UFI connects – Talks, Sessions, Panels online

In this open forum, UFI team members were on hand to answer any questions and discuss any topics, with the participants!

On the occasion of this year’s Global Exhibitions Day, we discussed the state of our industry in Europe at this point of the pandemic, the perspectives for reopening & restarting and explore opportunities for the mid and long term with Eric Philippart from the European Commission.

Testimonials from several countries and subsectors of the exhibition industry  provided an overview and name the most pressing issues.

We heard about the EU’s action to reopen travel in a coordinated way, which supports the EU provides to Member States or to companies directly and about the strategic policies that will create a variety of opportunities, placing exhibitions at the core of recovery and the future sustainable and digital transformation of the economy.

As part of the Collision Conference, our CEO Kai Hattendorf spoke with Tarsus Group CEO, Douglas Emslie, and host Zack O’Malley Greenburg, Senior Editor, Media & Entertainment, Forbes about the events industry recovery.

This session used case studies to explore how we can get people flowing and meeting again, who we may need to hire to help us with that, and the perennial questions around the road to normality.

Take a look at our UFI connects on #GED2021 as we prepare to celebrate the biggest day on the Exhibitions Industry Calendar!

In this session UFI’s Mark Cochrane gave a preview of the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference which included speakers, topics and key themes.  He also hosted an in-depth conversation and Q&A, with Chris Kilbee, Executive Director, ASEAN of Informa Markets about the state of the exhibitions market in Southeast Asia.

This session of UFI Connects showed a preview of the UFI MEA Conference, it included:

Key updates about safe travel to Dubai with Steen Jakobsen,  Assistant Vice President, Dubai Tourism
Case studies with lessons learnt by Wouter Molman, Executive Vice President, Informa Markets and Andy White, Senior Vice President – dmg events
A sneak peek into a new research by UFI and GRS about the future of the industry from the Exhibition Managers/Directors point of view presented by Enrico Gallorini, CEO, GRS Research & Strategy

In celebration of Earth Day, we discussed the strides the exhibition industry is making to becoming more environmentally sustainable. Watch this video on-demand to hear case-studies, and get tips on best practices.

It’s clear that Zoom calls and webinars have become mainstream during the pandemic. But how do our audiences feel about online match-making and marketplaces? Is that still just for early adopters? Should we be jumping on trends like Clubhouse or focusing more energy on content channels like podcasts?  In this session of UFI connects we talked about uncovering the early adopters in our audiences and how we get the right product mix for our mainstream customers.

What are the key uncertainties defining our industry? What are the plausible scenarios we can expect after the pandemic ? Our presenter, Oscar Cerezales, will share his views of how our ecosystem will change and what are the most relevant implications.

Here we shared insights into the good practice guidance for transforming convention and exhibition centres into temporary vaccination centres. Hear from the experts who contributed to the latest AIPC, ICCA and UFI guide, as well as some questions answered of other venue professionals who have been through this transformation.

In this session we shared  positive news about countries throughout Europe making plans to restart their exhibitions. Spain will officially reopen its doors in May when IFEMA hosts their first exhibition since the pandemic began with full government support. Two pilot events took place in February in the Netherlands, and the industry is working in close partnership with authorities to plan for the return of live events.

We got an industry update on the return of face-to-face in Spain and the Netherlands and hear about all the work that went on behind the scenes to get these industries back to business.

Since COVID-19 halted exhibitions in early 2020, a few markets have managed to get back to business. Organisers in Japan, the second largest exhibition market in Asia, have been running events since the third quarter of 2020. In this session  we gave an update on Japanese events and exhibitions. We discussed lessons learned from these re-opened events as well as what’s coming next for F2F and hybrid events in Japan.

In observance of International Women’s Day 2021, this UFI connects session focused on Equality in Events. Our mixed-gender panel discussed the 2021 official theme “Choose to Challenge”.

The panelists reflected on how they have challenged inequality in their careers, shared thoughts on taking action for equality today, and answered questions from the audience.

