With COVID-19-related global travel restrictions expected to continue over the coming months, UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has decided to adjust the format of this year’s Global Congress. Instead of holding the event in one place, the UFI Global Congress 2020 will adopt a ‘glocalised’ approach. The main theme will be “Resilience”.
“The UFI Global Congress is our industry’s annual global face-to-face meeting. We want to ensure that as many of our colleagues as possible can attend in person. So this year, we are ‘glocalising’ the UFI Global Congress. In November, we will run a number of events around the world to bring the UFI member community together both on site and online,” says Mary Larkin, UFI President, and President of Diversified Communications USA.
The Congress 2020 host, the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre (OCEC), will now welcome the event in 2022. In 2021, the UFI Global Congress will take place in Rotterdam.
“We are looking forward to seeing our industry colleagues from all around the world – and we want them to enjoy our beautiful country Oman where the mountains meet the sea and to experience the genuine hospitality and friendship. A virus will not stop us from doing this. We are thrilled & excited to be welcoming everyone in the Sultanate of Oman in two years’ time,” says Said Salim Al Shanfari, CEO of the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre.
UFI remains fully committed to holding the Global Congress in 2020 as a face-to-face event
Open to more than 50,000 industry professionals globally who work for UFI member companies, UFI’s Global Congress is known as the exhibition industry’s largest global meeting of the year, combining international networking with unique content. It is an opportunity to gain insight into topics of strategic interest, as well as into the trends and challenges that the exhibition industry is currently facing.
“We will organise different formal and informal face-to-face and online events where members can network and share ideas. Exhibitions and trade fairs in the post-COVID-19 era will play a crucial role in the economic recovery at a local and regional level and we will need to work together to support each other, as our industry always does.” says Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director and CEO.
Theme of the Global Congress 2020 to be “Resilience”
The exhibition industry has faced disruption on many occasions and has proven its resilience time and again. After 9/11, the 2008 global economic crisis and SARS, the industry responded, acted and continued to thrive and evolve.
“Confronted with another worldwide challenge, we must now learn about how resilient our industry has been during this crisis, how well we have succeeded in adapting this time, and what we need to change to emerge stronger and better prepared for the future,” says Kai Hattendorf.
“We believe it is our role and responsibility to provide the trusted platform to connect and bring together our industry. Only by coming together, can we learn, inspire and deliver in the best way possible. UFI is witnessing the need and request from the industry to unite for new solutions. Let’s be resilient together!”
UFI will announce the specific dates and locations for the ‘glocalised’ Congress later in the summer.
