LEADERS OF TOMORROW |
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only met on Zoom before coming together in Maastricht . “ It ’ s a great idea to get all five of us in the room ,” explains George . “ Now we can see everybody in person , hear ideas out , and start to form our project for November .” For Finiti , finally meeting her far-flung cohort was a great experience : “ They ’ re all such bright people , and the kick-off workshop was incredible because we finally had a chance to meet and share ideas ,” she says .
One common factor amongst the Grant winners was how they were introduced to the scheme in the first place . For most of them , it was a senior colleague who pushed them in the right direction and through any self-doubts . Moatamed had not heard of the scheme before a senior colleague suggested it . “ I want to learn more about the industry from experts and my peers , so I applied ,” she says .
The same was true for George , who heard of the programme through a colleague who had applied several years ago and loved the experience . As another push , George ’ s mentor also suggested that she apply . It was Finiti ’ s managing director who suggested the programme to her , despite her initial reservations : “ I always worry that I ’ m a bit too out-of-thebox , being that my interest is in integrating psychology into the events industry . But he was right , and I ’ m grateful to myself for finding the courage to do the application process – especially having to film
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myself !” Meanwhile , Kittiboonya learned of the grant first-hand . Having attended 2019 ’ s UFI Global Congress in Bangkok , where he is based , he was inspired by that year ’ s NGL graduates : “ I thought that if I ever had the opportunity I would apply . Now here I am .”
Saleh also benefited from first-hand experience , having met UFI CEO Kai Hattendorf at the Exhibition and Event Association of Australia ( EEAA ) Annual Conference 2022 while serving on the EEAA Emerging Leaders committee . “ In Kai ’ s presentation he was talking about the NGLs and the incredible things that they were working on ,” Saleh says . “ He was passionate about it and made the programme sound like the place to be .”
All the winners made it clear
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“ I really hope that with our challenge , we can help drive the industry forward and also help it grow globally even more ”
that they had joined looking to better themselves both personally and professionally . “ I want this experiment to be eye-opening for me because I ’ m new to the industry ,” Moatamed explains . “ I want to learn more about the challenges that the industry
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faces , and how we can keep things fresh and interesting .” Kittiboonya ’ s motivation also comes from a place of wanting to improve the industry .
“ I really hope that , with our challenge , we can help drive the industry forward and also help it grow globally even more .”
To the same end , both George and Finiti emphasised the professional growth that comes with being part of a community like UFI , and from the programme itself . Finiti notes : “( This community ) is something I don ’ t only want to appreciate ; I want to be a part of it .”
Saleh poignantly wraps up the sentiment felt by all five of the winners as they go their separate ways until November : “ We ’ ve got our work cut out , but we ’ re very excited to get started .”
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48 — Autumn |