Special guests live on stage: ex-professional footballer and brand ambassador Rúrik Gíslason and entrepreneur Dr Georg Kofler
As usual, BOE INTERNATIONAL is marking the beginning of the year by presenting its core competencies in live communications and in the MICE and business travel segments on 11 and 12 January 2023. Knowledge, interaction and networking are the watchwords for the supporting programme, which in 2023 is dedicated even more extensively to all the topics and future challenges facing the event industry.
Dortmund, 11 January 2023 – Visitors to BOE INTERNATIONAL on 11 and 12 January 2023 are set to experience a compact line-up of exhibitors from all parts of the event industry – from market leaders to niche suppliers covering special requirements. In addition, a wide range of talks, panel discussions, interviews and performances across six stages and an additional special events area will cover all facets of the industry from expertise to show artistry. Highlights will include interviews with ex-professional footballer and brand ambassador Rúrik Gíslason, and also with Dr Georg Kofler, entrepreneur and panellist on the German version of “The Dragons’ Den”, and sportsman of the year Frank Busemann.
LET’S TALK STAGE (Hall 4)
Day 1 will be all about sustainability in the event industry for which BOE INTERNATIONAL and its strategic sustainability partner 2bdifferent are strong advocates. The focus will be on the smart circular economy for zero-waste trade show and event models. This topic will be addressed by Dr Christoph Soukup and other experts. Also on the agenda will be techniques for calculating carbon footprints. Another topic will be sustainable destination management with representatives from convention bureaus and event locations, city marketing organisations and congress organisers. Implementing ‘systemic certification’ in practice will be the subject of discussion at the ISO 20121 Talk featuring 2bdifferent. The legal framework surrounding the Climate Protection Act prompted the German Concert and Event Industry Association (fwd: Bundesvereinigung Veranstaltungswirtschaft) and the International Federation of Exhibition & Event Services (IFES) to launch their ‘convoy solution’ for sustainability in the event industry together with consulting agency 2bdifferent. The background to this sustainable concept will also be covered.
One special on-stage highlight is set to be the interview with former professional footballer Rúrik Gíslason who will be in conversation with event host Aljoscha Höhn on 11 January starting at 17:00 hrs. The popular Icelander is known to many from his time as a national team player, and also as a TV guest, influencer, brand ambassador and entrepreneur. At the end of the interview he will delight his audience with a short live performance demonstrating his musical talent.
The following day will see BOE partner ‘digital excellence / act & react’ take to the stage. Neo Ecology, Digital Natives and Digital Ethics will be the focus of discussion in a host of talks and sessions to be held between 11:00 and 17:00 hrs. The stage will also offer a foretaste of the 9th digital excellence conference in Frankfurt on 15 June 2023 with an opportunity to join a ‘meet & greet’ session with renowned sustainability and digitalisation expert Prof Dr Anabel Ternès von Hattburg and a workshop by economist, philosopher and theologian Eberhard Schnebel, a highly respected expert on business and corporate ethics.
