On December 20-22, JSC VDNH in Moscow hosted the general session of the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs. The management of ExpoForum-International returned to St. Petersburg with an award.
On December 20, members of the RUEF Presidium discussed the strategic issues of development of the Union, membership, and certification of exhibition events. Committees of the RUEF held their meetings, including the meeting of the Instruction and Methods Commission, headed by Igor Bychkov, Administrative Director of ExpoForum-International.
On December 21, the general meeting was attended by representatives of the government, the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, industry organizations and associations. Speakers at the event included Viktor Cherepov, Executive Vice-President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs; Sergey Selivanov, Head of the Exhibition Department, International Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation; Konstantin Evstyukhin, Managing Director of Non-Financial Support of JSC Russian Export Center, Andrey Maximov, Executive Secretary of the CCI RF Committee for Exhibition, Fair and Congress Activities.
Sergey Alexeev, President of the RUEF, and Vice-President of ExpoForum-International welcomed the participants and discussed with them the key events in the work of the Union and the life of the world exhibition industry over the past 6 months. Dmitry Mikhailov, First Deputy General Director of JSC VDNH, discussed the prospects for developing the VDNH Complex. Members of the Union approved the 2017 report of RUEF Executive Director Lyudmila Smorodova, and adopted the plans for 2018.
ExpoForum-International received the award for the Best Video Report in the Competition of Photos and Videos dedicated to the Global Exhibitions Day, celebrated on June 7, 2017. Inna Vernidub, head of the Directorate for Marketing, Advertising and PR at ExpoForum- International, the author of the idea, received the RUEF honorary medal «For Hard Work and Creativity in Exhibition Business." This medal is similar in design to the first award presented at Russian exhibitions, «For Hard Work and Art," which was presented to the best exhibitors at the First Public Exhibition of Russian Manufactures in St. Petersburg of 1829. This is not the first RUEF medal awarded to employees of ExpoForum-International. Previous laureates included Sergey Voronkov, Sergey Alexeev, Igor Bychkov, and Elena Ublieva.
ExpoForum-International sponsored the Young Talent in Congress and Exhibition Industry Competition. The winning project concerned creation of the RUEF mediation service as a means for promoting peaceful negotiation and dispute resolution strategies among members of the RUEF and exhibitors. The author of the concept is Olga Lyashenko, legal consultant of the separate division of ITE Expo LLC in St. Petersburg
Sergey Alexeev moderated the panel discussion «Exhibition Industry Today: Problems and Opportunities for Growth." The participants talked about the current conditions and the future of the Russian and international exhibition industry, changes in the economy of Russia, state support programs for the exhibition industry, and the influence of information technologies on the exhibition industry.
Sergey Voronkov, member of the Board of Directors of UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, member of the RUEF Presidium, and General Director of ExpoForum- International, presented a report entitled «Proactive Development Trends: How Digital Helps Optimize Processes in Convention and Exhibition Companies and Earn More Profits." Elena Ublieva, Director for PR of ExpoForum-International presented the upcoming 85th Congress of UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, which will be held in EXPOFORUM in November 2018. Some potential sponsors have already expressed interest in the project.
The next meeting of the RUEF members will be held in June 2018 in Moscow at ExpoCenter JSC.
The Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs (RUEF) brings together leading Russian exhibition organizers, owners of exhibition companies and enterprises working in the exhibition business, and representatives of exhibition companies from Moldova. The RUEF today has 84 members, including 55 organizers.