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.