The DIGITAL FORUM on the DIGITAL STAGE (Hall 7)
Exciting topics ranging from social media, AI and VR/AR, ethics on the web, the metaverse and gamification to robotics, digital tools, event trends and digital marketing will be presented at the DIGITAL FORUM which is organised this year for the 7th time in partnership with IST University of Applied Sciences. As in previous years, the stage programme is being supported by Speakers Excellence. Things will kick off with an inspiring talk by Dr Georg Kofler, passionate serial entrepreneur and expert in communications, marketing and e-commerce, who will explain why he regards entrepreneurship as much more than a business activity, and why starting a business is a decision to live life on one’s own terms. This will be followed by talks on ‘Meme Marketing’ by Sebastian Galla, Managing Director of Brandneo, and ‘Decathlon Tactics – Success Can Be Planned’ by sportsman of the year Frank Busemann. IST research assistant Alexandra Löwe will explain what is meant by ‘Change Readiness’, and director Marco Dittrich will join colleagues in shedding light on ‘Formats that work online and offline’, offering insights into professional dramatics and team-play. International speaker, trainer and book author Marc Gassert will inspire listeners with his talk entitled ‘Do it now! – Achievement is the Fruit of Perseverance, not of Getting Started’. Dr James Morgan, Dean of the International Tourism and Hospitality College in Riyadh and founder of event technology consultancy Event Tech Lab, will explain ‘Event Design and Technology Trends in 2023’. Day 2 will see more interesting talks including one by Prof Dr Thomas R Köhler, author and expert in the field of future technologies, addressing ‘Metaverse, Web3 et al. – the next milestone in digitalisation’. In a talk entitled ‘PodSelling® (Podcast + Sales)’, Ulf Zinne, author, consultant, trainer, TV presenter and podcast producer, will outline how to become No. 1 in the ears of prospective customers. ‘Gamification: How to Use AR & AI to Create Fresh Impetus at the POI’ will be discussed by Lena Gabold, Customer Success Manager at SENSAPE, and Juan Leguizamon, Executive Experience Creative Director at Havas Germany, will offer insights in an English-language talk entitled ‘VIRTUAL PURGATORY’.
SAFETY & SECURITY STAGE (Hall 4)
The stage programme covering issues of relevance to event security is being organised by the German Event Safety & Security Association (bvvs) ably assisted by the Media & Event Technology Association (VPLT). People are really looking forward to the talk entitled ’12½ Years on from the Duisburg Love Parade in 2010 – What Have We Learned From It? How Do We Move On?’ by engineering professor and multiple award-winning safety expert Dr Jürgen Gerlach of Wuppertal University. Interesting insights will be offered by the talk ‘Future standard and an absolute must: risk assessments as an easy-to-use standard tool for avoiding bad investments and planning errors’ to be given by Sven Hansen, Managing Director of consulting firm Event Safety Consult. A high-calibre panel will address ‘Social sustainability: labour and skilled workers in times of demographic change’. Other topics will include ‘The fairytale world of insurance – opportunities for companies to actively shape their insurance risk’ and ‘Risk management rethought – corporate insurance and cash flow solutions for the event industry’ with representatives from Erpam GmbH, an experienced specialist insurer for entertainment and events. Dennis Eichenbrenner, expert planner for visitor safety and chairman of the German Event Safety & Security Association, will speak on ‘First-aid services at events – forget algorithms and plan it yourself?’
COMMUNICATION STAGE (Hall 5)
This stage will offer visitors a wide range of industry topics plus ample time for networking. The COMMUNICATION STAGE is being supported by NEXTLIVE and the German National Event Industry Association. The opening discussion with NEXTLIVE editor-in-chief Sjoerd Weikamp, the presentation will be immediately followed by a talk entitled ‘The great industry salary cost comparison – skills, salaries, fees and special benefits in the event industry in 2022’ with Prof Dr Cornelia Zanger. Also featured will be top speakers from agencies and businesses on Learning from the Best – Outstanding Event Showcases, Sustainability & Digitalisation and Trends 2023. Another highlight will be the panel discussion ‘The Human Touch: New Approaches to Trade Show Interaction!’ featuring the German National Association for Communications in Industry (bvik) and chaired by Michaela-Susan Pollok and Kim Kugelmann. The German National Event Industry Association (fwd) is planning to hold round table discussions on the national event industry conference and on the new fwd service company as a quality marketplace for trade show and event construction work. A further panel discussion on ‘Sustainability in LiveCom – what matters most for future generations!’ will discuss sustainability from a point of view of young and future generations.