In this session of UFI connects, Cecilia Jurado, Francisco Sotomayor and Elkin Rodriguez shared how their companies reacted when organising virtual or hybrid events, how they  incorporated new digital elements into their value proposition and how they adjusted the business model to face the pandemic situation.

In this session of UFI connects, Rodrigo Moreiras, Ernani Paciornik and Fernando Ruas shared their experiences on how their customers reacted when their exhibitions went physical or digital in 2020 and how they transformed their business models to improve digitisation. They also discussed  how they plan to face uncertainty in 2021.

With digital set to remain as a core part of many events, it  was time to check in with our attendees and exhibitors.  What did our report card look like? How well did digital events meet their objectives and what did they see for the future?

Sophie dove into the latest findings from the Global Recovery Insights, shared the views of thousands of customers round the world.  There was also  an exclusive look at Explori’s Virtual Benchmarks; a real time indicator of the performance of digital.

Hybrid or fully digital? Live or recorded? Networking time or content session? How to schedule for a global audience across all time zones? These are questions familiar to anyone with a global flagship event. Hear best practices, and lessons learned, as these three global associations CEOs discussed the approaches they took to hosting their annual global events at a distance.

Travel is decisive when defining the reopening and success of the regional and international exhibitions. In this session, Gloria Guevara gives us insights and updates on the travel industry, on how they are reacting and responding to the different travel restrictions and the ways we can work together as industries in order to ensure successful exhibitions reopening, including traveling of our exhibitors and visitors.

In this session of UFI connects, Laura McCartney and Liz Irving invited us to join their discussion in answering the question; How has the pandemic changed the customer value of exhibitions?  Will it return to the way it used to be,  and how should it evolve to keep up with the times?  They also discussed the role of face-to-face experiences within the marketing mix.

The members of UFI’s Digital Innovation Group, Matthias Tesi Baur, Gunnar Heinrich and Stephan Forseilles, take a look back and review their predictions and comments from previous digital debates that have been held during the UFI Global Congress and UFI Conference. Which statements have turned into reality? How relevant are they today and what did we miss out on back then?

In these challenging times, cross-fertilisation is key. The Exhibition Industry should look outside their usual sphere, discover different approaches and initiate new collaborations. The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) could be such an example.

The UFI team has – as every year – put together five trends that we believe will drive our industry’s development over the next 12 to 18 months. This UFI connects will present and discuss these trends with special guests and participants.

During this session, UFI and GREENVIEW first presents their general findings, in terms of regulatory landscape, common challenges and best practices.

A panel discussion focused on Americas and Europe follows, with representatives from EEIA (Belgium), Impact0 (Mexico), Olympia London (UK), Informa (UK) and Greenbuild (USA).

Many organizations are currently developing workplace culture and environments to embrace values such as mutual respect, understanding and tolerance.  Post pandemic, it is the people within the organization that will make the real difference in terms of the speed and extent of economic recovery.

Dubai, a global hub for business and leisure tourism, had successfully restarted its MICE industry with the first physical pilot business event after lockdown, Ai Everything, taking place on July 16th in Dubai World Trade Centre. In parallel, Dubai Tourism has announced the official guidelines for the resumption of events in the emirate, paving the way for other cities in the region to follow suit.  This session looks into the best practices Dubai has taken and the outlook of the events and tourism industry in the near to mid future.

What have we learned after 3 months of exit strategies? (Perspective from venues, associations and exhibitions)

This session follows the release of the report on Waste Management in the Exhibitions Industry by UFI on 17 September.

During this session, UFI and GREENVIEW present their general findings, in terms of regulatory landscape, common challenges and best practices.

During this epidemic, the impact of restructuring the world supply chain on the global exhibition industry has emerged. How should the U.S exhibition industry respond? What has UFI done? How should the exhibition industry proceed, both online and offline? The two guests will focus on the issues mentioned above, from the perspectives of UFI leadership.

We are very much looking forward to the UFI China Club Super Talk (2nd Chapter).

