The Exhibition and Event Industry is one of the strongest communities in the world. It has demonstrated over the past months that collaboration and anticipation are the key words for the return of exhibitions.

IELA 2020 OPERATIONS SUMMIT

With the recovery chronicle post covid-19 starting now in Europe, IELA kicks-off IELA RELOAD 2.0 with the online IELA 2020 Operations Summit. This 3-week online training and networking programme, organised by the IELA Education & Training Programme Working Group, will provide all IELA Member operational staff with key updated information regarding workplace digitalisation and regulations in the NEW ERA of the event & exhibition logistics industry.

The event programme invites key industry speakers for the following sessions:

• RE-THINKING BEST PRACTICE: THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON OPERATIONS by Elizabeth Niehaus - IELA Executive Officer

• POST COVID-19 GUIDELINES: ANALYSIS OF NEW REGULATIONS & BEST PRACTICES by David Palomo - Chair of the IELA Standards and Customs Working Group and Operations Manager Suomen Messulogistiikka Oy, Finland.

• BEST PRACTICE - POST COVID-19, FIRA BARCELONA: by Jordi Estruga, Guest Events Operations Director - Fira Barcelona.

• DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION, by Stephan Forseilles, Head of Technology and Digital Transformation at Easyfairs, Belgium

• BEST PRACTICE - POST CARAVAN SALON 2020 by Stefan Koschke, Director Caravan Salon and Ian Hume, Director Logistics and Site Service both from Messe Düsseldorf, Germany, together with IELA Members Claus Hölzer and Andreas Simon, Director and Head of Domestic Fairs & Events at DB Schenker Düsseldorf Germany and Ingo Brottinger - Branch Manager, Kuehne + Nagel Düsseldorf, Germany

• TRANSITION TO DIGITAL, by Naud Becker - Director of Congresses & Associations MCI Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Each live online session will be followed by breakout sessions (100 participants by teams of 5 people, a total of 20 simultaneous sessions) accompanied by a dedicated group mentor. The participants will be divided into groups of five participants and will focus two weeks long on Rethinking best practice: The impact of COVID-19 on Operations, engaging selectively with a problem-solving objective approach. The topic Rethinking will feature as the evaluation topic this year.

All attendees actively joining the sessions and group brainstorms will be rewarded with a certificate of attendance. The group with the most innovative outcome will be honoured with free of charge registration at the IELA Congress 2021.

In his address to all Members, Guido Fornelli, IELA 2020-2022 Chairman, stated:

"I am very sorry not to be able to welcome you in person but at least this situation has allowed us to increase the number of participants in the IELA Operations Summit so not all evil comes to harm!

Our industry is sailing in troubled water, we are one of the most affected markets by the crisis, caused by the COVID emergency and this is why this year’s summit is even more important.

Entering in the NEW NOW, on-site operations will become key. Our approach and our operation management will be indeed vital to restore confidence in our customers so that they will came back to the fairgrounds unafraid and safe.

To do so we will need to look into many new solutions supported by technology, in synchronicity with our partners, looking for an increased modularity of projects in order to offer even more efficiency.

Taking all this into consideration, let’s enjoy our summit, get inspired by the speeches of our guest speakers and develop our teamwork.

Let each of us become a driver of change!”

IELA TALKS

The first season of IELA RELOAD focused on the situation of Organisers and Venue Owners during the lockdown. With exhibitions facing a re-opening, IELA will offer four IELA TALKS during IELA RELOAD 2.0, inviting industry partners to discuss the challenges in the re-opening phase.

• The NEW NORMAL in a NEW ERA, co-hosted by IFES, with Torsten Heinze, Justin Hawes, Jacqui Nel and Niseth Boeringhter

• WINNING EXHIBITOR CONFIDENCE BACK with Jörn Holtmeier, AUMA CEO.

• BOLD LEADERS 2020 - Lessons learned from the post COVID-19-2020 re-opening of shows, moderated by Ravinder Sethi, IELA Committee Chairperson & CMD R.E. Rogers India with Wolfram N. Diener, CEO Messe Düsseldorf, Klaus Dittrich, CEO Messe München, Michael Duck, Executive Vice President and Informa Markets Group Chief Representative for China, Douglas Emslie, Group Managing Director at TarsusGgroup plc, Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO, Simon Kimble, Chairman Clarion Events Ltd, Monika Lee-Müller, UFI Incoming President 2021-2022 and Managing Director of Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Management) Limited (HML), and Anbu Varathan, UFI Incoming President 2020-2021 and CEO Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC).

• LOOKING AHEAD, new formats, models and strategies in the Event & Exhibition Industry.

RECOVERY FILES

Boosting a culture of constant learning and commitment to transformation, IELA will be sharing a library of 23 RECOVERY FILES. The files of this content pool will be individually released on each working day not featuring a live session. In times of crisis, the approach is mainly based on professional development including external frameworks, guidelines and initiatives to inspire resiliency and take action, but also provides personal development measures.

The Event & Exhibition Industry steps up with solutions to serve customers and stick together - maybe like no other industry does. Meeting & connecting with people in order to engage in transformation is what makes the difference in our job. This industry has dealt with challenges in the past and will continue dealing with upcoming challenges in the future. We will always be ready to perform.

Having presented the IELA programme for the next 2 months, the association now sends out a call for collaboration to even more industry partners and associations wishing to participate in Winning Exhibitor Confidence Back!

Please contact the IELA Secretariat for more information: elizabeth@iela.org

About IELA RELOAD:
Visit www.iela.org/events/iela-reload.html

About IELA:
 The International Exhibition Logistics Association is the global industry network enhancing the professionalism of the transportation logistics and freight handling segments of the exhibition & event industry. IELA works with venue owners, organisers and national associations educating, training and sharing expertise for safe and secure operations around the world. The quality brand IELA is currently represented by 168 members and 29 affiliates in 56 countries.