MICE STAGE (Hall 7)
The programme will commence on 11 January with the Keynote Talk by the winner of the ‘GSA Newcomer of the Year 2023’ chosen by the German Speaker Association just the day before. This will be followed by ‘Five Tips, Ideas and Taboos surrounding Business Events’ and other matters investigated by Ralf Schmitt, speaker, author, Managing Director of ‘Impulspiloten’ and Vice President of the GSA, as well as the issue of ‘Speaker Coaching’ presented by coach, compère and speaker Cristián Gálvez. Anja Engel, Head of Marketing and Communications at MICE Portal GmbH, will investigate what Matching Qualities an event industry marketplace has to offer in order to ensure maximum benefit for those taking part in it. Carsten Fuchs, proprietor of Fuchs von Morgen GmbH and developer of the ‘Zukunftsbild’ (imaging the future) technique, will present his idea of a new approach to Shaping our Futures. Event director Chris Cuhls will also present on ‘What’s next – Creating Beautiful Experiences’ looking into event acoustics together with Jörg Sellerbeck and Kenneth Tschersich.
Another highlight will be the keynote talk by Isabel Grupp, entrepreneur, influencer and state chair of the Baden-Württemberg Young Entrepreneurs, on 12 January 2023 between 10:45 and 11:30 hrs. In her keynote talk entitled ‘New Leadership – Leading by Example & Emotion’, she will explain what distinguishes successful entrepreneurship and how to become fully aware of one’s all-encompassing responsibility towards employees. Afterwards, she will be joined by Karin Ruppert from ‘She Means Community’, Rike van Kleef, co-founder of faemm, and Anastasia Barner, founder of Europe’s first reverse mentoring start-up ‘FeMentor’, to discuss the topics of Female Empowerment, New Leadership and Diversity. Afterwards, Barner will also speak on ‘Female Visibility and Personal Branding’ on social media.
CULINARY TALK & TASTING (Hall 4)
Pioneer, top chef and food specialist Ulf Tassilo Muench will be welcoming exciting guests from the food world to a separate special event area on both days of the show. The lead topic of VeGanuary will be the main focus of attention. Other topics will include ‘Trends in Catering’, ‘Zero Waste Catering’, ‘Next Generation – What makes the Next Generation tick’, ‘Caviar – Fact & Fiction’ and ‘Mix-and-match desserts’ featuring people such as top chef Dominik Wetzel, ‘The Taste’ semi-finalist Janni Alexandridis, patissier Torsten Schneider and catering entrepreneur Dr Melanie Linden. Guests at BOE in Dortmund will also include TV celebrity chef Benedikt Faust and international Michelin two-star chef Andy Yang (Bangkok / New York).
ACTS ON STAGE & the Workshop Programme (Hall 6)
At ACTS ON STAGE – powered by memo-media – Sebastian Messerschmidt will host four live shows each day featuring a varied mix of high-paced artistry, comedy, music and great beats. The audience will be delighted by artistes such as acrobat Tim Höfel with his special flatland BMX show, master magician Matthias Rauch and his made-to-measure illusions, and trapeze artist Anna Ehrenreich with a truly breathtaking act. A rousing performance of music, juggling and on-stage personal interaction will be presented by Berlin artistic duo FELICE & CORTES. The in-depth workshops with Kerstin Meisner, Lukas Stelter, Annabell Whitney, Bettina Eichblatt, Peter Schaul and others will also be featured on both days of the show in 2023.
Full workshop overview
On-site events for the next generation
Personnel development, further education and advancing young talent in the event industry are key focal points at BOE INTERNATIONAL, and this year the show is complementing its young talent programme with the new BrandEx Fresh platform offering young high-talent individuals ideas and insights into the event and MICE industry on Day 1 of the show.
