Europe + Asia Event Forum #EFEA

Off-site meeting of the Exhibition, Fair, and Congress Committee of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The Exhibition, Fair, and Congress Committee of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry holds a special off-site meeting at the EFEA every year, which examines issues of state regulation of the industry, significant projects organized and held in Russia and abroad, the past year as a whole, and future plans. All EFEA guests are invited to take part in the work of the committee and discuss important issues with the committee members and experts.

Discussion topics:

• Preparation of the draft law ‘On Exhibition, Fair, and Congress Activities in the Russian Federation’
• Organizational and informational support from the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for exhibitions, fairs, and congresses in 2019
• The work of the committee in 2018 and priorities for 2019

Moderator:

Sergey Bednov, General Director, Expocentre (Moscow, Russia)

Session partner:

Panel discussion

Event Hype. Hot Topics in the Programme – Carefully Considered Strategy or Just a Fad?

In 2015, 5 marketing forums and more than 6 sales forums were held in Moscow, while 2018 saw 4 women’s forums and more than 10 SMM and Internet promotion conferences. Hot topics attract an audience, and so event organizers make the most of an opportunity to put hyped-up topics to work for their events.

Hype is fashionable and surrounds important-to-know topics, speakers, and event formats. Hype can fill a thousand-seat conference hall. If you understand hype, you can easily increase the scale of a congress or conference, which is the dream of every event organizer and additional income for business. Hype event organizers will share their experiences.

Discussion topics:

• How to be the first to bring a hot topic to an audience. How to make an event interesting without copying competitors
• How to harness hype. Take a hot topic and successfully develop it. How to stay afloat and not be taken hostage by the subject matter
• Just as famous actors fill theatres, top speakers fill stadiums. Many become famous thanks to forums and conferences. How can one find and attract an interesting speaker? How can one build cooperation effectively? And how can one understand when a star has lost its attraction? The secrets to working with star speakers
• How to find an interesting format and make it popular

Moderator:

To be announced

Sharing their experiences:

• Andrey Panferov, General Producer, Prime Time Forums (Moscow, Russia)
• Nikolay Volosyankov, Founder, OB1; Founder, CryptoEvent (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Irina Kuderova, Vice President of Marketing, ROST Interregional Public Organization (Moscow, Russia)
• Alina Barinova, Co-founder, Women’s Leadership Forum (Moscow, Russia)
• Anton Curzanov, Owner, Taste Lab Group (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Andrey Karpov, General Director, Aktivny Mir (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Mikhail Vorontsov, General Producer, Epic Con, Game Expo (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Representatives of Synergy Business School (Moscow, Russia)

Panel discussion

Artificial Intelligence vs Human Capital: How Business Processes in the Event Industry are Changing

It is difficult to imagine the future without smart neural networks of artificial intelligence (AI), virtual (VR) and augmented (AR) realities, and deep machine learning technologies, and with each passing year they become more advanced. Automation and the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) can increase efficiency, productivity, and profitability in the immediate future if managers are able to determine how best to make use of their potential. Technology is everywhere, and human interaction with the digital world is already becoming a continuous process. Efficiency is a key factor for success: the faster a business masters a technology, the more benefits it receives, and the less it lags behind its competitors. The event industry is no exception: session participants will talk about the combination of Event + AI + VR + AR.

Discussion topics:

• How will artificial intelligence affect business processes in the event industry?
• Is the use of modern technology complementary or interchangeable?
• Is AI already being used in the event industry?
• How do business processes change as a result of the introduction of artificial intelligence?
• Will the emergence and widespread use of artificial intelligence cause jobs to disappear? Will the use of artificial intelligence lead to new jobs?

