AEFI AT THE 82nd UFI CONGRESS
From 4 to 7 November, the AEFI – Italian Exhibition and Trade Fair Association – will be taking part in the Annual Congress of the UFI (Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) in its 82nd edition.
The UFI Annual Congress is hosted by alternating countries to ensure that all of its members have the chance to participate. This year it is being held in Italy, in Milan at MiCo – Milano Congressi: this edition also sees the celebration of the UFI’s 90th anniversary from its foundation in the very same city in 1925, and the Association’s new president, Sergey Alexeev, will be presented officially. He will assume office at the end of the Congress.
The event will see participants engaged in a packed four-day programme, broken down into various sessions to offer updates and analysis for understanding the nature of “The Trade Fair Industry in 2030” thanks to contributions from the sector’s experts and professionals.
There will be no shortage of opportunities for discussion and dialogue on trends in the trade fair market as well as for networking, in order to gain contacts and business.
Around 500 delegates take part in the Congress each year, including trade fair organisers, presidents, chairmen, CEOs and representatives of fair organisations, plus service providers, from about 50 countries all over the world.
In the dedicated space, the AEFI will support all visitors with information and documents on the activity of the Association and of all its members.
AEFI – the Italian Exhibition and Trade Fair Association – was set up in 1983 with a view to generating synergies between the most significant Italian exhibition districts. Specifically, 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: the Exhibition Hub Technical Committee, the Administrative-Legal Committee, the Trade Fairs Network Committee, the IT and Technical Innovation Committee, and the new Initiatives and Programmes Committee.
To increase the international character of Italian trade fairs, AEFI collaborates with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Productive Activities and ICE Agency.
On an international scale, AEFI represents Italian trade fairs in UFI – Union of International Fairs. Each year the Association publishes, with the Ministry of Productive Activities, the official calendar of Italian trade fair events recognised as international and their statistical data.
Chaired by Ettore Riello, AEFI includes 34 member exhibition districts, which organise over 1,000 events a year over an overall exhibition area of 4.2 million square metres. 95% of international trade fairs, and 85% of all trade fairs, which take place each year in Italy, are held in AEFI-member exhibition districts.