During the General Assembly of the Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry, held on 29 June this year, Grażyna Grabowska was awarded the title of Honorary Member. It is an expression of the highest recognition for one of the most distinguished and recognisable figures of the Polish exhibition market.
For nearly three decades, Grażyna Grabowska helped to shape the Polish exhibition industry and set its direction. She is a Polish philologist and film scholar by education, but it was trade fairs that became the place where she fulfilled her greatest professional role — that of a leader, entrepreneur and ambassador of the industry.
As co-founder and long-standing President of Targi w Krakowie, she built a company that grew from a local event organiser into a leader of the trade fair and congress market in Poland. It was thanks to her determination and courage that events were created which have become a permanent fixture in the industry calendar — among them Międzynarodowe Targi Książki w Krakowie® (International Book Fair in Kraków) and Międzynarodowe Targi Stomatologiczne KRAKDENT® w Krakowie (KRAKDENT® International Dental Trade Fair in Kraków), which for years have brought together hundreds of exhibitors and tens of thousands of visitors from Poland and abroad.
An important moment in her career was the opening, in 2014, of the EXPO Kraków International Exhibition and Convention Centre. This investment gave the city a modern space for business, scientific and social meetings, and EXPO Kraków itself quickly became a symbol of the development of the meetings industry.
For years, Grażyna Grabowska was also involved in the work of the entire exhibition community — from the days of the Polish Trade Fair Corporation association to the Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry. She served as a member of the Audit Committee, a Council Member and subsequently Vice-Chairman of the PCEI Council. She worked to integrate the community, professionalise the industry and strengthen its importance in the Polish economy. As Vice-Chairman of the Chamber, she oversaw the nationwide “Trade Fairs Deliver More” campaign, which built awareness of the role of trade fairs and encouraged participation in events. During the difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic, she actively supported efforts to protect the industry.
She has been honoured many times for her work — receiving, among others, the “Zasłużony dla Kultury Polskiej” (Meritorious for Polish Culture) badge, the Silver Cross of Merit, the “Honoris Gratia” badge and the Badge of Honour for Merits to the Development of the Economy of the Republic of Poland. She herself, however, has always stressed that what matters most to her is not awards but people — the team that created the history of Targi w Krakowie together with her and that is writing its next chapters today.
In “The Little Prince” — a book to which Grażyna Grabowska gladly returns — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote that “you become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed”. Over the years she “tamed” not only successive projects and ambitious undertakings but, above all, created a community of people united by a shared passion. Thanks to her, the exhibition industry grew stronger, more integrated and more aware of its own value.
For this invaluable contribution to the development of the Polish exhibition industry we offer our thanks, and we proudly welcome Grażyna Grabowska among the Honorary Members of the Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry.
