GED 7 JUNE 2023: a good day in AEFI’s history

#GED2023, the eighth Global Exhibition Day, got underway on a twin track: on the one hand marking 40 years of activity for the Association and our Administrative-Legal and Technical Committees, and on the other a reflection on the theme launched by UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry “We run the meeting places and marketplaces for everyone”.

To celebrate our heritage, we first of all had a look back at the topics that have shaped each decade of our work:

• the desire to join forces to share experiences and jointly face a market that in just a few decades has gone from Italy, to Europe, to the world
• the regional decentralisation of trade fair expertise and the privatisation of structures
• innovation and internationalisation
• internationalisation and sustainability

The methodology followed is one of knowledge-sharing through participation. The Technical and Administrative-Legal Committees, joined over the years by the Fiere in rete Committee and Internationalisation Committee, have performed this task of advising and supporting members.

The topics of the debate

What can be done to create “the meeting places and marketplaces for everyone”?

This is the question that was first answered by the Administrative-Legal, Technical and Fiere in rete Committees after they met at the exhibition venue in Rome on 6 June 2023. A number of contingent issues that needed to be resolved were highlighted, which can be summarised as follows:?

• Administrative-Legal Committee: a framework is needed that unambiguously recognises the private nature of the trade fair business, providing the legislative tools to be able to operate successfully on the market. The topics most in need of clarification are IMU property tax, procurement, public participation and related activities

• Technical Committee: we need to move further forward on the issue of safety and sustainability along the lines identified. The work carried out with INAIL on stand safety, the “Stand Design Guidelines and Integration of Exhibition Centre Technical Regulations” shared with ASAL- Assoallestimenti, have made it possible to make significant progress; energy efficiency and self-sufficiency, compliance with waste regulations, Cam (Minimum Environmental Criteria) and safety and firefighting are the topics for the future.

• For Fiere in rete, the Committee in which the association's small trade fairs operate, it is time to unite programmes in Italy and abroad in order to convey to the public the successful initiatives that are being implemented in the various regions.

The space and the welcome provided by Fiera di Roma allowed us to thank the coordinators of the committees present - Nazario Pedini, Giovanni Giuliani for the Technical Committee, Giovanni Barbato and Alessandro Savoia for the Legal Committee, and Francesco Crognale, who hosted us at Fiera di Roma and organised every aspect of the event with his colleagues.

It was also a worthwhile opportunity for integrating the know-how and activities of the various Committees, in which there is an ever-increasing participation of “women in exhibition”.

The 7 June programme

The morning of 7 June kicked off with the attendance at the general audience of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, which was attended by all members. A special initiative that made the coinciding anniversaries even more significant.

The olive tree, that our associate Raimondo Ursitti sent us from his native Puglia, was donated to the Holy Father as irreplaceable messenger of peace.

In the afternoon, at the Temple of Vibia Sabina and Adriano of the Rome Chamber of Commerce, the conference “Tourism and internationalisation: two trade fair capitals supporting Made in Italy” was held, a public event celebrating and discussing what had been organised by Aefi, with the presentation of two new studies carried out with Prometeia and Roland Berger Italia.

We refer to the AEFI - Italian Exhibition and Trade Fair Association for the extensive works of the afternoon appointmen here we would like to highlight in these few lines:

• the considerable attentiveness of the Authorities that focused their attention on our sector on 7 June, Daniela Santanchè Minister of Tourism, was present as was Matteo Zoppas, president of the ICE Agency. Expressions of commitment and support also came from the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso - who was expected at the conference but had to cancel it only at the end due to unforeseeable institutional commitments - and from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani
• the market spaces that the two research projects by Roland Berger and Prometeia have identified both in terms of the relationship between trade fairs and tourism and internationalisation and confirmed by speakers at the round table: Federico Bricolo, president of Veronafiere SpA, Antonio Bruzzone, general manager of BolognaFiere SpA and vice president of Aefi, Roberto Foresti, strategy director of Fiera Milano SpA, Pietro Piccinetti, vice president of Aefi and Renato Pujatti, coordinator of the Aefi Fiere in rete Committee and president of Pordenone Fiere SpA.
• spaces that justify a real call to action by AEFI president Maurizio Danese both to build a closer link between the development of our events and the expansion of tourism, and for a greater presence overseas “where Italian operators develop on average less than 10% of their overall revenues. This is why the challenge, starting in the medium term, will be to create an effective tool to support the growth of leading events outside Italy”.

The Awards

The celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Italian Association of Trade Fairs in the context of GED 2023 was also an opportunity to look back at Aefi’s growth through the commitment of its successive top management.

For this reason, at the end of the event, Aefi president Maurizio Danese wished to express his gratitude and appreciation to past presidents Rodolfo Lopes Pegna, Raffaele Cercola and Giovanni Laezza, who were present at the event. A recognition that was also awarded to Roberto Luongo, who will be retiring from his position as director of Ice Agenzia. He was always alongside trade fairs and Italian manufacturing companies to support them in their promotion and internationalisation.

See you on 5 June for GED2024!