Representatives from UFI member companies worldwide gathered in Hong Kong SAR, 18 November for the UFI General Assembly, where they reviewed the association’s key initiatives from 2025 and looked ahead to the priorities for 2026.
Chaired by UFI president Hugh Jones, the meeting took place ahead of the 92nd UFI Global Congress, which is welcoming over 600 industry leaders from 47 countries and regions this week.
With UFI’s centenary celebration serving as a unifying theme throughout 2025, the Assembly reflected on how the association’s global events, education programmes, and advocacy efforts have strengthened connections and celebrated a century of leadership in the exhibition industry.
Jones summarised the year by saying, “When I began my term, I set out three clear priorities: advocacy, sustainability, and talent.”
He noted UFI had stepped up its advocacy efforts with a significant milestone being the creation of TC 354 – a new ISO Technical Committee for Events, which Jones described as “a long-term win that gives our industry the recognition and framework it deserves on the world stage.”
Reflecting on UFI’s sustainability initiatives, Jones said: “As I said a year ago, we need to be part of the solution, not the problem. UFI has strengthened initiatives like Net Zero Carbon Events, sharing best practices, supporting organisers and venues, and ensuring sustainability is at the core of everything we do.”
On UFI’s talent programmes, he added: “Seeing the UFI Next Generation Leaders present this year reminded me why I’m so optimistic about the future. These programmes, along with our Award Winner and Working Groups, are helping to equip tomorrow’s leaders with the skills, knowledge, and vision to shape what comes next.”
Chris Skeith OBE, UFI CEO and managing director, added: “In our centennial year, we have focused on strengthening how UFI delivers value through our events, working groups, delegations, and all the ways we connect and empower people worldwide.
“That momentum will carry us into our next century, one that continues to evolve together with our global industry.”
UFI’s main activities in the past year included:
UFI Events & Communities
In 2025, UFI stated the year with another sold-out Global CEO Summit in Milan, followed quickly by the Asia-Pacific Conference in Melbourne, both held in February.
In April, the MEA Conference headed to Cairo, and in June, the European Conference, labelled European Events Week, was held in Greece alongside the sold-out Event Directors Summit, Leadership Insight Series and Global Exhibitions Day.
The year wraps up with the 92nd UFI Global Congress, taking place from 19-22 November in Hong Kong SAR, hosted by AsiaWorld-Expo.
UFI’s Centenary
2025 marked UFI’s Centenary, and this was celebrated throughout the year under the theme: ‘Honouring the Past, Celebrating the Present, and Shaping the Future’.
This included a special 100-Year logo, as well as global and regional activations, such as commemorations honouring founding and long-standing members at UFI’s regional events. At the UFI European Events Week and Global Congress, a special UFI-100 exhibition of historic facts, photographs and artefacts was displayed.
To conclude the celebration, UFI is launching a new website designed to simplify access to resources. The website is now live at www.ufi.org.
Advocacy
UFI has refined its advocacy narrative, which extends the messages to reflect the impact of the sector and how it contributes to growth.
The association is researching the levels of support/engagement from governments and agencies that different regions receive, which can then be used by UFI members to advocate for more recognition and engagement.
Government delegation visits took place in December 2024 in Riyadh, and in April 2025 to Türkiye, Japan in May, Shanghai in September, and Jeddah/Damman/Riyadh in September. Additionally, a Business Mission to Central & South America via Bogota was conducted in October. Another delegation to KSA is being prepared.
Throughout 2025, UFI continued to collaborate with co-funded advocacy institutions like the European Exhibition Industry Alliance (EEIA) and the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA), as well as the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC), and Net Zero Carbon Events (NZCE).
Research
In 2025, UFI released new reports including the ‘World Map of Exhibition Venues’, ‘UFI Global Barometers’, “’conomic Impact Report’ – based on the model developed with Oxford Economics (and national reports for Brazil, Greece, Spain, Thailand & UK) – and a new ‘Global Exhibition Industry Statistics Report’ in May.
All of UFI’s research is available for free at www.ufi.org/knowledge-hub.
Education
UFI is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of its education portfolio to better understand and respond to member needs.
During the summer, UFI successfully delivered both the Exhibition Management School and the UFI-VMA Venue Management School (VMS). Following a successful pilot of the UFI Exhibition Essentials Course, two additional sessions were held in partnership with Tahaluf Academy and Informa.
The Next Generation Leadership (NGL) Grants were also awarded once again this year, supported by Clarion Events, dmg events, Informa Markets, and RX. The five 2025 NGL winners will present their insights on ‘Refining Exhibition Formats’ during this week’s UFI Global Congress.
UFI’s outlook for the year ahead
First on the UFI event roster for 2026 is the Global CEO Summit, scheduled to take place in Vienna, Austria, 28-30 January. The 2026 Asia-Pacific Conference will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, 5-6 March, while the 2026 UFI European Conference will be held in İzmir, Türkiye, from 3-5 June. The 93rd UFI Global Congress will take place in Manama, Bahrain, 2-5 November.
Panittha Buri (vice-chairperson, BHIRAJ BURI GROUP) will begin her UFI presidency at the end of the 92nd Global Congress. For the 2025-26 term, she will join UFI’s Presidential Trio with incoming president Wolfram Diener (CEO, Messe Düsseldorf) and outgoing president Hugh Jones (CEO, RX).
David Harrison (chief financial officer, IMEX Group) will succeed Wolfram Diener (CEO, Messe Düsseldorf GmbH) as UFI’s new treasurer.
Source: www.exhibitionworld.co.uk
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