UFI Comment
Standing
together
Kai Hattendorf
UFI Managing Director
ear Colleagues,
Welcome to the 2020’s
– and welcome to the
year of the Rat! As I
am writing this, the new coronavirus
is creating uncertainty in public
life as well as in our industry. I
meant to write these lines about the
challenges that we are expecting
in the year and years ahead, as we
have entered a new decade. But,
right now, our industry is called
to deal with this health threat. As
government authorities in China are
focusing on public health by shutting
down long distance travel, banning
public events, and prolonging
the spring break holidays, we
are seeing many exhibitions and
events in China being postponed.
Likewise, globally, safety measures
are being implemented to prevent
the spreading of the virus - as well
leading to challenges and empty
booths at exhibitions around the
world.
We are facilitating information
flows and updates to support our
industry on this matter as we hope
for a quick containment of the
outbreak. Please be in touch with
the UFI team, and follow our social
media channels for updates.
Also, as you know, this year’s Asia-
Pacific Conference was scheduled to
take place in Macau in early March,
together with a Digital Innovation
Forum. Of course, we always put the
health and safety of our members
and staff first. Like many of you
10
Issue 1 2020
faced with similar
decisions, and after
discussions with our hosts
in Macau, we have opted to
postpone these events to
later in the year. As soon as
we have clarity on how the
situation evolves in general, we
will share the new date when we
will meet for this conference.
At the same time, life and
work goes on, and we are putting
the finishing touches on the next
edition of our UFI Global Barometer
– which is based on data shared
by close to 500 exhibition industry
companies worldwide on the state
of their business – polled before the
outbreak, but still with valuable
insights. This edition sees a growing
number of markets where we as
an industry are becoming more
hesitant with projections. This
dilemma makes it as important as
ever to bring together the leaders
and the decision-makers of our
industry. We are doing that this
week in Rome at the Global CEO
Summit, and we will do with the
other regional conferences this
spring in Latin America, in Europe,
and – again – also in Asia as soon as
possible.
As world leaders showed in their
discussions at the World Economic
Forum in Davos just a few weeks
back, we are facing issues ranging
from the spread of disease (the
new coronavirus) to sustainability
(cutting carbon emissions), from
the climate crisis (the wildfires in
Australia) to political unrest. All
these topics are challenging for
us, as the current outbreak shows
all too clearly. We all need to find
solutions that guide us toward the
future in societies and economies,
and in our exhibitions and events
as well.
Besides UFI events and the
Barometer, we have also updated
the catalogue of best practice cases
submitted by exhibition companies
and linked to the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals. The
catalogue now includes 25 cases
from 18 countries. It is encouraging
to see that these outstanding
examples come from around the
world – from the US to China, and
from Scandinavia to South Africa.
At a time when business models
are being challenged for their
sustainability, we are well-advised
to continue and to develop the work
we accomplish in our industry.
Because of this, we have decided
to host a special UFI Sustainable
Development Forum in May in Paris.
The forum is open to participants
from institutions and associations
from within and without the
exhibition industry and aims
to facilitate discussion, to drive
dialogue, and to guide change.
For more information, please
have a look at www.ufievent.org/
paris2020
So, again, welcome to the 2020s.
Let’s get to work.
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk