SATISFACTION FOR AEFI: CERTIFICATION CONFIRMED AMONG THE REQUISITES FOR ACCESSING FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE INTERNATIONALISATION OF THE REGION’S TRADE FAIRS

The 2018 Notice for the Emilia Romagna Region regarding the assignment of subsidies for regional trade fair system internationalisation projects has been published. AEFI – the Italian Exhibition and Trade Fair Association – expresses its unqualified appreciation of the fact that certification has been confirmed among the requisites for accessing the funds.
Approved with a resolution of the Regional Council on 5 March and published on 9 March, the purpose of the notice is the awarding of subsidies for internationalisation projects to benefit trade fair companies and the organisers of trade fairs that qualify as international, in Emilia-Romagna’s trade fair and business sector.
Demonstrating the importance of statistics for trade fairs, which increase their level of quality and transparency, accredited ISO25639:2008 Certification has been confirmed among the requisites for accessing the funds – as in the previous edition – as a voluntary national standard resulting from the State–Regions Agreement in the Joint Conference of 6 February 2014.
AEFI, which has been stressing its importance for years, is particularly pleased that the value of Certification is recognised. As far back as 2005, AEFI promoted and contributed to the establishment of ISFCert, the Certification Institute for Exhibition Industry Statistics, recognised by ACCREDIA, in order to allow members to fulfil the obligations set out by certain Regions and to address the need for certainty and transparency in trade fair statistics for the competitiveness of the Italian trade fair offer in a global context.
The value of the subsidy, up to a maximum of 100,000 euros, is 40% for the individual promoting body or for special invitation initiatives only, or 50% in the case of co-partnership of several bodies or through associations formed abroad.
The projects, to run in relation to international, certified trade fairs held in Emilia-Romagna, must support and increase opportunities for trade, industrial collaboration and investment in the region’s SMEs.
The notice also envisages, for trade fairs not yet certified, payment of 50% of expenses for ISO 25639:2008 certification by an institute recognised by ACCREDIA, with reference to the edition of the exhibition linked to the internationalisation project.
Further proof of Certification as a decisive factor in access to subsidies for trade fairs is its addition among the preferential criteria in the 2018 Notice for innovation and promotion of the Lombard trade fair system from the Economic Development Department of the Lombardy Region.
Trade fairs certified by an ACCREDIA-recognised certifying body were able to benefit from additional points, up to 10. 28 projects are financed by this initiative, for which the application process closed on 11 October.

AEFI – Associazione Esposizioni e Fiere Italiane, a private non-profit Association, was established in 1983 with the goal of generating synergies between the most important Italian exhibition districts. AEFI would like to be seen as a privileged partner for operators and institutions alike, and its role is to support members through the development of activities and programmes in the sphere of training, marketing, promotion and research, as well as to provide services for trade fairs through the activities of its Committees: Exhibition Hub Technical Committee, Legal-Administrative Committee, Internationalisation Committee and Trade Fairs Network Committee.
On the internationalization front, AEFI supports members thanks to agreements with strategic markets. To date, partnerships have been agreed with Iran, Taiwan, Lebanon, India, Thailand and South Africa, with AmCham, the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy, and with CENTREX, the International Exhibition Statistics Union. A memorandum of understanding has been signed with SACE and SIMEST.
AEFI has promoted the foundation of ISFCert, the Certification Institute for Exhibition Industry Statistics which, through rigorous methodologies, enables Italian organisers to present and recognise standardised data, in the name of transparency and reliability.
AEFI represents Italian trade fairs in UFI – Union of International Fairs. Chaired by Ettore Riello, AEFI includes 35 member exhibition districts, which organise over 1,000 events a year over an overall exhibition area of 4.2 million square metres. Nearly all international and national trade fairs which take place each year in Italy are held in AEFI-member exhibition districts.