GED, a celebration of the exhibition industry as a whole and everyone who works in it, was celebrated June 6. The event is always scheduled for the first Wednesday in June and it is actively supported by 41 associations and coordinated by UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. In the U.S., IAEE, EDPA, ESCA, and many other association members will be meeting with representatives from Congress to discuss issues affecting the tradeshow industry.
The event aims to raise awareness on a global scale of the exhibition industry, how it benefits the economy, and the variety of career opportunities it has to offer. As with previous GED events, industry professionals and students around the world have been very active in the GED online campaign and many organizations are also preparing local events for GED18.
“The GED initiative started in 2016 and the number of participants has grown rapidly over time,” says Corrado Peraboni, UFI’s president. “Exhibitions are a unique marketing tool for companies and provide a high return on investment for participants as well as the territories where they are held. The exhibition industry deserves stronger recognition and GED is the perfect opportunity to do this!”
Participating associations are uploading their GED18 activities to www.globalexhibitionsday.org. Events already listed include the Leaders Forum Dinner in Australia organised by EEAA, the Global Exhibitions Run in France put in place by UNIMEV and “The Power of Italian Exhibitions” campaign run by AEFI in Italy. Other highlights include the Russian Exhibition Industry Conference in Russia organized by RUEF and lobbying efforts to legislators in the U.S. through IAEE. Germany’s AUMA has also aligned its annual “Messetreff” event with GED.
GED18 materials prepared by the GED task force cover the four advocacy messages: exhibitions are a large global industry; exhibitions are an effective and sustainable way of doing business; exhibitions can contribute to a sustainable world; and the exhibition industry offers a variety of job opportunities.
The event has been celebrated and promoted across the globe. Delegates have demonstrated their support for GED throughout all kinds of events, including Ungerboeck’s annual event in Disneyland Paris, the IEIA Open Seminar in Hyderabad (India), the UFI European Conference in Verona (Italy), and the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
GED18 materials provided by UFI’s GED task force have been translated into multiple languages to ease global communication and advocacy within the exhibition Industry. In addition, Buenos Aires Tourist Board in Argentina, Informa in Brazil, Eventbox in Iran and many more have joined the GED18 Talent Campaign and shared their “job quotes” with potential future industry employees. A series of interviews focusing on the dynamic working environment offered by the exhibition industry, have been carried out with employees from La Rural Exhibition Center in Argentina, GES in EMEA, Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre, Poznan International Fair in Poland, MEEC Maastricht in The Netherlands and more. In addition, multiple industry professionals have produced videos showcasing various jobs across the industry. All these videos are available on www.ufi.tv.
For more info, visit globalexhibitionsday.org.
