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2016 FIATA World Congress Dublin
The city of Dublin will play host to the FIATA 2016 World Congress which attracts up to 1,000 delegates and will take place this year from October 3 – 8 at the multi-award winning and iconic Conven- tion Centre Dublin (CCD). Ireland’s industry representative body, the Irish International Freight Association (IIFA), is the local event organiser in co-operation with FIATA.
FIATA World Congress Dublin 2016 is an opportunity for C-suite executives and business owners from the global forwarding and lo- gistics industry to gather in a single location for knowledge sharing, international networking and business development.
With over 40,000 forwarding and logistics member firms in FIATA, employing 10 million people in over 150 countries, the global for- ward and logistics industry plays a vital role in supporting economic activity around the world.
Commenting on the event, President of IIFA Tom Thornton said: “FIATA members are the unseen and unsung heroes that enable global trade and individual economies to function smoothly day in and day out. We are particularly delighted that Mr Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) will participate at the opening of Congress in Dublin.
“Ireland first hosted the FIATA World Congress in 1981 and it is great honour to formally invite members worldwide to visit Dublin in 2016 and participate in the industry’s annual showcase event. Those delegates who have never been to Dublin can expect a warm and hospitable embrace from our capital city.”
Keynote speakers on the opening day of the conference on October 5 include Robert Van de Weg, Senior Vice President Sales of Air- BridgeCargo Airlines, and Umberto de Pretto, Secretary General of the International Road Transport Union, who will address Congress on the subject of ‘Working Smart – World Solutions to traders’.
The opening day’s conference will then break into simultaneous Regional Leaders’ Dialogue sessions, representing Africa/ Mid- dle-East, Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe, before concluding with FIATA’s Advisory Body Legal Matters session, featuring speakers Scott Megregian, Partner, K & L Gates, and Jake Storey, Strategic Advisor – Maritime Initiatives, TRACE International Ltd.
Other confirmed speakers include Susanne Aigner, Head of Unit Customs Legislation at the European Commission, with responsibili- ty for the EU’s customs code and general legislation in this area, and Donia Hammami, Taxation, Customs and Trade Facilitation Policy
Manager at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). They will speak at the session entitled, ‘Making thoughtful policy choices: the Custom Affairs Institute (CAI) guides you through trade facilitation’. This session will be guest moderated by Josephine Feehily, past Chairperson of Irish Revenue Commissioners and currently Chairper- son of the Irish Policing Authority.
Innovation in technology is also up for discussion in the ‘Meet the experts: Managing technology with the advice of the FIATA Advisory Body Information Technology’ session which will feature Oliver Evans, from Matternet, who will speak about Drone Logistics.
Mr Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the World Customs Organi- sation (WCO), will be the guest of honour for the opening ceremo- ny of the Congress. Aligning with the Congress theme of Where Networking Comes Naturally, Ruth Waring of Labyrinth Logistics Consulting Ltd will speak about effective networking during the Opening Ceremony.
The opening ceremony will also feature the announcement of the winner of ‘The Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award’. The overall international winner of the competition, which showcases the rising stars of the forwarding and logistics industry, will be chosen from four regional winners each of whom will also at- tend the Young Professionals Forum on 4 October, 2016, a dedicated session in which each winner speaks for 10 minutes on their winning dissertations, followed by a forum session.
Key themes for the Congress this year include competition compli- ance, customs and borders, innovation, multi-modal, regulation and security. There is also a focus on new technologies and Congress has attracted a number of software and technological partners who will exhibit in parallel, which will be of interest to those firms seeking efficiencies and / or migration to the Cloud.
The traditional social programme for both delegates and partners will run in parallel to the conference programme and includes a Night of Irish Culture, a Dublin Literary Pub Crawl, golf at the K Club, home of the 2006 Ryder Cup, and other activities.
For reference:
Seamus Kavanagh, Executive Officer, IIFA Tel: 00353 (0)1 845 5411
Email: info@iifa.ie
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FIATA CONGRESS