UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, has announced that registrations for its annual Global Congress are going strong, with participants from more than 50 countries and markets already confirmed to attend the 90th anniversary edition of the UFI Global Congress in Las Vegas, 1-4 November.
This year, the Congress is being proudly hosted by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and will feature the theme ‘Go beyond!’ Throughout the curated content and networking events the Congress will explore ideas, innovations, and strategies emerging that are propelling the exhibition industry forward.
“This year’s theme of ‘Go beyond!’ is really well timed. As the exhibition industry is on track to go beyond our previous top revenues, we will also have to go beyond what we are doing in many ways in the coming years – on digitisation, on staffing and talent acquisition, on our responses to the climate challenge, and so on,” says Michael Duck, UFI President.
Around 40 speakers from around the globe have been announced to date, with more to follow. From CEO-led strategy sessions to the 2023 Next Generation Leaders showcase, including best practice deep dives and short, op-ed style interventions, the programming will build on the UFI conferences of recent months held around the world.
Given the strong interest from exhibition industry leaders to connect with the North American market, a special programme will take place on the Friday afternoon, focusing on the state of the industry in the US and Canada, and connecting US industry players with their global peers.
Dedicated matchmaking
In addition to world class content sessions, the Congress serves as the global meeting of the industry’s leaders.
“At every Congress, we connect leaders across geographies to create business opportunities for them. A focal point is always to give opportunities for the industry in the respective Congress host country to take advantage of the global industry leadership coming to them,” says Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO.
To help drive these connections, UFI will run dedicated matchmaking sessions before the start of the main Congress programme as icebreaker sessions. These will especially focus on participants from North America, First Time Attendees, and other special groups.
Social events and activities
No UFI Congress is complete without the legendary evening events and other social activities. These include the Welcome Reception on Wednesday, the Big Night Out on Thursday, and the Post Congress Excursions on Saturday. Add to that UFI Sports activities in the mornings, and several additional options to gather and explore, and participants will have a full range of possibilities to take in what Vegas has to offer together with their peers.
The Congress will be held at the ARIA Resort & Casino, located on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.
“We are honoured Las Vegas will serve as the inaugural US host city to welcome the world’s premier trade show organisers for the UFI Global Congress. We look forward to celebrating UFI’s 90th anniversary event in Only Vegas style,” said Steve Hill, CEO/president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
A global event for a global industry
Fitting for a global association, the UFI Global Congress takes place on a different continent each year. It is coming to North America from the Middle East, having taken place in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, last year. After North America in 2023, the event will move to Europe for 2024 and take place in Cologne, Germany. The 2025 edition will be in Asia and take place in Hong Kong.
Registration for the UFI Global Congress is open for members from UFI as well as those from SISO in the US and UFI’s G3 partner associations AIPC and ICCA. Participants can register at www.uficongress.org. Special pricing remains available until 15 September.
Industry associations wishing to organise business missions connected to the UFI Global Congress are requested to contact events@ufi.org.
An overview of Congress sessions
Here are three highlights from among the Congress sessions being prepared:
The Global Economic Outlook, with Cody Feldman, Economist Intelligence Unit
The global economy has likely managed to skirt a recession in 2023, despite sharp monetary policy tightening and recent geopolitical shocks. But as we #gobeyond, there is a global trend towards more fragmentation and regionalisation in the world economy as supply chains are revisited and co-operation falters on critical policy issues such as climate and technology. From Cody, you will learn about the key macroeconomic, business and geopolitical trends that will affect the global economy in the coming year – and what this means for our global exhibition industry business.
What Customers Expect Today – and Tomorrow, with Sophie Holt, managing director, Explori
Our industry is changing as the needs of our customers are changing. To stay relevant, we have to evolve ever faster, adapting to more complex and more demanding expectations from exhibiting companies. In this session, Sophie will share what businesses value about our events, what they dislike, and leading exhibitors will show where we need to #gobeyond as an industry to stay relevant.
A New Blueprint for Event Planning & Operations, with Otero Finiti (Italy), Elizabeth George (US), Tehchad Kittiboonya (Thailand), Aya Moatamed (Egypt), Amy Saleh (Australia)
UFI’s 2023 Class of Next Generation Leaders will take the stage to present their work on how our core product needs to change. Over the past months, the group has been working to define a new blueprint for event planning and operations that will make us #gobeyond today’s tried and tested approaches on and around our show floors. The group is sure we need to change and evolve, and the faster we do, the better.
Follow UFI on LinkedIn for continuing updates on the programme and other Congress highlights: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ufi-association