BrandEx Fresh: Under the banner of ‘Awakening’, experienced young high-talent individuals were able to submit their applications for the BrandEx Awards in a total of 18 categories as part of the International Festival of Brand Experience. ‘BrandEx Fresh’ is one of the categories. In addition, a special young talent programme ‘BrandEx Fresh’ will now be held for the first time at BOE INTERNATIONAL on 11 January 2023 starting at 11:00 hrs in Hall 5. BrandEx Fresh uses the popular ‘Jobseeking Blind Date’ and ‘Agency Pitch’ formats, with the former featuring three employers competing for the favour of a young professional, and the latter giving agencies a five-minute platform for presenting themselves attractively to young professionals. Current trending topics will also be covered on the Fresh stage, with Dominik Griese and Tom Inden-Lohmar doing a live recording of their ‘Pracht & Elend’ (= tops and flops) podcast ‘on the metaverse from the metaverse’. Luis Pahl from BrandEx 2022 will also be relating a charmingly presented ‘FuckUp Story’ from initial failure to the BrandEx Gold award.
FORUM EVENT: The hybrid congress for young professionals, organised by management school IST University of Applied Sciences in partnership with Messe Dortmund, will get underway in the Messe Dortmund seminar rooms on 12 January 2023 between 09:00 and 14:00 hrs. Entitled ‘Plan F’ – standing for Forum, Fair, Festival, Film, Future, Fantasy and Fun – this sixth edition will offer an exciting mix of live talks, best practice examples, expert panel discussions and Q&A sessions. The talks will include ‘Training once and for good … or life-long learning?’ with head of department Florine Gelsing, and ‘Inventiveness for all! Creativity techniques that fire the imagination’ with Prof Answin Vilmar (both from IST University of Applied Sciences). Visitors will learn ‘How to design the lead role in a film and what makes good (event) directing’ directly from members of ‘eventregisseure.de’. Another exciting slot is set to be ‘SUSTAINFESTIVAL – Hedonism v. Ecosocial Conscience’ with the expertise of Daniele Murgia, organiser and sustainability consultant at 2bdifferent. The young talent forum is being put together by Communication & Event Management students at IST and is supported by Allseated with the interactive 3D experience platform Meetaverse™, conference organisers’ association degefest e.V. and media partner CG Marketing.
Overview of the full programme on all stages
GUIDED TOURS
The BOE will also be offering its popular, free guided tours again in 2023. Participants will be given a host of product information on a general tour to selected exhibition stands (no registration required).
Sustainable and rich in content: the online BOE Magazine
The second issue of BOE Magazine offers reading pleasure and information on current trends and industry issues to get you in the mood for the upcoming BOE show. There is also a raffle with the chance to win two superb vocational training courses – for personal skills training or for a young high-talent individual in your business.
BOE Magazine
Live on stage: 2023 BrandEx Awards
The BrandEx Awards have been honouring outstanding creative achievements in the live communications industry since 2019. This year will be the fifth time the coveted gold, silver and bronze trophies have been awarded. From a total of 87 entries, the famous-name panel of judges has selected 23 projects in 15 categories and will present the prestigious prizes live at the awards ceremony on the evening before BOE INTERNATIONAL starting at 20:00 hrs. The initiators of the German creative competition are the Studieninstitut für Kommunikation, Messe Dortmund, the German Concert and Event Industry Association and BlachReport.
Celebrating together at BOE Night
At the end of the first day of BOE INTERNATIONAL, the popular BOE Night will take place as usual on 11 January 2023 starting at 19:00 hrs. The relaxed party-style place for exhibitors and visitors to meet up will feature an attractive mix of networking, business, lifestyle and music in an easy atmosphere. The Gemini live band act will ensure a cool party atmosphere with everything from chill-out lounge music to a brass combo, and everything from dance floor DJ stompers to piano ballads. Guests will be treated to mouth-watering morsels by Ulf Tassilo Muench and the Culinary Delights Connection.
Meet the associations
This year’s BOE offers you the ability to obtain information directly from six industry associations. As market-driven bodies addressing the specific professional challenges facing the sector, they carry out important public relations work among policy-makers and the world of business. The show will be attended by the German Concert and Event Industry Association (fwd:), the European Association of Event Centres (EVVC), the Congress and Seminar Industry Association (degefest), the Media & Event Technology Association (VPLT), the German Event Safety & Security Association (bvvs), the German National Association for Communications in Industry (bvik) and the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA).