Moderator:

Sergey Voronkov, General Director, ExpoForum International (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Sharing their experiences:

• Valery Talisman, Chief Innovation Officer, Artificial Intelligence Development Agency (Novosibirsk, Russia)
• Nick Dugdale-Moore, Business Development Manager, UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (London, England)
• Andrey Gusakov, Marketing Coordinator, DATAFORUM (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Ekaterina Moskvina, Deputy General Director, Gefest Projection (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Andrey Zhukovsky, General Manager, RussСom IT Systems; Board Director, Event BK Rus EventBank (Moscow, Russia)
• Oksana Salikhova, CEO, Vein Technologies (Moscow, Russia)
• Taisia Seledkova, Director of Marketing and Communications, OC Paroc (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Session partner:

Panel discussion

Compliance With ‘Green’ Standards as a Competitive Advantage for a Tourist Destination

Moderator:

Andrey Matsarin, General Director, St. Petersburg Congress and Exhibition Bureau (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Sharing their experiences:
Speakers to be confirmed

Session partner:

Panel discussion

Event Human Capital: Building a Community in the Industry Around a Project

Interaction is an important component of human capital, along with material and financial resources among others. An event is a complex system of cultural and social relations that create a certain environment, which in turn creates the prerequisites and conditions for the emergence of groups of people who identify themselves with certain communities. To ensure the continued growth of this potential, organizers must learn to create, maintain, and develop an environment for building professional communities and carrying out productive dialogue with these communities. A professional community often understands the importance of creating an event project.

Exhibitions, conferences, fairs, and festivals can be seen as a multifunctional and high-tech platform for industry development. A strong community built around a project is the key to an event’s success. Session participants will discuss this thought.

Discussion topics:

• Does an event really need a community?
• Do proven universal algorithms for the creation, development, and interaction of a community exist?
• Is it possible to build a unique community in order to support event activities on company, industry, country, and global levels?
• Is it possible to create industry clubs based on an event?
• Risks around building a community
• What community formats exist?
• How can one build dialogue within a community and keep members (members of the community)?

Moderator:

Nick Dugdale-Moore, Business Development Manager, UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (London, England)

Sharing their experiences:

• Igor Kirsanov, CEO, RESTEC Exhibition Association (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Alina Barinova, Co-founder, Women’s Leadership Forum (Moscow, Russia)
• Anton Khramtsov, General Director, St. Petersburg Fair, Fiesta Media (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Igor Scherbakov, Head, St. Petersburg Harley Days Festival (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Alevtina Bolgova, Director, St. Petersburg Harley Days Festival (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Alexander Kruglik, Director General, RLP Yarmarka; President, Roslegprom (Moscow, Russia)

Session partner:

Panel discussion

Glass Ceiling Guru: How to Build a Career and Self-Develop if You’ve Already Achieved it all

The feeling of having reached a glass ceiling is well known to everyone who has achieved some success in their career and profession. You juggle skills and knowledge. Just as Paul Gauguin chooses travel and Tahiti, so do professionals seek further development and the opportunity to make use of their knowledge. What’s next? How can one fulfil one’s full potential and find an outlet for one’s experience? What can one offer the world? Mentoring, downshifting, a change of activities – what should one choose?

In this session, our experts will share their experiences and answer difficult questions.

Discussion topics:

• How can one fulfil one’s full potential after having reached the glass ceiling?
• Is it true that when one door closes, another opens?
• Where can new practical experience be found?
• How can one meet time expectations?

Moderator:

Anna Nazyrova, EY Corporate Services Manager (Kazan, Russia)

Sharing their experiences:

• Sergey Alekseev, President of RUEF, Vice-President of ExpoForum International (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Igor Prudnikov, Deputy Head, Analytical Centre of the Moscow Region Government (Moscow, Russia)
• Andrey Zhukovsky, General manager of RussСom IT Systems, Board Director “Event BK Rus” EventBank (Moscow, Russia)

Партнер сессии:

Panel discussion

Trends in the Management of Exhibition and Congress Areas

Exhibition and congress infrastructure plays a key role in determining the quality of an exhibition event. The venue site serves as the basis for the infrastructure, meaning that site development and modernization is one of the most important factors for successfully developing the event industry. Improved technology for organizing and conducting events has led to site management’s becoming an independent professional field that requires training and the standardization of business processes related to construction, equipping, and management during the preparation and carrying out of events. Proper organization of site management processes can have a positive impact on the success of the exhibition itself, while poor organization can destroy the success or future growth of the event. Venue management business processes must be brought into line with the needs of the main representatives of the target market, the organizers/operators, as well as potential participants and visitors. By managing business processes, one can make management more performance oriented.