Mario Cajiao, Vice President of Financial Planning and Corporate Affairs at Corferias, tells us more about Corferias’ virtual platforms. Also, Juan Gabriel Tamez, General Director of Expo Guadalajara, together with Elena Hurtado, Director of Intermoda, and Jorge Martínez, Director of EDG Internacional,  give us more details about the first post-pandemic face-to-face exhibition in Latin America: Intermoda.

What is next for exhibitions? What can 9,000 visitors and exhibitors tell us about the path to recovery for business events?

Using the insight from the latest research conducted in partnership with Explori and supported by SISO – Society of Independent Show Organizers, Sophie Holt shared core findings of the global research, leading into a discussion with all participants.

Studies have shown that having more diversity in senior management makes business sense. It’s not about being better, it’s about putting complementary skills and know-how at the service of our industry.

What concrete actions can we put in place to make our industry better, make it more resilient through driving change and working together to ensure that we have more diverse representation at senior level?

In this UFI Connects, Mary Larkin, Simon Kimble and Margaret Ma shared their thoughts and experiences in driving change!

This very special UFI connects is dedicated to the 2020 UFI Digital Innovation Award winner! The UFI Digital Innovation Award competition rewards the best exhibition industry initiatives related to digital innovation.

This UFI Connects is all about “restarting”! Most countries have imposed restrictions for events to operate under, whether health & safety checks, distancing or density, it varies from market to market. Athena Gong, Claudia Sagripanti, Marina Tamagnini and Tomasz Kobierski shared their experiences in getting the green light to reopen their exhibitions.

This session focusses on the return of exhibitions from the perspective of different segments of our industry: venues, organizers, service providers and associations.

Session in Portuguese.

Why are events and trade shows the highway to success? What are the reasons for exhibitors to come back? Why will visitors come back to exhibitions and events?

Helen Harlow, Raoul Monks, Han Leenhouts,  shared their secrets on how to sell an event now. Be an educator and innovator, tap into emotional intelligence, develop confidence and collaboration…

How the “de-globalization”, low oil prices, continued COVID crisis and the socio-economic turmoil may impact businesses in the MENA region with a focus on the GCC and UAE in particular? What are the challenges and opportunities ahead for the region? How trade events in the region may be impacted with a possible impact on China-MENA relations?

This session addressed pressing issues facing governments and businesses alike with an overview on the economic outlook in the region and the opportunities ahead.

We are releasing a session from our UFI Asia Pacific Conference Tokyo in 2019 on the UFI Connects channel. Back then, Margaret Ma, CEO Asia of Informa – Asia’s largest exhibition organiser, shared her view on their latest talent strategy as well as which skills and capabilities are most needed and how to make a concentrated effort to develop those skills.

This session is dedicated to all you women out there – and men too! Despite being an industry that vastly employs women, there is currently a very small minority holding senior roles. Research has consistently shown that gender diversity and hence complementary male versus female competencies is actually an important factor in business success. So why is this so? What can we do to help address this – to encourage women to reach higher and be more ambitious in the pursuit of their careers? And how can we as an industry help them on their career path?

We are releasing a session from our UFI Global Congress Bangkok in 2019 on the UFI Connects channel. Back then, the 2019 NGL grant recipients discussed the importance of H2H in the industry. An insight into the next generation’s perspective of the customer journey and about the most important touchpoints for the trade show visitor of the future.

How organisers and Shenzhen World are preparing right now for exhibitions scheduled in just a few weeks time?

Elizabeth Arias, Marco Giberti, Fernando Gorbarán, Jose Navarro, Juan Pablo Maglier and Celia Navarrete cover different approaches and perspectives all around the topic “Industry in Transformation”.

Session in Spanish.

This session focusses on the exhibitors – are they eager to, or itchy about, returning to the show floors post COVID-19?

This UFI Connects was all about exploring creativity just ahead of Global Exhibitions Day.  We had some fantastic speakers, please take a look.

