GALLERYIssue 2 | 2012 www.80exhibition-world.netUFI ASIA OPEN SEMINARShenzhen plays host to UFI's fi rst Asia Open Seminar in ChinaThe UFI Asia Open Seminar took place in China for the fi rst time in February, bringing together 230 industry experts discussing exhibitions in the world's fastest growing and arguably most lucrative exhibition market.Delegates from more than 20 countries and territories travelled to southern China for the two-day seminar, themed 'Asian Exhibitions in the Year of the Dragon'. The event took place at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre and was hosted by the Shenzhen Trade, Economic and Information Commission."The continued growth of exhibitions in Asia has caught the attention of much of the exhibition industry worldwide," said Mark Cochrane, UFI Asia-Pacifi c regional manager, adding that the industry is looking to Asia for new opportunities.The exhibition industry in Asia has grown throughout the global fi nancial crisis, and the delegates and speakers in Shenzhen were keen to ensure this progress continues.

GALLERYwww.exhibition-world.net Issue 2 | 201281UFI MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA OPEN SEMINARUFI's fi rst Sub-Saharan event displays growing interest in AfricaThe UFI Middle East and Africa Open Seminar, an event co-located with Manch Communications' Expo Summit Africa in March, highlighted organisers' growing interest in staging their events in Africa.The event, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) in South Africa on 15-17 March, was moderated by CTICC CEO Rashid Toefy. It attracted 70 participants from 18 countries in four continents including China, the UK, the USA and Thailand.Sessions centred around the theme 'Reality, Potential, Access and Needs', and set out to address the industry's concern for infrastructure and the need to improve current exhibition facilities in many countries across the region."It has been an immense pleasure for me to host this UFI Seminar/Expo Summit here in Cape Town, and to be able to share with the international exhibition industry the potential of this massive market," said Toefy.