(Pictured above: Torsten Heinze, IFES vice president, speaks about extraordinary developments in the industry.)
A new award will be presented at EuroShop 2020 in Düsseldorf—the IFES Innovation + Development Award—commending extraordinary developments for the trade fair and event industry. The focus is on special materials, extraordinary production processes and innovative services.
“The IDIA Award honors innovations and developments that represent milestones in the trade fair and event business,” explains Torsten Heinze, vice president of the International Federation of Exhibition & Event Services (IFES) and executive board member for strategy. “They should be innovations and further developments in terms of design, sustainability and efficiency. In this way they help live communication to become even better in conception and implementation.”
The awards will be made in four categories: Products, services, production processes and ‘Outside the Box’ ideas.
What is the aim of the award?
The IDIA Award aims to drive developments forward and to make existing innovations from other sectors known. There is also a global claim: Do we in Europe know everything that is already state-of-the-art in Asia? So, it’s about the idea of “Sharing Knowledge”, which IFES has been championing since its inception.
“At the same time, the award meets a demand of our members,” emphasizes IFES Managing Director Uta Goretzky. “Two years ago, there was already a desire to collect and sift technical developments and ideas on a global level. The award now goes one step further and will make these ideas public at EuroShop.”
Who can apply?
Anyone who believes they have developed a product or service that is useful to the industry can take part. “Regardless of whether he/she comes from the industry or not,” explains Goretzky. “It can be a finished product or a concept that is waiting to be implemented.”
Therefore, under the heading “Out of the Box,” disruptive ideas that have not yet been implemented are welcome. In order to keep the threshold for participation in the IDIA Award as low as possible, there is a very low participation fee. It starts at 50 EUR.
What is the application procedure?
An independent jury decides who receives the award. It is made up of world-renowned experts.
Entrants must describe the progress represented by the product or service under the criteria “design, level of innovation/development, increase in efficiency, sustainability and production process.” The development can focus on a single criterion but can also cover all points equally. The deadline for submissions is 11 November 2019. The nominees and award winners will be informed as early as December. “So, it’s all happening in quick succession,” says Heinze. “As a result, we will be able to present the innovations to a broad audience at the end of February at EuroShop.”
The IFES Development + Innovation Award (IDIA) honors products, projects and services that represent outstanding new developments for the trade fair and event industry. The focus here is on the benefits in daily use as well as innovative strength, cost-effectiveness and sustainable use. For more info, visit /www.idia-award.com.
