Partner Newsletter September 2021

Contents

Look at Me Now!
Meet the Team - Q&A with Lynne McAllister Partnership Manager
Expo Spotlight - Q&A with Joe Ciliberto, EventsAIR
Programming Update - Watch the Opening Ceremony LIVE 
Combating COVID

Look at me now!

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Watch the highlights from our recent partner event held in the Wattle Room at The Australian Pavilion.

 

Meet the Team

Q&A wth Lynne McAllister, Partnerships Manager

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Q. Your job title is Partnerships Manager – tell us what that actually means ? How long have you been working in the EXPO team ? What’s your background ?

A. My job title is Partnerships Manager.  I work with state government and private sector partners to highlight Australian products, services and innovation to MENA (Middle East & North Africa) and global audiences.  I collaborate with our partners  to help achieve their business and advocacy goals both in the UAE and global target markets through their participation at Expo. I have been with DFAT for 12 years in various communications, policy and program management roles.  Prior to DFAT I worked with the Australian National University in International marketing and recruitment. I live in Queensland with my husband, two teenage children and rescued greyhound Olive.  I spend a lot of time on the sidelines (and sometimes score bench) for my daughter’s basketball games.  When we are not travelling around QLD for basketball, I love to walk up Mt Coolum and attempt to be stable on my stand up paddle board (usually unsuccessfully).  Sunday afternoon always includes a glass of wine overlooking the ocean.

Q. What does a typical day look like for you ?

A. I am early to bed and very early to rise.  I am not sure how I am going to cope at Expo, with its insanely late closing time of 2am.  (Only two hours before I get up!!)  I am usually at the beach with Olive at around 5am, with a coffee in hand. I do an F45 session, get the kids off to school and then start work. My work day usually includes around 4 hours of Webex meetings, lots of correspondence with partners and coordination with the fabulous Dubai Expo Taskforce Team.  We have team members in several states, as well as in Dubai, and I think we are an exemplar of how well geographically displaced teams can work.  It doesn’t hurt that the team is brimming with talent, drive and dedication!  I’m always in bed by 8:30pm.

Q. Will you be travelling to Dubai ahead of EXPO ?

A. I have just arrived in Dubai! I am incredibly excited to see the Pavilion in-person and all of the contributions our partners have made from the construction, through to the furnishings and delicacies on the menu.  I am also looking forward to meeting our in-country Australian Pavilion team.  And I plan to give Wattle and Jali a very big COVID-safe hug!

Q. What the most challenging aspect of working on Dubai EXPO ?

A. The juxtaposition between what is possible and realistic in the current environment and the endless ideas and energy we have as a team.  The travel context has impacted our preparation and planning, but at the same time, we have been creative and resourceful in pulling together amazing alternatives.

Q. What’s the most rewarding part of your job or what are you most looking forward to ? 

A. It is such a privilege to work with state governments and private sector partners to promote Australia on the world stage.  We are all part of team Australia, playing a pivotal role in bolstering economic opportunities, bilateral relationships and people-to-people linkages, to help advance Australia in a new world.

Q. Who is your favourite partner ?

A. Ha!  That’s tough. All of our partners have joined the Expo journey because they are proud to be Australian and to be showcasing Australia on the world stage.  I love being a part of that, and learning about our partners’ products, services, ways of working and their ambitions internationally.   

 

Expo Spotlight

Q&A with Joe Ciliberto, Global Director of Sales & Marketing EventsAIR

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Q, The EventsAIR mission is to develop great software that inspires event planners to create amazing attendee experiences. How did COVID impact your business?

A. COVID has had a major impact to the events industry, which in turn had a flow on effect to us. In March 2020, we saw events being postponed and cancelled, and quickly looked at ways to leverage our over 30 years of event technology experience to assist event planners in navigating through the challenges ahead. Utilizing our EventsAIR platform, we developed an online environment to surface a range of cloud-based event tools. In May 2020 with a development period of just 90 days, the OnAIR virtual and hybrid event solution was launched. Since then OnAIR has hosted thousands of events with close to 1.5million attendees across the globe.

