FOR GLOBAL EXHIBITIONS DAY 2019 – #GED19 AEFI PRESENTS “COOPERATION AND SUSTAINABILITY. CHANGE DRIVERS FOR ITALIAN FAIRS”

5 JUNE 2019 – ROME. AUDITORIUM DELL’ARA PACIS

The fourth edition of Global Exhibitions Day, #GED19, the most important event of the year for the trade show sector, is just around the corner.

Following on from the success of previous editions, which have involved thousands of sector professionals from more than 85 countries, on 5 June – respecting what has become a tradition relating to the first Wednesday in June – attention will focus on trade shows during Global Exhibitions Day, which has become the annual event of reference for the sector on a global scale.

“Cooperation and Sustainability” is the name of the event that AEFI is organising in order to solicit the public opinion, institutions and the economic world as to the centrality of the Italian trade show industry.

Using the themes proposed by the UFI (World Exhibition Union) as a starting point, AEFI has developed a concept that aims to promote exhibitions as drivers for the sustainable business growth of participating companies and highlight the contribution shows make to achieving the sustainable development goals set out by the UN (UNSDG), without forgetting the impact on employment thanks to the numerous job opportunities offered by the trade show world.

With “Cooperation and Sustainability”, AEFI for #GED19 will also use concrete cases to showcase how cooperation is the key to standing out, collaboration between exhibitions helping to promote the Made in Italy and
strengthen the industry, offering SMEs greater development opportunities.

The “Cooperation and Sustainability” commemorative event of 5 June will take place in Rome, against the evocative backdrop of the Auditorium dell’Ara Pacis, and will see sector experts share their opinions and knowledge.

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 internationalisation 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 36 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.