UFI President’s Message: June 2024 Edition

Dear colleagues and friends,

We will be holding our European conference in Zurich in a few days. The content looks very promising and I am personally looking forward to meeting this year’s group of Next Generation Leaders in person, as I chair the selection committee.

Today I would like to highlight the work that my colleagues who work with me on the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors, as well as the UFI team, put into these meetings. We will also meet again in Zurich. Since joining these leadership teams a few years ago, I have become accustomed to well-prepared meetings, with clear agendas, concise and accurate information, and last but not least, with room for reflection and discussion. It is usually not noticeable, but when our members and the community gather at the welcome receptions of these events, from the perspective of the UFI leadership and team, we have invested a day or more – these meetings and hours of programming from the Association’s committees and various working groups.

The fact that this is all happening calmly and smoothly is a sign that our association is in good shape and that the rhythm of these meetings – 4 Executive Committee meetings per year, 2 Board meetings and an annual General Assembly – is helpful to all of us. As leadership we can guide and support UFI management in developing our organization and taking the right decisions regarding growth and change.

One example is UFI’s new membership fee model. Discussions around this began before the pandemic and have been revived as the industry restarts. For 18 months, we at leadership and management have discussed the model and approach, and worked with the UFI team to find a great and simpler model for the future. The model was approved unanimously in Las Vegas, without a single vote against, and will come into effect next month as we start the 2024/25 financial year. In my opinion, this is the most critical step for UFI to be ready for the future.

In addition to these long-term issues, the leadership also deals with recurring annual tasks – in Zurich, we will elect the 2026 Congress host and the 2026 President, and adopt the budget for the next financial year, which will lead us to UFI’s Centenary. We will review and preview recent and upcoming UFI events, discuss research projects and UFI’s growing educational portfolio. We will focus on advocacy – this year’s Global Exhibitions Day, with the release of a preliminary report a few days after the opening of the 9th edition, is truly an annual highlight of our work.

Although this is a bit of an “inside” column, I wanted to end by highlighting that there will be two UFI-VMA Venue Management Training Courses taking place in May and June – the first post-pandemic Mandarin course has already concluded in Shenyang, and the first English course will be held in Macau this month. Congratulations to all participants who have successfully completed the courses!

your,

UFI President Geoff Dickinson