With just a few days to go, preparations are speeding up for this year’s Global Exhibitions Day on 7 June!

Great thanks to everybody who took part in the second edition of the Global Exhibitions Day campaign! This positive campaign has been coordinated by UFI – the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry in partnership with a multitude of national and regional industry associations, trade fair and exhibition organisers, venues and service providers since early 2016. The partners have been invited to take part in their own way, whether by joining an event or simply sharing a couple of posts on social media.
This year the theme is Think Global – Act Local. The idea has been for everyone whose work involves exhibitions and events to join in the global activities on 7 June, highlighting the exhibition industry’s positive impact on jobs, business, people, innovation and local investment. If you look at the figures, it’s not surprising that our industry has such a big impact on economic growth. With an estimated total direct revenue of 49 billion EUR, the exhibitions industry generates significant social and economic benefits. Every year, we hold tens of thousands of exhibitions worldwide, serving 4.4 million exhibiting companies and a total of 260 million visitors. And all this activity means great career opportunities. UFI estimates that the exhibitions industry supports the equivalent of 1.8 million full-time jobs – both directly in our exhibition companies and for the tourism and related services that accompany each event. Over 40 associations around the world have pledged to take part in an active online campaign sharing facts and figures to highlight the power of our industry. There has been also a wealth of profile-raising and advocacy events across the planet. Such activities can catch the attention of people beyond our industry, and hopefully raise the curiosity of a few more young professionals. After all, we need great talents to join the exhibition industry to stay fit for the future. But the challenge is not just to attract the best staff, but also to keep them!
Global Exhibitions Day: Think Global – Act Local Global Exhibitions Day is a chance for us all to celebrate the exhibition industry and highlight its positive impact on jobs, business, people, innovation and local investment!
This year we focus on four main “key messages” that UFI and its GED partners* have been spreading during the past three months: 1. What are exhibitions and why they exist 2. Exhibitions have a positive impact on territories 3. Exhibitions are a sustainable way of doing business 4. The exhibition industry is the perfect place for your career Online and offline, these key messages, underlined by insightful industry statistics, are being shared around the world. Some GED partners translated infographics and produced videos, while others have taken part in the #GEDQuiz, and are adapting the GED promotion material to their target audience. UFI is driving this initiative and activating as many industry fans as possible. 7 June 2017 promises to be a special day for all of us. Take a look at the events and activities that are planned on or around #GED17 at www.ufi.org/ged ! This list will be updated regularly. If you are planning an event and your activity is not yet displayed, make sure you share it with us ged@ufi.org
We can help spread the word. * GED partners associations act under the UFI umbrella: AAXO (South Africa), AEFI (Italy), AEO (UK), AFE (Spain), AFECA (Asia), AFIDA (Central South America), AMPROFEC (Mexico), AOCA (Argentina), AUMA (Germany), CAEM (Canada), CEFA (Central Europe), CENTREX (Central Europe), CFI (Italy), EEAA (Australasia), EEIA (EU), EFU (Ukraine), EMECA (Europe), EXSA (South Africa), FAIRLINK (Sweden), FAMAB (Germany), HKECIA (Hong-Kong), IAEE (USA), IDFA (Germany), IECA (Indonesia), IEIA (India), IELA (Global), LECA (Lebanon), MACEOS (Malaysia), MFTA (Macao), PCEI (Poland), RUEF (Russia), SACEOS (Singapore), SECB (Singapore), SISO (USA), TEA (Thailand), TFOA (Turkey), UBRAFE (Brazil) and UNIMEV (France). Global Exhibitions Day Awards UFI media partner Exhibition World (EW) has launched the inaugural Global Exhibitions Day Awards, celebrating the diverse, creative, initiatives occurring globally around 7 June 2017. The Global Exhibitions Day Awards are endorsed by UFI and will be assessed by a panel of judges from EW and UFI. Categories will include: 1. Most Creative Activity: endorsing the most quirky, fun and challenging entry 2. Biggest Scale Online Activity: recognising the most ambitious online marketing initiative 3. Biggest Scale Physical Activity: awarding the most impressive offline activity 4. Industry Impact Award: recognising the initiative that has the most positive impact supporting exhibitions as an industry Winners will get coverage of their activity in an upcoming edition of EW, as well as a trophy. As part of the celebration of the industry’s passion and creative vision, EW will publish a series of blogs and features online in the run-up to the big day. Got plans for #GED17 you want to shout about? Then submit your entry to Tom Hall of EW: thall@mashmedia.net
Global Exhibitions Day on YouTube www.ufi.tv, UFI’s YouTube channel, features a dedicated GED playlist with some 80+ videos. UFI tries its best “to catch” all videos that are circulationg the web around #GED17 to add them to the collection. But if you want to make sure that your video makes it to the GED playlist, please send us your links ged@ufi.org. Following our #GED17 key message “The exhibition industry is the perfect place for your career”,we have prepeared a selection of videos and statements from professionals working in our industry. These videos allow anyone to take a look behind the scenes of an exhibition and discover various job profiles. The exhibition industry is the perfect place for your career #GED17 puts a special focus on the human side of exhibitions. Following the #GED17 key message “The exhibition industry is the perfect place for your career”, UFI has prepeared a selection of videos and statements from professionals working in our industry. These videos allow anyone to take a look behind the scenes of an exhibition and discover various job profiles. The campaign highlights the rainbow of career opportunities that our industry has to offer by sharing the voices of the professionals that drive our industry now and in the future. Let’s talk with industry professionals who have walked the exhibition floors for more than 30 years, as well as with the students who are yet to take their first steps in the exhibition industry. Source: www.ufi.org