Exhibition News January 2020 | Page 58

Feature Entries open for EN Awards T he 14th edition of the EN Awards returns to Evolution London, Battersea Park on 20 March 2020. The EN Awards, the biggest awards for the event industry, is now accepting entries. The deadline for entries is 24 January 2020, so enter now to avoid disappointment. New categories Two new categories have been added to the billing this year, including Best Company Culture, which recognises how much time and energy businesses across the industry invest in their staff, and Best Trade Show (under 2,000sqm), which recognises the 58 — January varying scale of exhibitions in the UK. EN editor, Saul Leese, said: “These two new categories are incredibly important, as are all the others. HR teams across the exhibition industry have changed significantly in recent years, building important strategies around staff engagement, well-being and creating culturally amazing places to work. It’s high time we recognise that these teams play a huge role in how our events perform. We also need to connect better with smaller organisers whose events are all too often overshadowed by larger ones in the business, so we’ve introduced Best Trade Show under 2,000sqm.” The EN Awards receives a phenomenal amount of entries each year, demonstrating how important it is to the industry. EN also assembles an armada of industry experts to judge each category ensuring that they are fair and continue to be credible. The awards are open to all and, because they are organised by the leading industry magazine, they remain independent. Portfolio director at EN, Duncan Siegle, emphasised how important the awards are to the industry: “These are serious awards, but seriously celebrated. I think that’s what makes us different. Winning an award is incredibly important and it does raise the profile of the company in the eyes of the industry. It also makes a company more attractive to work with as we find that many people looking to work in the exhibition industry do tend to come to EN first, but what’s important is that these awards connect and recognise the hard work of employees of all levels and they are great fun.” A big thank you to Live Buzz, this year’s headline sponsor and Exhibition Centre Liverpool, CircData, Event Guides and Blue Monday. EN