The inaugural winner of the Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia’s (EEAA) Richard Geddes Young Achiever Award, Georgie Chapman-Burgess, is heading to Tokyo for the Asia-Pacific Conference of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), thanks to her winning the Tourism Australia scholarship.
Chapman-Burgess, Operations Manager, Exhibition and Trade Fairs, will be one of four Australian women in the Australian delegation, along with Joyce DiMascio, CEO, Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA); Helen Mantellato, Business Development Manager - International & Exhibitions, International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) and Jo-Anne Kelleway, CEO, Info-Salons Group.
EEAA Chief Executive, Joyce DiMascio, said that she was thrilled to be introducing Ms Chapman-Burgess to the global community.
“This is an outstanding development opportunity for the winner of our Richard Geddes Young Achiever award and we are immensely grateful to Tourism Australia for sponsoring this scholarship.” DiMascio said.
Three hundred leaders from around the world will tackle the issues impacting the sector at the Asia-Pacific Conference, 14-15 March, in the Tokyo Big Sight venue.
Tourism Australia’s Penny Lion and John Trevillian, AM, were on the judging panel to select the recipient of the scholarship.
“Tourism Australia recognises the importance of nurturing young talent in business events. Georgie Chapman-Burgess will have a career defining experience and we are very pleased to be involved with scholarship,” Lion said.
“The business events industry provides outstanding career opportunities for young people – we commend the work of the EEAA and look forward to seeing what Georgie will achieve.”
Chapman-Burgess will also be on the programme for the EEAA Conference in June where she will report back to the community about her experience and learnings from Tokyo.
“I am honoured to be attending the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference and am keen to learn what challenges our industry will face in the future, with particular significance to the rise of digital tools and platforms and how this will transform the way we communicate,” Chapman-Burgess said. Chapman-Burg Managing Director, Gary Daly, is sure she will make the most of this opportunity.
“At Exhibition and Trade Fairs, our goal is to develop our young people to not only to be the best they can be, but to demonstrate the potential for a long-term career in the exhibition industry. Over the past 3 years, Georgie has developed a passion for the industry and a thirst for knowledge.” Daly said, adding: “We thank the EEAA for its ongoing recognition of our industry’s young talent.”
EEAA will call for nominations for the 2019 Richard Geddes Young Achiever Award in August 2019.
An EY study, The Value of Business Events to Australia, found there were 2,157 exhibitions staged in Australia, attracting 9.3m visitors and over 65,000 exhibitors. The total direct expenditure from exhibitions was AUD$3.1bn (US$2.18bn) and these events contributed direct value add of AUD$1.5bn and generated over 21,000 full time equivalent jobs.
Read more about EEAA here.
Photo, courtesy of Homepix Photography: The Australian team attending the UFI conference in Tokyo: L-R: Jo-Anne Kelleway, Georgie Chapman-Burgess, Joyce DiMascio, Monica Armesto, Helen Mantellato