Discussion topics:

• National and local site features
• What organizers, participants, and visitors of events require of sites
• Questions about the implementation of quality standards for services provided by the site
• Questions of optimizing site management business processes
• Business processes as a factor in improving the efficiency of site management
• The impact of venue management (or site management processes) on the quality of events

Moderator:

Jochen Witt, President & CEO, jwc GmbH (Cologne, Germany)

Sharing their experiences:

• Jochen Witt, President & CEO, jwc GmbH (Cologne, Germany)
• Sergey Shogurov, General Director, VDNH (Moscow, Russia)
• Sergey Voronkov, General Director, ExpoForum International (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Elena Roschina, Chief Specialist, Event Management Department, Yeltsin Presidential Library (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Talk show

In the Age of Business Forums: How to Create a Successful Forum for Businessmen

Recent years have seen a marked flourishing of business forums, and they continue to increase, along with the number of delegates attending them, exponentially; the statistics are enough to make any event organizer jealous. What is the secret of the format’s success? What makes each forum unique? How is content generated for this particular audience? How is a pool of speakers selected? What are business forums like in the regions? Organizers of the leading Russian business forums share their secrets.

Discussion topics:

• Why are business forums so popular?
• Creating content for the business community. What determines the choice of topics? Hot topics: what will always sell like hot cakes? How is event architecture created?
• Such different speakers ... Politicians, businessmen, artists, life coaches – to be or not to be? The principle of choice. The secret behind a trend: why do life-coaches attract larger audiences than scientists or mentors? What do businessmen need? Inspire or surprise?
• What do businessmen expect from business forums? Why is knowledge less valued than a show? Why do business forums fill stadiums?

Moderator:

Vivian Xu, Managing Director, HQ (Brussel, Belgium)

Sharing their experiences:

• Dmitry Mikhailov, Deputy Director for Organizational Development, Head of the Directorate for International Projects of the Roscongress Foundation (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Andrey Panferov, General Producer, Prime Time Forum (Moscow, Russia)
• Vladislav Balsky, Deputy Director, Polytechnic Technopark (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Denis Stolbov, General Producer, Digitale 7-10 (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Evgeny Romaskevich, President, ROTEX (Moscow, Russia)
• Representatives of Synergy Business School

Session partner:

Strategy session

Events in the Era of the New Renaissance: Is There a Future for Human Capital?

Will the 21st century see a New Renaissance? Human capital and artificial intelligence: a new formula for the flourishing of the event industry. Noosphere thinking for the creation of a company strategy. Sustainable development for the companies of the future.

Moderator:

Moderator to be confirmed

Sharing their experiences:

• Valery Talisman, Chief Innovation Officer, Artificial Intelligence Development Agency (Novosibirsk, Russia)
• Lidia Smolova, Associate Professor, PhD (psychology) St. Petersburg State Institute of Psychology and Social Work (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Alexander Chernov, Business Trainer, Consultant, Business School IMISP (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Event LIVE Forum for event industry professionals and their customers

Lunch talk, Severny Modern restaurant (pre-registration)

Women in the Event Industry

According to Superjob, 72% of applicants for event manager positions are women. What qualities help women achieve success in this business? It is well known that while an event is being planned and held, work days for industry specialists go from 8 am to... 8 am. Which gives rise to the questions: how does one find time for family? Career VS family: which one wins? How can one grow professionally without also losing loved ones? Is it possible to combine career and personal life?

Session participants are women from the event industry who have fulfilled their career and professional potential and will share their experiences and reflect on the fate of the fair sex in the modern world.

Moderator:

Valery Romatsky, psychotherapist, candidate of medical sciences, Dr. Romatsky Psychotherapy Studios (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Sharing their experiences:

• Maria Kuzmitskaia, business consultant (Chisinau, Moldova)
• Nadezhda Makova, Moscow Advanced Communications School – MACS, Director (Moscow, Russia)
• Еkaterina Koliada, Member of the Supervisory Board of the Association of communications and corporate media Directors of Russia (Moscow, Russia)
• Irina Lyubina, St. Petersburg separate division joint committee director (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Event LIVE Forum for event industry professionals and their customers

Event LIVE Forum for event industry professionals and their customers