Virtual autumn meeting hubs
Things have changed a lot since the beginning of the year, to say the least. One of these changes, due to coronavirus, has been the rise of the virtual conference and webinars. Events managers are working hard to make online conferences and sessions to grab the online viewers’ interests. In my humble opinion, despite the obvious joy of attending an in-person trade show, racking up those important 10,000 steps a day and seeing the smiling faces of the industry members (not to mention seeing equipment in action and stocking up on pens), there are some benefits to this new-found world we live in of virtual seminars.
First, I know where the food is and where the restroom facilities are located. I may this year for the German shows, go to Lidl and Aldi and stock up on wursts and other delightful treats for the duration. Asda and Tesco also carry a decent supply of American goods and my relatives have assured me of a steady stream of US candy treats.
The US’s IDFA has done more than one of these very informative seminars (last one we covered was in the May issue) and I plan to sit down with the Moo University zoom meeting I missed last week, while eating a hotdog and maybe some macaroni and cheese. And nobody will think twice about me eating while watching. See this link: dairy.unl.edu/i-29-moo-university/proceedings.
The European Dairy Association’s autumn meeting was to be held in Madrid. Olé! Manchego cheese and serrano ham to be bought and consumed on 20 November. Check eda.euromilk.org for further information.
Then, there is the issue of leaving the session for a comfort break. Normally, while you are sitting in a conference session, you can almost feel the eyes of the speaker following you while you try to nip out quietly, avoid crashing into the banners placed strategically to showcase the conference/seminar and to open the very squeaky door to the outside, where the hopeful tabletop exhibitors greet you as you try to go find that loo.
In the UK, the delayed PPMA Show 2020 is offering a Meeting Hub to connect those exhibitors with attendees virtually. from 7 September. The hub is free to use and provides a gateway to over 1,500 brands from over 300 PPMA Show 2020 exhibitors. It promises to be the largest single gathering of processing equipment, packaging machinery, robotics, and industrial vision companies throughout the UK, the organisers say. Visit www.ppma.co.uk for further information.
Last but not least, Arena’s Dairy Innovation Summit will be held 13-14 October. I believe that was going to be held in Denmark. Off I go to get the pickled herring and Danish blue cheese. See arena-international.com/dairy for more information.
Also, if there are any virtual (or real life) events I have missed, please feel free to email the details to [email protected].
In order to keep up with industry events, don’t forget to take a look at our Supplier Profiles issue, out this week online and in print. In it, suppliers of ingredients and equipment to the dairy industry offer their latest innovations.
- Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
Keep in touch – Twitter: @dairyindustries or LinkedIn: Dairy Industries International magazine.
