so we have to work to bring back that confidence into the industry. It will move at different speeds in different areas of the world. Technologies will continue to play a significant role. Sustainability is going to be a top issue. It is important to reflect an offer of platforms with different experiences, very widely across the world. There will be large events but will these large events continue next year or become more regional, smaller satellite events? Organisers are getting impatient and are starting to move their events from regions that remain closed. North America and Middle East are benefiting from these sustained closures. 2022 will remain a lot like this year and I feel very optimistic about what next year brings”.
The event concluded with the launch of a new LinkedIn Group for Event and Exhibition association professionals to share best-practice and knowledge and exchange thoughts and ideas.
The event was organised by the IELA Industry Relations Working Group, its Chair and ViceChair, Jacqui Nel and Kim Valdes, and the IELA AMBASSADORS
The event was part to the AMBASSADOR PROGRAMME Interview Series 2021-2022 under the motto “THE VALUE PROPOSITION”, and all interviews can be found here https://vimeo.com/showcase/8717967
