Business Events Africa — April 2024

Are we still ‘Proudly South African’?

In the 30 years of South Africa’s democracy, so much has changed for the better and in some cases, for the worse.

Honestly, quite a bit has been lost, over the 30 years. I am still proudly South African, but hate that I now have to really dig deep to find the positives at times.

Sustainability has come a long way, and it is really exciting to see how our industry has adopted the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative. This is a definite positive.

What I don’t like is the uncertainty I am currently feeling.

As South Africa, we are heading into what can be seen as one of the most important elections in the history of our country. There are so many challenges that our country is currently facing. My question is: Will change to our government bring more certainty or more uncertainty? Can it get worse? From a country perspective, it can only be positive – something needs to change.

What is my concern?

What will this mean to the business events industry? Change is clearly inevitable… a new government – be it a coalition government – means new regulations… new leaders… and possibly, a new minister of tourism.

These changes can all be quite positive. However, it also means we, as an industry, could be set back, once again. It will require the industry to educate the new leaders, once again, on the importance of the business events sector and how it really isn’t just tourism.

It appears that every time we take two steps forward in explaining what the importance and the contribution this sector makes to South Africa, we see a change in political leadership and have to go back three steps before we can move forward again.

We often talk about being Proudly South African, but what puzzles me, with all the red tape that goes into the tender processes i.e. BEE certificates, tax compliance, etc. — how is it possible that at times, in our own sector, we see government appointing foreign companies to do the work, that could be done by a local South African company. Not sure how this happens?

I came to the realisation a few days ago that I completed school 29 years ago, which equates to most of our democracy. I am becoming more nostalgic as the years go by.

Nostalgia is fine, but to be honest, it is not a healthy state to live in continuously. We do need to be able to move forward, but it is important to remember where we have come from. I recently met someone from my school, at an industry trade show, who I hadn’t seen since leaving school. It brought back many wonderful memories. The best thing is that she is in the industry. I look forward to collaborating with her in the future.

On another note, Business Events Africa and EXSA, are working on an exciting project that will run over a couple of months, where we will look at the history of the association, but more broadly, the history of the exhibition industry in South Africa. I will provide more information in the next edition. If you would like to contribute with any information on the history of the exhibition industry, please contact me directly on irene@contactpub.co.za

In closing, we can’t change the country’s current state overnight, but we can vote! Please vote on 29 May! It is one way we can make a change.