Conference preview
UFI ’ s European clans gather for Maastricht meet
UFI ’ s regional director for Europe , Nick Dugdale- Moore sets the scene for the association ’ s annual European Conference , 14-16 June
e are very much
W looking forward to being in Maastricht in June , it is shaping up to be a great event . Last year in Poznan , Poland , we were still feeling the effects of Covid and of course the war in neighbouring Ukraine , but this year we are back with a bang . Our largest ever European conference was in Birmingham in 2019 but we had surpassed that number this year with six weeks to go – meaning this will be by far the largest European event ever !
As always , though , it is the quality not the quantity of delegates that counts and we have an excellent mix of organisers from across Europe and beyond this year . Furthermore , around half of the delegates are first-time attendees of an UFI event , which shows the interest , both from our members and the wider community , in coming together to discuss the opportunities and challenges we face as an industry .
It is quite a busy week : in addition to the European Conference we are organising three other events , and the inaugural Women In Exhibitions Summit is taking places as well , so five events in total .
I am particularly excited about our new launch the Event Directors Summit – a one-day event for exhibition and portfolio directors exclusively , which will take place immediately before the main European Conference . The 50 spaces sold out very fast earlier this year . We are experimenting a little bit with the format and so the first half-day programme will be outdoors and the second half day a more traditional workshop style . In addition , our HR Forum and Operations and Services Forum will both take place on the 13-14 June , which are one day events organised by our UFI working groups to focus in depth on those topics . In terms of what people should
Photo : Maastricht , courtesy MCB
Nick Dugdale-Moore
expect , the main programme will feature the usual mix of experts from both within and outside the exhibition industry . We are evolving the format a bit to try and make it more engaging , accessible and personalised for each delegate . The breakout sessions , which are led by the Exhibition Think Tank , will now cover a much wider range of topics , so people can choose a subject that is of interest to them and find like-minded colleagues to discuss with . We understand that people are there to network , so we are bringing back the speed networking and we have partnered with Grip this year to try to make that more effective .
Outside of the main conference room , I think people will be surprised and delighted with their stay in Maastricht . It is a beautiful small city , and we hope that the programme will let the delegates get to know it and appreciate its unique charm . The Welcome Reception on Wednesday the 14th is in Government House on the banks of the river Meuse where the historic Maastricht Treaty was signed , and the dinner on Thursday is in the heart of the old city . Both venues are not far from the hotels so a short transfer . But , being in the Netherlands , we really want to encourage people to go by bike if possible . The hotels can rent you bikes for a small daily fee .
For the Sports Club on Thursday morning people can either run , cycle or play volleyball , and we will be running the table tennis tournament once again this year . ( I ’ m definitely going to practise to play Craig Newman , who I don ’ t think lost a single game in Oman .) Other than that we have a few surprises in store as usual , but you ’ ll have to turn up and find out !
A final thanks goes to our host at MECC and their local partners , they have been a pleasure to work with and I hope the UFI community will enjoy their wonderful hospitality .
18 Issue 3 2023 www . exhibitionworld . co . uk