Get ready for Global Exhibitions Day 2018!

The Exhibition and Event Association of Australia (EEAA) welcomes The Global Association for the Exhibition Industry’s (UFI) decision to put a spotlight on skills development and careers in the sector for Global Exhibitions Day 2018 (#GED18).

EEAA Chief Executive, Joyce DiMascio, said the Association had been proactive in both advocating for better skills and training policies and developing initiatives to attract and retain talent to the sector over many years and was pleased to support this focus as part of its #GED18 promotions.

“The Association has done a lot of work across the spectrum of talent acquisition and retention, from working with partners to develop programs that help to feed the employment pipeline, to recognising and rewarding talent with our own Young Stars Program and Richard Geddes Young Achiever Award,” DiMascio said.

“We are continuing to work in partnership with our members, industry groups, government agencies and business partners to ensure the skills development and training needs of the sector are represented, that course curriculum is matched to these needs and is fit-for-purpose and that students are properly equipped for jobs in the sector.”

DiMascio added that the Association planned to expand on its recent work in promoting the benefits of working in the sector to school leavers and their parents as part of its #GED18 program.

“A large part of our #GED18 promotions will be centred around promoting jobs in exhibitions and events as compelling career choices. Through a series of career profiles – based on a cross-section of roles within the sector – we’ll bring jobs in the exhibition and event industry to life for young people.”

“In the coming weeks, we’ll reveal the eight industry success stories that will be featured in this promotion – stay tuned!”

The Association has a full event and advocacy program planned for #GED18.

“We’ve seen Global Exhibitions Day gain prominence over the past three years as an important platform for raising the profile of our sector as major contributors to economic development, trade and investment, business and jobs creation to government and business leaders across the globe,” DiMascio said.

“We fully support the initiative and have realigned our major annual events to reflect this, including adding our annual conference and a Global Exhibitions Day Dinner to our 6-7 June event line-up.”

“We have also written to key government, industry and business leaders promoting the strengths of trade and consumer expos as important marketplaces for driving business outcomes across diverse sectors of the economy, particularly in emerging and modern industries, and creating the jobs of the future.”

“This is just part of a comprehensive program of activity we have planned for #GED18.”

The Association’s #GED18 program includes:

• Key EEAA annual events aligned to the campaign:
  • EEAA 2018 Leaders Forum (6 June)
  • EEAA 2018 Global Exhibitions Day and Leaders Forum Dinner (6 June)
  • EEAA 2018 Conference (7 June)
  • EEAA 2018 Annual General Meeting (7 June)
• Letter packs mailed to around 30 key government, business and industry leaders
• Social media campaign
• The development of career profiles – based on a cross-section of roles within the sector – that will bring jobs in the exhibition and event industry to life for young people (school leavers) and their parents (more to come).

The Association is calling on the industry to support its initiatives and amplify Australia’s voice on the global stage.

“GED is an important time for the industry to stand united in advocating the diverse and significant Power of Exhibitions,” DiMascio said.

“As the first country to kick off the global campaign, this is a great opportunity for Australia to set the tone for another impactful Global Exhibitions Day.”

“Last year, we were honoured to be awarded with the inaugural Global Exhibitions Day Industry Impact Award and we look forward to building on our success in 2018.”

You can get involved in #GED18 in one of the following ways:

1. Attend one of our events

To signal the importance of #GED18, the Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) has aligned its most important annual events to the campaign, to be held over 6-7 June 2018 in Sydney, NSW. Register for our events on our website: EEAA 2018 Leaders Forum, EEAA 2018 Global Exhibitions Day and Leaders Forum Dinner, EEAA 2018 Conference.

2. Participate online

(a)Simply take a photo or record a video of you and/or your colleagues, along with a message in line with the below key messages, and upload it to one or more of your preferred social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn). Remember to tag us, @eeaaupdate, and include the official hashtags, #GED18, #PowerOfExhibitions.

Perhaps you fancy a challenge, such as the #GEDNumberChallenge. Gather as many colleagues, friends, clients as you can and see how many people you can fit into a single image – the current record is 54 people.

(b)The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) has launched a ‘Follow me’ campaign, which invites members of the exhibition community to create a short 2-minute video that showcases the variety of job roles and exciting career opportunities within the sector by sharing a ‘typical day at work’, from junior roles right through to the CEO. These videos allow you to promote your employees, your company and your company’s working culture, while stimulating interest from those outside the industry to consider working in the sector. Share your videos on social media and send them to ged@ufi.org so they can be added to UFI’s Global Exhibitions Day playlist.

(c)Spread the word. Let EEAA know what you are doing for #GED18. Email: support@eeaa.com.au and register your activity with UFI.