EventsAIR continues to innovate with new and exciting ways to seamlessly connect audiences of all shapes and sizes across in-person, virtual and hybrid event types. As an added value to our customers, we have introduced a series of turnkey services that offers total peace of mind. This relieves the event planner from worrying about the technical aspects of running an event and lets them focus on their clients.

Q. How many staff do you employ, where are your offices located and how long have you been in business?

EventsAIR has been in business since 1987 and has offices in the UK, USA and Australia with over 100 employees worldwide

A. You’ve supplied technology to some of the largest events in the world, can you tell us more, any favourites or highlights ?

The EventsAIR event management platform has been used in numerous world events, including G20, The Olympics, Rugby World Cup, Commonwealth Games, APEC, CHOGM and many more. Some of my favourites have been where the community has been involved to assist in running these world events and delivering a great outcome. APEC in Papua New Guinea (PNG) was one such event where the local community came together to run the event side-by-side with our support teams. Managing security and access in a country like PNG while challenging was very rewarding when it all came together.
 

Q, As Global Sales and Marketing Director, what does your typical day looks like ?

A, Managing different time zones means my day usually starts at 7am and ends past 7pm, working with prospective clients, media relations and my regional teams. I am fortunate to have a great team around me that makes my life easier in spreading the good news of EventsAIR globally.

Q. Tell us about EventAIR involvement with Expo Dubai 2020 and what are you hoping to achieve through this?

A. EventsAIR has been chosen as the event technology partner for Dubai Expo 2020 – Australian Pavilion. Working with the Australian Pavilion team, we are providing registration, communications, onsite tools such as check-in. To give access to virtual audiences who are unable to attend in person due to restrictions, we will be building an online 3D virtual event environment in OnAIR. This will replicate the look and feel of the Australian Pavilion, allowing guests from around the world to participate in a hybrid-style event experience. As always, our goal is to ensure that Expo Dubai 2020 is a huge success for the Australian Pavilion, one that guests will remember.

Q. How do you like to spend your time when you aren’t working ?

A. I enjoy the outdoors and getting amongst nature. I am very much looking forward to travelling again to meet my global teams, and to exploring new places and cultures.

 

 

Programming

Watch the opening ceremony LIVE! 

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Combating COVID 19

A Message from Expo 2020 Dubai

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As we prepare to welcome tourists to the UAE and visitors to Expo 2020, we need to build on our successes in combating COVID 19, where we have seen a decline of nearly 84 per cent in cases in the past eight months. As of September 2021, the UAE has administered almost 19 million vaccination doses and fully immunised 80 per cent of its population. Dubai has seen a steady influx of visitors since it reopened to tourists in July 2020, and the emirate welcomed 2.85 million visitors in the first half of 2021, with numbers predicted to accelerate in the fourth quarter, boosted by Expo 2020 Dubai and the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.

In our continued efforts to uphold the highest health and safety measures throughout the Event for both our Participants and visitors we have recently enhanced our visitor entry measures. These measures are in line with the guidance of the leading science and medical experts and will be continually updated as appropriate in our commitment to hosting an exceptional experience that all the world can enjoy. These enhanced entry measures are responsible, agile and are necessary to further support measures stipulated in the ‘Expo 2020 COVID-19 Guide’.

This comes as we prepare to welcome millions of visitors to the Expo Site and host the largest global gathering since the start of the pandemic. The new visitor entry measures are as follows:

  • All visitors aged 18 years old and above must present a valid vaccination certificate issued by competent National Authority or present a negative PRC taken within the previous 72 hours in order to enter the Expo site
  • Proof of vaccination or PCR results must be shown by the visitor at the entry gate.
  • Non-vaccinated ticket-holders who have not been tested within the 72-hour period can benefit from the PCR testing facilities available at and or near the Expo2020 site

We will continue to share enhanced COVID-19 directives with you, as we work together to host a safe and exceptional event.