12 May , 2022
Nicole Walker, President, EEAA
Dear members and friends of EEAA,
As an industry association, it is important that we see things for how they are. At times our public comments or words may indicate otherwise.
We are halfway through May, and we are living through an extraordinary period. Only a short few months ago we were lamenting the uncertainty about the future. The start of 2022 was not as we had hoped, and some scheduled events were pushed back.
Now in May, many of those events are being delivered in a congested calendar. The congestion is hindering all aspects of our businesses, and all sectors within our membership.
Which brings me to my original comment. Shows will be going ahead, and their success will be dependent on our industry getting the critical mass of exhibitors and qualified visitors. This unity is needed to deliver good outcomes for our exhibitions and events.
Industry is telling us that we have a mixed bag of show results, with trade shows delivering lower than hoped visitor numbers, and in some instances exhibitor participants. Let’s just clarify here, this is not a bad thing, the reports are also telling us that the quality of visitors is excellent, and exhibitors are satisfied with their show experience. But it is equally clear, that the additional volume of visitors and exhibitors is what is imperative to many organisers to help the very important bottom line.
With this, EEAA is embarking on several initiatives, including one with Business Events Australia to share news and or case studies of successful shows. The message is exhibitions are back with the view of persuading those still uncertain, they too can benefit from participating.
What we are not saying here, is that our industry is healthy and happy. Far from it, many of our members remain wounded and are recovering from their COVID injuries. The evaporation of business capital, lack of staff, increasing cost of human resources, calendar pressures, cost of transport, and the ability to plan into the future without certainty, are all real challenges.
With this I can assure you that whilst we tell a positive message to those we wish to influence into exhibitions and events, we equally tell it how it is to the stakeholders who need to understand that as an industry we are still in the recovery phase, we have not actually recovered.
As your association, we will continue to work with the various stakeholders to ensure the correct message is placed with the right people. We will also work with our industry members to understand their pinch points, challenges, and ongoing concerns to best address these as a body of united, likeminded industry professionals.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
All members of the EEAA have received the invitation and documentation for our Annual General Meeting scheduled for the 25 May 2022.
At this important meeting, we will deliver our reports for the 2021 year and cover other formalities.
If you are a member of EEAA, and have not received the invitation or documents, please contact Domenic Genua at the EEAA office on (02) 9413 9520 or email him at ceo@eeaa.com.au
We look forward to having you join us.
BREAKFAST WITH CHAMPIONS OF INDUSTRY
On 1 June 2022, EEAA will be delivering our 'Breakfast with Champions of Industry' at the Royal Randwick Racecourse Sydney in the Winx Stand. This event will also celebrate Global Exhibitions Day.
Function details and booking forms will be emailed out shortly.
Our Keynote Speaker will be Mark Cochrane, Managing Director, Business Strategies Group and Regional Director, UFI Asia Pacific who will speak about the 'new exhibition model'. Mark will discuss what the world is experiencing post COVID, what are the key elements that have changed the way we view the world, and what are the key observations that cannot be ignored.
During the morning’s proceedings, you will also hear from Amy Saleh, Operations Director at Hannover Fairs Australia; who will share her views from an Emerging Leaders perspective. Elissa Duke, Head of Lean Agile Centre of Excellence at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre; will be announcing the launch of a special sustainability project and Matt Pearce, CEO, Talk2Media; will moderate an audience discussion about our industry as it is today.
We welcome your participation at this event that coincides with Global Exhibition Day.
We have listened to our industry carefully and have decided to host a short event on 1 June and will incorporate our conference plans into our end of year event happening on 7 December 2022.
WELCOME KARINA HALL
I am pleased to introduce and welcome Karina Hall to our team. Karina is in the final stages of her Diploma of Event Management and was introduced to us by our EEAA member and friends from TAFE.
Karina has already dabbled in exhibitions having volunteered as a student at a number of them. Karina can be contacted at the office on (02) 9413 9520 or via email at memberservices@eeaa.com.au
DATES FOR THE DIARY
Key dates:
25 May – Online – Annual General Meeting
1 June – Sydney – Breakfast with Champions of Industry & Global Exhibitions Day Celebration
16 June – Sydney – Board of Directors Meeting
18 August – Adelaide – Member networking post Board of Directors Meeting
20 October – Brisbane – Member networking post Board of Directors Meeting
7 December – Sydney – Leaders Forum, Industry Training Day, Awards Ceremony/Function
OUR INVITATION TO YOU
Associations are excellent forums that allow a union of likeminded industry professionals to work together for the collective good. The success of an association is dependent on its members, so please consider re-joining the EEAA family if your membership has lapsed or take a moment to pay your subs if you haven’t had the opportunity to do so yet.
EEAA works for its member's prosperity, please allow us to help your business.
Yours sincerely,
Nicole Walker President Exhibition & Event Association of Australasia
CONTACT US:
M +61 435 505 467 E ceo@eeaa.com.au
Suite F19/1-15 Barr St, Balmain NSW 2041 PO Box 952 Chatswood NSW 2067
