Dear fellow IFES Members,
Dear Friends,
Knowledge is power – and in a fast-changing exhibition and event industry with quite some headwinds coming towards us, it is one of our most important shared assets. It enables us to anticipate change, build stronger businesses, develop our people, as well as create meaningful value for clients and partners around the world.
At IFES, education is not an addition to our work; it is a driving force for our industry’s progress. As a global community of service providers, we have an extraordinary breadth of experience, expertise and practical insight at our finger tips. Our responsibility is to make that knowledge accessible, useful, and future-focused for every member, and for partner associations’ members too.
In 2026, we are placing education firmly at the heart of our agenda. Our program will include Masterclasses in both the United States and Europe, webinars, committee sessions on relevant industry topics, training programs, practical workshops, podcasts, and further initiatives designed to equip members with the knowledge and skills needed to future-proof their businesses.
An important new step will be the introduction of research initiatives for our global service-provider community. For the first time, we will work closely with a partner, jwc, to gain a clearer understanding of where we stand as an incremental part of the industry, indicating our strengths, challenges, priorities and opportunities. The findings will help us identify implications for our businesses and our wider community – and, most importantly, turn insight or even guesses into informed action.
None of this is possible without your commitment – dear fellow members. I want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone contributing through our committees, Board and events. So many of you invest your time, expertise and financial resources to strengthen the IFES community. Your willingness to share, teach, challenge and collaborate is what makes this federation distinctive. We invite you to continue your support and recommend others to do so. We have explained the various options for getting actively involved in shaping the future of IFES and look forward to even more direct interaction.
Let us move forward together: strengthening our values, our goals, our knowledge, our resilience and our collaborative power. By learning from one another and investing in the people who shape our industry, we will ensure that IFES remains a trusted, progressive and connected global community.
Yours
Jorg
President, IFES
