Dear colleagues, dear UFI members,

The next weeks will be busy for the UFI team as we prepare the Global Congress, finalise research projects, and work with colleagues at JMIC to have the “Net Zero Carbon Events Roadmap” ready in time for COP27, the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt. You will find updates on these projects and activities in this UFI Info.

In parallel, the regular work at UFI continues, and we are adapting as your industry association to meet your evolving needs and challenges. You might have seen that the UFI leadership has agreed to expand the UFI team and bring in two additional colleagues, who will focus on advocacy and content– areas where we have increased our involvement. UFI now has, metaphorically speaking, “seats at the table” in projects and activities with organisations like the UNFCC, the OECD, and ISO. These new colleagues will allow us to give the necessary attention to these demands, and to share this work in a better way with you, our global membership.

At the same time, we are of course reviewing our activities, and reducing what is no longer necessary. One good example is our work around the pandemic. Throughout 2020 and parts of 2021, the team was solely focused on activities and projects related to this unprecedented challenge. As the industry reopened and we restarted face-to-face events, we kept the pandemic research, and continued to update documents like the “Market Tracker”, which shows where in the world the industry was operating again normally. However, after two years, we are closing down the tracker and scaling back the COVID-19 resources section on the UFI website. I am still humbled to hear that industry peers have called our COVID-19 resources “exemplary and outstanding”.

As we drive these ongoing developments, we are encouraged by the numbers of new members joining our association. Just a few weeks back, the Executive Committee could again confirm a dozen new businesses from around the world as new UFI members. For some, this is the first UFI Info ever received! So, to all of you – welcome! I look forward so much to meeting you in person at the nearest opportunity, which hopefully is in Oman next month for the Global Congress!

Best regards,

UFI CEO, Kai Hattendorf