Why are we involved in trade fairs?
Staff of the European Chamber is often asked why ECCP is involved in trade fairs, why we are involved in industry sector support or why ECCP plays a major role in solving the Manila Port accessibility/port congestion.
The answers are easy:
a. ECCP is a bilateral chamber of commerce with 50% of its membership being Philippine companies. This makes sense because ECCP offers the same support and services to European companies that wish to enter the Philippine market and to Philippine companies that wish to enter the European market.
b. ECCP is a chamber of commerce but – at the same time – a professional service provider. With this in mind, it was easy for us to decide that we could help Philippine exporters best if we represented trade fairs in Europe, in the Middle-East, in Asia and in the Americas. The expansion into non-European markets necessitated the creation of a subsidiary called Fairs&More. ECCP and Fairs&More prepared missions from the Philippines to new markets, like Russia and Brazil. We have looked at exhibition opportunities in Shanghai and in Tokyo and have our eyes on new markets that are developing well.
c. We have always understood that selling visitor tickets to trade fairs and selling square-meters to exporters are not enough. We were and are aware that export sectors and export companies have to be supported in product development and in trade fair presentations. We demonstrated that in European events where ASEAN FUSION was presented as a new concept and in Bijorhca in Paris when the Philippines was the only Asian country that was allowed to exhibit in a designed pavilion environment for years.
d. This engagement over the last two decades has led to a close cooperation with CITEM, with the Design Center of the Philippines with the Department of Trade and Industry in Manila and Cebu, and with the Department of Science and Technology mainly in Cebu. These activities have created endeavors like
* Shop-Floor R+D wherein three groups work together: academe/senior engineering students, companies, DOST, industry sectors like furniture, fashion accessories and gift, toys, housewares, and ECCP;
* Materials R+D / Materials Library that provides new materials and manipulated sustainable indigenous materials for designers and product developers to play with;
* Raffia-weaving in Tubigon, Bohol where a community produces woven fabrics using raffia mixed with other materials for the international market; and
* sustainable consumption and production – under this project, new products made of ‘green’ materials were presented by Cebu exporters in Paris, Cologne and Shanghai and were very well received;
* Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production wherein companies earn more though savings from sustainable practices.
ECCP is continuously looking for opportunities to serve our members and clients better; creating a level playing field for all is the main driver.
If you feel that ECCP is an interesting business organization to partner with, we invite you to join us and become part of the work we are doing, driven by our battle cry: stop complaining, be part of the solution!!!
For more information, visit www.eccp.com and www.fairsandmore.com or email [email protected].
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