TIACA claims its Executive Summit 2019 marked a turning point for the association, with 200 participants from across the industry attending to make the event "more dynamic than ever".
Focused on partnership, modernization and sustainability, there was a clear positive and constructive energy during the sessions and between all stakeholders. TIACA also shared its ambition to strengthen the role of members as ambassadors of their association, and made a commitment to pursue collaboration efforts with the whole industry. Read on for an overview of this truly inspiring TIACA Executive Summit.
A central role of all members: acting as ambassadors for TIACA
TIACA’s members are key to strengthening the association and to uniting the air cargo industry. But they are also key to attracting new members with the aim of going further. “Who can be better ambassadors for TIACA than the members themselves? This is our role if we want to reach our common goal, developing our industry,” said Steven Polmans. “We are not going to revolutionize everything at once. We need to work step by step. We want to involve our members more and to do that we need to ensure that they and the industry as a whole are better informed,” he added.
A meeting point for the air cargo industry: a platform for partnership, networking and sharing
“As one of its key objectives, TIACA constantly strives to build and nurture partnership, and we are committed to developing these partnerships at the global and regional level”, said Vladimir Zubkov, Secretary General of TIACA. “And we are not just saying that – we act. In fact, during the Executive Summit, we’ve signed two main agreements with Pharma.aero and Routes,” he added. Steven Polmans also said: “As a very fragmented industry with a lot of different professional organizations & associations, cooperation is – and remains – of the utmost importance.”
Being the meeting point of the air cargo industry is also about sharing knowledge and best practices, through training programs, for instance, and offering a platform for networking. There were many opportunities to emphasize these roles during the three days: “One of the real sources of added value that TIACA brings is its ability to facilitate exchanges, discussions and partnership,” said Vladimir Zubkov. The fantastic atmosphere during the Executive Summit supported great networking opportunities: “This conference was incredibly rich in terms of content but also in the way in which it created chemistry between the stakeholders,” said Steven Polmans.
A hot topic at the top of the agenda: Sustainability
Sustainability was a key focus, with the official launch of the Sustainability Program, the first Working Group and the first Sustainability Award. “Sustainability is not just being green; it is much more than that. Of course, it’s about Planet but it also includes the People and Prosperity dimensions. And after those three days, I am sure all the attendees got back home convinced and inspired,” said Steven Polmans.
The conference also focused on a number of other hot topics for the air cargo industry: modern practices that will make air cargo more efficient, the digital future of air cargo, the impacts of e-commerce, the importance of quality in ground operations, and the volatility of global trade, to name the main areas. Inspiring for the audience as well as for TIACA to design its new strategy and priorities for the year to come.
