UFI News Archives

Message from UFI President Mary Larkin – November 2020
Message from UFI President Mary Larkin – November 2020

Message from UFI President Mary Larkin – November 2020

It is hard to believe that a year has passed since I accepted the role of President of UFI during the 2019 Congress in Bangkok. And what a year it has been! As I write my final column as President, I marvel at how the industry has come together in a time of crisis and is ensuring that we will come out of this pandemic stronger and better than before. As we entered a new decade, we had no idea what was going to hit our industry. During the CEO Summit in Rome in February, the discussion around [...]

By UFI President| 2020-11-04T08:51:14+00:00 November 3rd, 2020|Americas, Asia – Pacific, Europe, Exhibition Industry, Middle East – Africa, UFI News|0 Comments

Meet the 2020 NGL Grant Recipients!
Meet the 2020 NGL Grant Recipients!

Meet the 2020 NGL Grant Recipients!

I had a chance to speak with the 2020 NGL Grant recipients earlier this month. For those of you who haven’t heard of it before, it’s UFI’s program to promote the next generation of leadership in the exhibition industry. It rewards young professionals who show clear initiatives in driving change and innovation in their area of activity. Spread over 18 months, the recipients traditionally have presented a session at the UFI Global Congress and are then assigned volunteer mentors (high level exhibi [...]

By Stephanie Selesnick| 2020-10-23T11:37:59+00:00 October 23rd, 2020|All, Digital Innovation, Exhibition Industry, Management, UFI News|0 Comments

UFI and SISO call for “Testing over Quarantine” policies to keep businesses going
UFI and SISO call for “Testing over Quarantine” policies to keep businesses going

UFI and SISO call for “Testing over Quarantine” policies to keep businesses going

UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and SISO, the Society for Independent Show Organizers, today call on policymaker and governments around the world to empower the best policy solutions to maintain the flow of people, products, and services - and in doing so, to activate the potentials of rapid antigen COVID tests. The statement, signed by UFI President Mary Larkin (President Diversified Communications, USA) and SISO Chair Doug Emslie (Group Chief Executive, Tarsus Group), r [...]

By Guest| 2020-10-13T06:42:32+00:00 October 8th, 2020|All, Exhibition Industry, UFI News|0 Comments

Message from UFI President Mary Larkin – October 2020
Message from UFI President Mary Larkin – October 2020

Message from UFI President Mary Larkin – October 2020

Resilience and People As we enter another month of the COVID-19 crisis, it’s impact on our industry, our businesses and our lifes is still growing. We are all striving within ourselves to be resilient, to plan events in the midst of uncertainty, to “pivot” to other revenue streams and to hang on to the positive news from elsewhere and glimmers of hope that we see around us. While events are reopening in many countries, there is confusion as to the value they bring to an economy in many others. [...]

By UFI President| 2020-10-09T07:07:27+00:00 October 7th, 2020|All, Americas, Asia – Pacific, Europe, Middle East – Africa, UFI News|0 Comments

IFA Berlin: first post-COVID Global Consumer Electronics trade fair opened its doors!
IFA Berlin: first post-COVID Global Consumer Electronics trade fair opened its doors!

IFA Berlin: first post-COVID Global Consumer Electronics trade fair opened its doors!

A small summary of the first day of international consumer electronics show IFA at Messe Berlin, as trade shows and exhibitions are taking place again in Germany as of September. Remember: The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was the first major exhibition in Europe that got cancelled as the COVID virus spread around the continent this spring. In the US, SXSW as well has been cancelled, and the Consumer Electronics Show has already announced it will be all digital in 2021. IFA is the only phys [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2020-09-04T11:11:34+00:00 September 4th, 2020|All, Europe, Exhibition Industry, UFI News|0 Comments

Message from UFI President Mary Larkin – July 2020
Message from UFI President Mary Larkin – July 2020

Message from UFI President Mary Larkin – July 2020

Dear colleagues and friends, The Power of collaboration and leadership has become very apparent in our industry during the COVID-19 crisis. The industry has aligned itself around one issue – the safe reopening of events! This has put the focus on the importance of advocacy within and for our industry. Let’s face it: For the most part, many players from our industry saw little need for advocacy in recent years. Business was going well, with economies growing simultaneously around the world. Howev [...]

By UFI President| 2020-07-08T14:59:39+00:00 July 8th, 2020|All, UFI News|0 Comments

Position Paper – TODAY IS GLOBAL EXHIBITIONS DAY!
Position Paper – TODAY IS GLOBAL EXHIBITIONS DAY!

Position Paper – TODAY IS GLOBAL EXHIBITIONS DAY!

Exhibitions are the most powerful ECONOMIC GROWTH ENGINES that drive economic recovery and the EU’s progress on a fast track mode Exhibitions are key to rebuilding economies The trade fairs and exhibitions industry will reconnect and rebuild businesses. We are an industry that is proud to be both a contributor to local economies and a stimulus for business growth throughout the world. Exhibitions are the marketplaces and meeting places for entire industries – regionally, nationally, and internat [...]

By Guest| 2020-06-29T10:19:14+00:00 June 3rd, 2020|All, Europe, Exhibition Industry, UFI News|1 Comment

Turning JMIC’s research into an explosive campaign tool
Turning JMIC’s research into an explosive campaign tool

Turning JMIC’s research into an explosive campaign tool

Antony Reeve-Crook, Director, ArciMedia Ltd. The Joint Meetings Industry Council's recently-unveiled report on the benefits of our industry; Business Events Legacies, may prove to be a lot more significant than its title suggests – but it needs our help to give it the impact it deserves. The report’s authors from the University of Technology Sydney, associate professors Carmel Foley and Deborah Edwards, and Pavlina Javoska and Anja Hergesell, claim it reveals “significant” shortcomings in the [...]

By Antony Reeve-Crook| 2019-07-03T14:18:02+00:00 July 3rd, 2019|Exhibition Industry, Exhibition Marketing, UFI News|1 Comment

Are Exhibitors Another Dollar to be Made?
Are Exhibitors Another Dollar to be Made?

Are Exhibitors Another Dollar to be Made?

Stephanie Selesnick, President of International Trade Information, Inc. Recently, I was in charge of coordinating the booths for clients at two exhibitions here in the United States. The process was painful. One of the worst parts was navigating exhibitor manuals. Both (from different companies) were not intuitive and technologically challenging. In other words, it was difficult to find, then order booth display items, etc. Compare that with TripAdvisor.com, who makes the experience easy. You [...]

By Stephanie Selesnick| 2018-12-20T14:07:17+00:00 December 20th, 2018|All, Best Practices, Exhibition Industry, Exhibition Industry Research, Topics, UFI News, UFI Updates|3 Comments

UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2019
UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2019

UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2019

Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO/ MD. As every year, the UFI team has used our association’s Global Congress as well as many separate conversations all around the world to isolate and identify the core themes that the UFI team feels will impact the global exhibition industry in 2019. So today, let me share with you “UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2019”: Written by Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO/ MD. Shifting trade patterns and a jittery global economy Amidst a climate of political tension, protectionism and fals [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-12-07T08:59:51+00:00 December 4th, 2018|All, Exhibition Industry, UFI News, UFI Updates|1 Comment