UFI’s LATAM (Latin American) Conference takes place online from August 10-12 and will showcase LATAM companies and speakers from throughout the region. Unlike all other UFI events, this one is being held in Spanish and will be professionally simulcast in both English and Portuguese.

With 11 sessions, 32 speakers and a lot of networking in between, I discussed the program with Ana Maria Arango, UFI’s LATAM Regional Director. It kicks off with Reinventing Live and Going Omnichannel with Marco Gilberti, Vesuvio Ventures (USA), Mauricio Deval Macedo, Cipa Fiera Milano (Brasil) and Francisco Sotomayor, GL Events Chile.

She said, “One of the unique things we are doing with this year’s LATAM Conference is to move delegates into breakouts immediately following most of the sessions to further discuss the content and meet new people. Although Grip is usually UFI’s partner in networking, as part of our focus on LATAM companies, we’ll be using Colombian company Incontacto’s platform. We will also offer some daily fun breaks including magic, Latin American music trivia and more.”

During the Conference,UFI will be releasing the latest Global Barometer report based on results from the first half of the year. A distinguished panel: Kai Hattendorf, UFI, José Navarro Meneses, Tarsus Mexico and UFI LATAM Chapter Chair, Raul Strauss Justiniano, Fexpocruz (Bolivia), Joao de Nagy, World Trade Center Sao Paulo (Brasil), Fernando Gorbarán, Messe Frankfurt Argentina will share and analyze the results from Brasil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

New this year is a Shark Tank-style session focusing on Digitalisation and Networking Strategies. Marco Gilberti, in his role as event tech angel investor and guru will interview four companies from LATAM and Swapcard on their latest offerings. The winner will be decided by a combination of delegate votes and Marco’s judgement.

From the US, Glenda Brungardt, HP Inc. (an exhibitor), Marty Glynn, Mad Event Management, and Exhibitor Magazine’s Randy Acker will have a frank talk about The Exhibitor Transition and the Change in Their Expectations. As Marty explained, “Things have shifted and exhibitors have different expectations and demands post COVID-19. Where marketing dollars go remains to be seen, but it won’t all be on the show floor. Everything going forward has to be measurable.”

As we all know, exhibition service providers have been especially hard hit over the last 17 months. Two of the most recognized service providers, Francisco Collazo, Sistexpo (Mexico) and Luis Proano Recalde, Comefex (Ecuador) will present Service Providers: the Most Affected Segment in the Industry? And discuss their experiences and plans going forward. Like exhibitors, a return to the old way of doing business is not part of that future.

Held in 2.5-hour increments over three days, at US $20 for UFI members and $50 for non-members, the UFI LATAM conference is a very affordable way to get an accurate and updated overview on the reopening of this huge, important region. To register click here.