A growing number of convention and exhibition sites across the world have started operating as temporary COVID-19 vaccination centres, getting anywhere from 500 to over 6,000 people vaccinated every day at each location. At the same time, an increasing number of markets around the globe have begun to reopen business events with varying COVID-19 protocols in place.
“Good Practice Guide: Convention and Exhibition as Temporary Vaccination Centres” is aimed at those venues which have been called upon by health authorities in their regions. The guide was produced jointly by AIPC, the International Association of Convention Centres; ICCA, the International Convention and Congress Association; and UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. The good practice conveyed in this document was collected over February-March 2021 from a range of AIPC, ICCA and UFI member facilities, and enhanced by insights and information made available through the associations’ joint Safety & Security Task Force. As with previous guides, this latest publication was created by different parts of the industry collaborating together. It was developed through the direct, practical experiences and expertise of members that are dealing with these impacts on a day-to-day basis, and the three association Presidents have acknowledged this invaluable and relevant contribution to the content.
AIPC President, Aloysius Arlando, says: “Event venues have shown great resilience in the past year through rethinking their business models and future-proofing their workforce for a post-COVID world order. They have also committed action towards economic recovery in their respective regions, be it enhancing internal operational and technological capabilities, or undertaking new roles, such as turning themselves into healthcare facilities to share the load of national healthcare systems.
“As vaccination strategies roll out worldwide, event venues are once again playing a critical role in economic recovery as they transform themselves into vaccination centres. This collaborative endeavour, which features knowledge and insights from industry experts around the world, serves as an important reference for event venues to safely establish and operate a vaccination centre within their own spaces. It also firmly demonstrates the commitment of the business events industry to support the safe return of face-to-face events.”
James Rees, ICCA President, adds: “The economic impact of global events generates the investment that makes possible the building of our industry’s venue infrastructure. It is good to see how venues worldwide have repurposed their facilities to help support government vaccination programmes. This Good Practice Guide will provide assistance to those venues and help with the global effort to emerge from this pandemic and, through the swift reopening of our industry, to drive the economic recovery that will follow.”
“Our industry’s support to the vaccination effort also benefits our whole industry ecosystem: rolling out vaccinations around the world in a fast and effective way will speed up the return of face-to-face events. We help to protect lives – and livelihoods, for society, for our customers, and for everyone in our industry,” confirms Anbu Varathan, UFI President. Following distribution, a dedicated UFI connects session is scheduled on 31 March to facilitate the implementation of the guidance provided in this publication and to assist members in interpreting its content into local actions.
