Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry is the initiator of establishing the Global Day of Exhibitions on April 15 as the annual celebration of the stakeholders of the exhibition industry. The proposed date is not accidental as April 15, 1925, is the date of establishing UFI – the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry – the leading exhibition organization in the world. The initiative of PCEI was discussed again during the 81st UFI Congress which was held from October 29 to November 1, 2014, in Bogota. During the 81st UFI Congress there were traditional sessions of the UFI Associations Committee and Regional Chapters (Europe, Asia – Pacific, Africa – the Middle East, and Americas). During the four-day meeting, the most important issues concerning the individual regions and national exhibition industries were discussed, including the initiative proposed by PCEI. The Global Day of Exhibitions at the Polish initiative One of the points of the session of the UFI Associations Committee was the global promotion of exhibitions, including the proposal to make an attempt and establish the Day of Exhibitions. Let us remind here that in 2011 the Board of Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry made a resolution to launch the initiative to establish the annual Global Day of Exhibitions on April 15. The proposed date is not accidental as April 15, 1925, is the date of establishing UFI. After that the Chamber addressed the President of UFI hoping that Polish initiative will be accepted by the international organization and through the resolution of the General Assembly, UFI would establish the Global Day of Exhibitions. Both exhibition organizations considered submitting the initiative to UNESCO however, due to procedural reasons, no efficient steps could have been taken in that direction. – The initiative by PCEI aims at drawing the attention of the international business and the general public, including the media, to exhibitions and their role in the economic development of regions, as well as of international business and trade, said the President of PCEI, Andrzej Byrt, at the time, who several times addressed the UFI Board of Directors with the proposal of the Chamber, as well as spoke on the forum of the Associations Committee, in which our Chamber operates. ¬ stresses Marzenna Łukaszewicz, PCEI Executive Director. Global promotion required The session of the UFI Associations Committee were largely devoted to the need of global promotion of exhibitions. According to the representatives of trade fairs organizations, including Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry, the promotion of exhibitions and the exhibition industry is one of the most important challenges facing the national and international organizations which associate companies of the exhibition sector. Members of the Associations Committee believe that global coordination of the content of information sent to the most important target groups may significantly strengthen the impact of the exhibition industry on those groups, which are trade organizations, including chambers of commerce and industry associating entrepreneurs, state and local authorities and future employees of the exhibition sector, including the contemporary university students. Shared idea During the session of the Associations Committee in Bogota, the representatives of national trade fair organizations discussed promotional campaigns carried out recently by the associations from Germany, Great Britain and the USA, and the Polish initiative to establish the Global Day of Exhibitions. – Trade fair organization associated in UFI are interested in solid promotional actions which can be immediately publicized in the media. Hence the American trade fair organization IAEE presented the promotional action Exhibitions Day which was held in mid June 2014 on the Capitol in Washington with the participation of several American organizations which support American exhibition and event sector. The action perfectly fits the concept of the Global Day of Exhibitions which is to build up the role of exhibitions as an efficient tool of business communication and marketing in the strategies of enterprises and simultaneously attract attention to the importance of exhibitions for the economic development of cities and regions, as well as in the field of internationalization, competitiveness and innovativeness. – says Marzenna Łukaszewicz, PCEI Executive Director, who represented Polish Chamber of Exhibition industry at the session of the Associations Committee in Bogota. – We believe that the Polish initiative was the starting point of the current discussion on the international forum on the necessity to promote exhibitions. – adds M. Łukaszewicz At present UFI is planning to set up a working group with the participation of trade fair organizations from Germany, the USA and Poland, with the support of the European Exhibition Industry Alliance (EEIA) and UFI, to undertake actions aimed and promoting the Global Day of Exhibitions.