When it comes to the proposing standards for security at trade shows and events, the Safety Act Office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security turned to the industries undisputed experts on the subject: the International Association of Exhibitions & Events (at IAEE EXPO! EXPO! at right) and Exhibition Services & Contractors Association. In light of recent world violence that has left the meetings and events industry on guard as well as many governments, the organizations have teamed up to draft a national convention center security standard that will align with the Department of Homeland Security’s SAFETY Act, association officials say.
“The reason we are coming together now is to enhance what is already in place and to be proactive, instead of reactive, in the new reality of the world we live in today,” said IAEE President and CEO David DuBois. “This initiative is unique, and we are fully supporting it because a strategic alignment of industry guidelines with the federal government is needed to protect the industry in the event of a terror act.”
The new standards will wrap current security measures in with best-practices security visions to provide a guidebook intended to both safeguard venues and prepare them for incidents of terrorist activity. Keyway, a meeting and hospitality strategy firm, will lead the initiative, though broad participation is also expected from various industry partners and law enforcement officials. An example of an existing practice that will form the underpinning for security strategies is the Worker Identification Badge system ESCA instituted several years ago, said Larry Arnaudet, ESCA executive director. But many of the new security standards to be drafted will require participation from all the individuals associated with the trade show industry. “There are many players in the culmination of an exhibition or event,” Arnaudet said, “and this initiative will need the support from the entire ecosystem.”
