by Jeanne Brei
Happy Global Exhibitions Day week! Always held the first Wednesday in June, GED 2023, June 7, is celebrated all over the world to emphasize the importance of trade exhibitions, and the role they play in driving growth across world economies. Over the last eight years, more than 100 countries have recognized and supported Global Exhibitions Day by taking pictures of their workforce and posting them to the site, using hashtags to promote awareness and other 
activations.
According to Hong Kong-based Michael Duck (pictured left), president of the International Federation of Exhibition and Event Services (IFES) and Executive Vice President, Commercial Development for Informa Markets, “Ever since we launched GED in 2016 as an industry, it has been growing in reach and relevance, and the campaign was crucial to keep decision makers aware of us throughout the dark times of the pandemic.
Now, after the post-pandemic recovery, GED allows us to focus and highlight the critical role we play for every industry, every community that we serve. More than ever, we have the opportunity to be seen by policymakers and decision makers as the important sector that we are. I encourage everyone to join this year’s activities.” Visit globalexhibitionsday.org to download the GED toolkit and join the activities around the world. To see highlights from last year’s celebrations, click HERE. For more info, email ged@ufi.org.
ECA Legislative Action Day Saw Great Turnout
Last week’s Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA) Legislative Action Day saw a great turnout of nearly 100 industry leaders and advocates from 24 states assembled on Capitol Hill on June 1 (pictured left). During 100+ meetings with elected officials and their staffs, ECA Legislative Action Day attendees focused on three policy areas where Congress can take on a leadership role to help advance the business events industry and support the small businesses who rely on our exhibitions, conferences, and trade shows: reducing visitor visa interview wait times, helping to build our future skilled workforce and supporting efforts to stop business impersonation fraud.
ECA Vice President Tommy Goodwin (pictured right) says, “It was amazing to see so many folks on Capitol Hill today on behalf of the industry. I hope everybody makes plans to join us next year here in Washington, D.C. as we continue to share the story of how our business events are growth engines for small businesses across every major sector of the U.S. economy with policymakers.” Next year’s Legislative Action Day will take place on May 30, 2024 and will again be held in conjunction with the Lippman Connects Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum (ECEF), the one-day information-sharing and networking event for leaders at associations and independent organizers, which will be held on May 29, 2024.
ExhibitorLIVE to be at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville
Exhibitor Group, leaders in trade show and corporate event marketing education and publisher of EXHIBITOR magazine, has announced the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center (formerly known as Opryland Hotel) in Nashville, Tenn., will be the location for EXHIBITORLIVE in 2024. The educational conference is scheduled for February 25-28, 2024, and the exhibition will be held February 27-28, 2024.
“We are 
excited to host EXHIBITORLIVE 2024 in Nashville,” said Mark Johnson (pictured right), owner of Exhibitor Group. “After gathering feedback from the EXHIBITOR community, including CTSM graduates and industry thought-leaders, we are confident that our Nashville conference in 2024 will provide maximum value and new experiences for our attendees and exhibitors.”
ExhibitorLIVE Seminar & Speakers Submissions Deadline is June 19
They are also accepting applications for new seminars and speakers for the 2024 conference as well as suggestions for speakers and topics that attendees feel would be a valuable addition to the program. The application deadline is June 19; to apply, visit www.ExhibitorOnline.com/live/cfp.asp. Suggestions for speakers and topics should be emailed to Dee Silfies (pictured left), Chief Learning Strategist, EXHIBITORLIVE, at deesilfies@exhibitorgroup.com.
Session content must be exclusive to EXHIBITORLIVE, and topics should relate to the speaker’s area of expertise. To maintain the educational integrity of the conference program, all seminars must be free of commercial content and specific product endorsements. “Presenting a seminar or workshop at EXHIBITORLIVE has many benefits for our faculty,” says Silfies. “When you speak at this conference, you are immediately positioned as an industry expert and you gain credibility and leadership stature with your industry peers.” If you are selected to present a session, you will be required to attend one of their Speaker Preparation Workshops, dates to be announced.
“Making Mentorship Meaningful” Virtual Panel Discussion on June 20
And if you find all of this inspiring and want to become more involved and active, the next virtual meeting in the EDPA Future Leaders Virtual Meeting Series will be held Tuesday, June 20 from 4-5 p.m. ET and it will be about “Making Mentorship Meaningful.” The free virtual panel discussion will be made up of mentors and mentees discussing the power of mentorship for your career and how you can get started.
Through live Q&A, you’ll hear about experiences of what worked, what didn’t and how to make the most of mentorship from both mentor and mentee perspectives. As the industry’s future leaders, getting involved in mentorship can be extremely beneficial as well as rewarding, either as a mentor and what that brings to you and someone else’s career or in being a mentee and elevating your own learning experiences. Registration is required for the free event at https://lnkd.in/dFnQdMgk. Once you submit the registration form, a confirmation email will be sent with the Zoom meeting link and details.