How exhibition industry associations around the world can use and activate the “UFI Global Framework for Reopening Exhibitions and B2B Events”?

In this UFI Connects session we discussed: The role of government in the recovery of the exhibition industry in Asia.

In this session of UFI Connects our audience took part in an interesting conversation about UVC purification as a key step towards COVID-safe venues.

A panel of trade show executives discussed the current conditions of the U.S. trade show industry and shared their insights and updates.

The exhibition industry in the Middle East has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years. However, with the COVID-19 outbreak, the industry estimated at USD 2.8 billion in economic impact in 2019, got a harsh hit with thousands of scheduled exhibitions & conferences being postponed or cancelled regionally. Moreover, thousands of jobs could be at stake. The pandemic will end eventually but the world after the COVID-19 will not be the same again. How are we getting ready for the comeback?

We are releasing a session from our Global CEO Summit in 2019 on the UFI Connects channel. Back then, in London, Shelly Palmer walked the audience through big tech developments and their impact especially on smaller enterprises – something acutely timely right now in the wake of COVID-19.

The world is facing an unprecedented crisis, over 3 billion people are under curfew with uncertainty about when these conditions will be lifted and “normal life” will resume. The exhibition industry was amongst the first and hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. An estimated USD 81 billion of total economic output will not be generated related to the exhibition industry by the end of Q2 – and the number will surely rise. Millions of jobs are at stake. What will our world look like in the post-COVID era? How will our events have to change to reflect this new normal?

These challenges are universal to our industry, but here in Europe we have the greatest concentration of international exhibition organizers with a wealth of experience and talent. Hear from our speakers how they view these challenges!

In this session of UFI Connects we shared some information regarding the Mangement of People & Communication in a Crisis. Very resourceful commentry and information from our industry experts; Jan Dahms and Robert T. Heinemann.

In this session of UFI Connects we discussed Convention & Exhibition Centres as Temporary Emergency Facilities

In this UFI Connects session, Holger Feist (CSO, Messe München) and Stephan Forseilles (Group Head of Technology & Digital Transformation, Easyfairs International) take us on their journeys of “working from home”.

Stephan and Holger share how they manage to work from home personally and with their teams, what digital helpers and tools they use and what their outlook is for post covid19 workstyles and changes.

Two months back, economist Roger Martin Fagg spoke at our Global CEO Summit, giving an economic outlook, as the coronavirus outbreak was just developing. We have asked him to deliver  an update in this UFI connects session.

In this ufi connects session, Dahlia El Gazzar, Enrico Gallorini and Matthias Tesi Baur cover different approaches and perspectives all around the topic “Virtual Events”.

In this UFI connects conversation, Simon Foster and Cliff Wallace share and discuss preparedness, and how to develop your leadership teams right now to be ready for what comes next.

The world is witnessing a major happening that is disrupting our daily lives and businesses. The entire exhibition industry was among the first to be hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. It is time to empathise, adapt and look forward again. Take a look at our panel of experts who discussed some of the most pressing issues the industry and its people are facing.

In this session of UFI Connects we heard from our UFI members: Aloysius Arlando, Michael Duck, Anbu Varathen, and Michael Kruppe in an update of the impact of the Cororna virus on their businesses and the local market in Asia.

A COVID-19 update from our team in Latin America. In this video, we hear from Pepe Navarro and Fernando Gorbaran.

We re-releasing a session from our UFI Asia Pacific Conference Tokyo in 2019 on the UFI Connects channel. Back then, Eddie Choi lead a thought-provoking discussion on how technology plays a role in the value exchange in our industry. Eddie reviewed where real value has been created and where hype has exaggerated the real world benefits.

The use of Smart Technologies such as the impact of Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and other emerging mainstream technologies that are already in use in the exhibition environment – how do we see the impact on the region and what lessons can be learnt by way of its introduction should it be necessary? Our speaker shares what the next waves of digital development are and what lies ahead in terms of how we have to adapt our exhibitions to be in line with the expected change in our customer expectations and behaviours.