Exhibitions play a crucial role in advancing equity and inclusion as they are reflective of the broader society, foster innovation and create opportunities for underrepresented groups, leading to different and unique perspectives. IAEE leads by example and is fully committed to cultivating an ongoing successful B2B and B2C exhibitions industry – one that creates, health, joy and justice for all people of different backgrounds, races, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, ability, and religion.
Producing events, creating buyer / seller marketplaces, is the pinnacle of bringing people together, of creating a sense of belonging, around a common theme. IAEE’s DE&I Committee and IAEE Board of Directors provide insights, counsel and support.
New to the IAEE Awards Program in 2023, this award recognizes an IAEE member company or an IAEE member representative for outstanding contributions, actions and/or commitment to people of different backgrounds, races, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, ability and religion.
Considerations for this award include demonstrated initiatives and commitment to participating in, or enacting change within their organizations and the shows they produce as well as contributions to charitable organizations representing underserved communities and special recognitions received.
The IAEE DE&I Scholarship was established to promote and bring visibility to the exhibitions, meetings and business events industry for graduating high school students of diverse backgrounds and from under-served and economically and socially disadvantaged communities, in order to create an equal opportunity for the recipient to achieve a two-year or four-year college-level education program.
IAEE provides personal and professional development resources on DEIB through educational offerings. Visit the IAEE KnowledgeHub for webinars (available on-demand) on this subject. All webinars are worth one (1) CE credit. View IAEE’s DE&I learning resources here.
IAEE features thought leadership content on the IAEE Blog here.