For
the first time in the Asia Pacific, Thailand’s capital has
been selected as the venue for the leading exhibition and conference
for humanitarian and disaster relief as well as development.
The
Aid and International Development Forum (AIDF) will launch its
inaugural event in Bangkok at IMPACT Exhibition and Convention
Center, January 30-31st, 2013.
Due
to Bangkok’s strategic location and logistic capability in the
region, the city has emerged as the center of operational activity
for humanitarian relief and development. The event, organized by Aid
and Trade Limited
and RMA Group in partnership with IMPACT Exhibition Management Co.,
Ltd., is a platform for NGOs, governments, intergovernmental
organizations, aid agencies and the UN to meet and share best
practices, debate key issues in aid and international development,
exhibit new technologies and services, and create new partnerships.
Presented
as both a tradeshow and conference, the event will include an
Exhibition Zone where vendors can demonstrate their goods
and services, a Conference Area that addresses high level policy
issues with up to twenty panel discussions, a Workshop Area that
focuses on operational issues, and an Interactive Zone where
exhibitors can present solutions. Key themes include Partnerships and
Cross-Asia Cooperation, Pre-positioning and Rapid Disaster Response,
how to leverage a Pacific hub to respond more efficiently, Local
Empowerment, and Responsible Procurement. RMA Group, who will also be
sponsoring the ‘RMA Group NGO Zone’ exhibition space free of
charge to qualifying NGOs to allow smaller organizations to attend
the event and enhance the experience for both visitors and
exhibitors.
Expert
advisors from humanitarian and sustainable development organizations
in the event include UN OCHA, ECHO, UN FAO, IFRC, ShelterBox and the
HLA. The event is also supported by World Vision, Caritas Asia, UNDP
and JICA among other organizations.
Oliver
Lacey-Hall, Head of the UN OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the
Pacific and keynote
speaker said, “Asia and the Pacific are
undergoing enormous change - including in the fields of disaster
management and emergency
response. OCHA sees AIDF as a venue where national
authorities and NGOs, regional organizations, the private sector,
international agencies and others can come together and contribute to
charting a dynamic and forward looking agenda to meet the region’s
humanitarian and disaster management challenges in the Asian
century.”
Sula
Bruce, AIDF Event Director added, “We are encouraged by the level
of support that we have received in launching our first ever
Asia-Pacific event. The organizations we are working with
are keen to use the event as a platform to build new and strengthen
existing cross-sector partnerships. Partnerships have always been at
the core of AIDF’s ethos and with such support, we are excited
about what we can achieve at AIDF Asia-Pacific.”
Established
in Geneva in 2006, the event was originally called “International
Aid & Trade” and moved to Washington D.C. in 2009 where it
was held in partnership with InterAction – the largest
conglomeration of NGOs in the USA. The event was rebranded as the Aid
and International Development Forum in order to reflect the
increasing focus on long term sustainable development as well as aid
and disaster relief.
