(Pictured L-R: Mariane Ewbank and Sandi Trotter)
On May 4, the International Exhibition Logistics Association began a diversified program of activities named IELA RELOAD which supports its members in implementing successful and effective business measures with the goal of navigating through the shutdown and rebound periods which have been imposed on us all. The concept behind IELA RELOAD is not only to overcome this global health and economic crisis as a unified association, but also to emerge from the experience even stronger than before and with greater solidarity.
Two main elements of the association’s recovery program are the IELA Talks & Recovery Talks which address how to get prepared for the New Now in the event & exhibition industry. The focus is on three constructive pillars: Brainstormings—Access To Key Information—Personal Homework (the association has the duty to deliver insights and inputs, but every single member is responsible for its own destiny). The outcome of the first two online sessions clearly showed the high level of interest among members for feedback and exchange in what is an unprecedented situation in our economy. More than 100 participants joined the first IELA Working Groups Brainstorming & The First Recovery Talk.
During that session, three Task Forces were created to deal with selected topics of importance as follows:
#1: Digitalization: Development of an internal IELA Exhibition Logistics Interface (IT-system for IELA members)
#2: Communication: Raising both the perception and the importance of IELA’s role on a national and regional level via the Ambassador Program and the development of internal communication projects to enhance staff awareness among IELA members
#3: Working Group Summer Summit: During the months of May and June, all topics that are under discussion in the individual Working Groups will be bundled and discussed on the network as a whole to incorporate the perspectives and ideas of all working groups. The initial outcomes are planned to be presented at the end of June 2020.
As for the first IELA Recovery Talk, the topic was Anticipation. Moderator Mariane Ewbank from Fulstandig Shows e Eventos MC Ltda., Brazil, and Global Brainstorming Captain Sandi Trotter from TWI Group Inc.,Canada, navigated the members through how to cope with new scenarios and implementing damage limitation matters—84 percent of the attendees shared the view that they are already looking for new solutions in the industry. A clear statement from this session is that Anticipation and Cooperation has become the new force of the New Now age.
Ewbank summed up the session by saying “We don’t have a ready-to-go-recipe to survive this crisis post COVID-19, but we can find ways together that can help us as a network. It was great feeling that we all want to share ideas, experiences and insights with the same goal in mind—to survive! The Recovery Talk gave me extra fuel and energy to keep going!”
Trotter added, “This session truly reflects the spirit and strength of our association: competence, collaboration and cooperation. It demonstrates that we are all committed to fighting this together and emerging stronger.” We want to thank all participants who joined these first sessions and invite all IELA Members to join the next talks coming up soon. The May 2020 Program is available for consultation. If there is any topic you would like to add to the program in June, let us know! Stay Safe; Strong & Unified! #togetherSTRONG For more info about the IELA Reload May 2020 program visit on bit.ly/IELAreloadMay2020About #togetherSTRONG Campaign
IELA, the International Exhibition Logistics Association, launched the campaign Together Strong campaign on March 5, honoring and giving support to every single individual in the exhibition and event industry during this period of uncertainty, which fosters business in thousands of vertical industries all over the world. Together with associations, organizers, venues and service providers etc., they are building the contingency network to cater to the industry’s needs. For this reason, and due to the nature of home office participation which offers unrelenting flexibility to combat the loss of cancelled activities, IELA invites all event professionals to join the initiative Together Strong and support the Global Exhibitions Day, TOGETHER and STRONG!
The International Exhibition Logistics Association is the global industry network enhancing the professionalism of the transportation logistics and freight handling segments of the exhibition and event industry. IELA works with venue owners, organizers and national associations educating, training and sharing expertise for safe and secure operations around the world. The quality brand IELA is currently represented by 173 members and 31 affiliates in 56 countries. For more info, visit www.IELA.org
