EEAA's MICE lobbying wins inaugural GED Award

The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia’s (EEAA) achievements in government advocacy have been recognised by industry peers in the inaugural Global Exhibition Day Awards 2017. Awarded the Industry Impact Award, the association’s activities for Global Exhibitions Day 2017 was judged by The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) and Exhibition World as having had ‘the most positive impact supporting exhibitions as an industry’. The EEAA campaign included engaging all tiers of government to promote the importance of the MICE industry as an economic driver and was directly responsible for delivering new advocates for the sector in Canberra. EEAA chief executive, Joyce DiMascio, said it was a great honour to be recognised on the international stage. “We are very pleased to have been acknowledged for our comprehensive campaign to support the advocacy efforts of UFI and to be among some of the leading global companies recognised through these awards,” she added. The Awards, established by Exhibition World in partnership with UFI, sought to acknowledge and reward the best activity around Global Exhibitions Day 2017 – which took place on 7 June. The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) managing director, Kai Hattendorf, praised the EEAA’s work in helping bring greater political awareness to the value of the sector. “As a ‘hidden giant’, the exhibition industry is challenged to raise awareness for its issues among political leaders. This makes advocacy work such a vital part of the everyday work for industry associations,” said Mr Hattendorf. “Only in its 2nd year, Global Exhibitions Day (GED) was celebrated in 77 countries and regions all around the world, as exhibition industry professionals everywhere stepped up to raise awareness for the important role exhibitions play to develop economies and societies globally. “EEAA has used Global Exhibitions Day as an opportunity to seek out new allies, writing to 75 parliamentarians (on both sides of the Parliament), business leaders and industry stakeholders around the country to deliver the #GED17 message.” Exhibition World editor Tom Hall added: “EEAA’s entry really stood out for appealing to a core aim of UFI and the exhibition industry: government support and recognition. EEAA are taking proactive steps to achieving this, and using GED as a vehicle to promote their efforts was a great idea. The initiative points the way to other associations and organisations in the MICE industry to raise the profile of our vastly underrepresented industry.” EEAA also congratulates Gold Members Info Salons Group and Ungerboeck Software International who were among those recognised in the Awards for their ‘ambitious online marketing initiatives’. Other winners were: • Amsterdam RAI for ‘Most Creative Activity’ • Fondiazione Fiera Milano – Fondazione Fiera Milano – Accademia Fiera Milano for ‘Highest Profile Online Activity’, and • Bombay Exhibition Centre, NESCO, Goregaon (E), Mumbai (India) for ‘Biggest Scale Physical Activity’ RUEF, Russia and AEFI, Italy were also jointly awarded the GED Champions Award for offering ‘the most diverse support for the initiative’. “Our advocacy agenda is highly targeted and effective. Initiatives such as Global Exhibitions Day give weight to our own efforts and are important for strengthening our collective voice. We will continue to add our weight to this annual campaign,” said DiMascio. Ms DiMascio recently discussed the subject of engaging with government in Exhibition World, which can be viewed here.