UFI managing director Kai Hattendorf takes stock of industry issues on Global Exhibitions Day
I am writing this as a near-constant stream of activity updates and programme announcements arrives with our team at the UFI Paris Headquarters from around the world – all about on-going and future actions to mark the second Global Exhibitions Day (GED) on 7 June.
Whether you are reading this column just before or after our industry’s biggest day of advocacy and industry promotion, I want to share with you some of the thinking behind this global campaign.
In partnership with a multitude of organisers, venues, service providers, and national and regional association partners, we have been building momentum since early 2016 to address one of the biggest obstacles we face as an industry: Even though exhibitions (as well as other kinds of meetings, of course), can be powerful drivers of economic development for cities and regions, we are almost invisible in the policy papers of most local, regional, and national governments around the world. And such a lack of visibility can make it hard to attract – and retain – the best possible talents to drive our industry forward.
So the partner network chose ‘Think Global – Act Local’ as this year’s campaign focus for Global Exhibitions Day. All the material and action ideas are based on this central message.
Dozens of special events, industry conferences, academic and fun events have been scheduled for
GED this year all around the planet – you can find recent updates at www.ufi.org/ged. Besides that, we’re also keeping one core element from the hugely successful inaugural GED last year: As our industry is all about face-to-face, the strongest way for us as to promote what we work for is to show our own faces, our own commitment.
So Global Exhibitions Day is an opportunity for everyone whose work involves exhibitions and events – from CEOs to freelancers – to join in the global activities on 7 June, highlighting the exhibition industry’s positive impact on jobs, business, people, innovation and local investment.
One main global channel for personal activities is social media – Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, WeChat.
Some people have asked me about the “hardcore business value” of the thousands of #GED17 tweets and posts shared by exhibitions professionals and supporters around the world.
The answer is simple: Every little activity, every selfie, every video, is a sign of support and commitment: it speaks about engagement. It allows every person, wherever they are, to experience the feeling of belonging to a dynamic global industry. It activates people to share and to talk about the exhibition industry – and maybe to choose us as their career path.
By the way, not only exhibition professionals use this approach: Prior to becoming French President, Emmanuel Macron used YouTube to reach out to the international business community (in English), to ask them to come and bring their exhibitions and events to France, and to come and attend meetings in his country.
If you look at the figures, it’s not surprising that our industry has such a big impact on economic growth. With an estimated total direct revenue of €49bn, the exhibitions industry generates significant social and economic benefits. Every year, we hold tens of thousands of exhibitions worldwide, serving 4.4 million exhibiting companies and a total of 260 million visitors.
And, all this activity means great career opportunities. UFI estimates that the exhibitions industry supports the equivalent of 1.8 million full-time jobs – both directly in our exhibition companies and for the tourism and related services that accompany each event.
So – with all of this in mind – happy Global Exhibitions Day to all of you.
