AEFI’S TECHNICAL COMMITTEE WORKING ON THE ISSUES OF SAFETY, WASTE DISPOSAL AND ENERGY COST REDUCTION FOR EVER MORE MODERN, EFFICIENT EXHIBITION CENTRES
Chaired by its newly appointed director, Nazario Pedini, the AEFI Technical Committee has met at
the offices of the Vicenza Exhibition Centre (IEG – Italian Exhibition Group).
The meeting covered a wide range of issues: from training and education to a report on the progress of the AEFI-ASAL-INAIL
round table on safety in exhibition centres, an analysis of associates’ situation in relation to recent rises in the cost of energy,
and best practices for reducing the production of waste materials in exhibition centres and hence the cost of disposal.
The meeting opened with a presentation of “La Città dei Mestieri”, the Corporate Academy for the professional training of fair
stand fitters, established three years ago at Rimini with the aim of certifying the competencies of fitters at the international
level and gaining official recognition for their professional qualification. It is essential that fitters be competent and qualified,
and the training programme set up by La Città dei Mestieri is designed to raise the quality of exhibition centre staff, valorise
and transfer their know-how to the network of associated businesses, promote new employment, enable talented
professionals to emerge, facilitate individual enterprise, and improve safety on the work site.
The attendees judged the initiative to be a success and will review the option of extending it to other centres.
During the meeting, Giovanni Giuliani from BolognaFiere reported in detail on the work of the AEFI-ASAL-INAIL round table
on safety in exhibition centres, as regards the implementation of the INAIL guidelines which are currently being completed
for publication.
As regards the costs of electricity and gas, the AEFI Technical Committee reviewed the situation of associated exhibition
centres. In 2018, the cost of raw electrical energy – which accounts for around 35% of charges – has increased by around
50%, while the price of gas has increased to a similar extent. Starting from an analysis of these increases, the associates
present at the meeting shared ideas and best practices for reducing energy costs.
A special session was dedicated to the issue of waste disposal and best practices for reducing waste production and hence
reducing its attendant costs. To facilitate all processes, the AEFI Technical Committee is working to draw up and implement
a set of rules to govern the management and disposal of the waste produced by fitters and exhibitors throughout events
(fitting, the event itself, and tear down).
The meeting concluded with a preliminary assessment of the Committee’s summer meeting which, as in every year, will be
centred around a visit to a European exhibition centre chosen as an example of excellence with the aim of stimulating
discussion of the role of services in exhibitions and how to optimise Italian districts.
AEFI – Italian Exhibition and Trade Fair Association, 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, with
CENTREX, the International Exhibition Statistics Union and with EUPIC-EU Project Innovation Center. 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 Giovanni Laezza, 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.