CEO Report March 2017 - Tad Zurlinden
As we approach our 19th International Relocation Congress taking place in the Polish capital Warsaw, it strikes me just how far EuRA has moved forward over the last two decades. I am grateful for the incredible support of our members, sponsors, awesome team at HQ and around the world, and of course our Board Members who give their time and expertise for free to further enhance our profession.
Our first EMEA Conference in Cape Town was a landmark event for EuRA and we were so humbled by the turnout and the enthusiasm from our members across Africa. We had three days of learning, networking, sharing and friendship. New business relationships were formed, new friendships were made and along the way we had some fun too. We enjoyed a great gala dinner and auction where we raised €3000 towards our charity, GOLD helping kids without prospects to find their place in the Rainbow Nation. Given that we had just 100 delegates this was a great achievement. After an inspirational keynote from Michael Dale, our conference sessions concentrated on the challenges and opportunities of working across the continent specifically compliance and corruption, diverse cultures and the issues thrown up by ever changing immigration rules. We ended the event on a true high with our Retro Beach Party down on the shore near the famous V&A Waterfront. I would like to send a special thank you to all our sponsors who are listed on the webpage for there support of the event. I was so glad to have your trust and faith in us.
We will alternate this event each year between Africa and the Middle East and I’m really excited to announce that we will hold the next MEA event in Dubai, 22-24 November in the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel. We will again run MIM training, hold a gala dinner in the hotel, have a great day of sessions and knowledge sharing and hold our party, on the amazing deck of the Palace Downton Hotel overlooking the fountains of the Burj Khalifa. If you’ve seen the fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, think bigger! We will be opening bookings from May 1st.
In another first, we held a dinner in Penang alongside the IMC World Conference. IMC have run this event in Asia for the last six years and the numbers have steadily grown for it to become an essential event in the Asian Mobility calendar. With a very diverse range of providers, the feedback from the EuRA members who attended was extremely positive as they made new contacts and will be working with new partners. Our dinner was held in the incomparable Kebaya Restaurant of the Severn Terraces Hotel, one of the finest in Malaysia. It was terrific to welcome 100 guests to an evening filled with great food, laughter and much singing!
Do not miss our massively expanded programme in Warsaw. We have some fantastic sessions, two truly inspirational Keynote speakers and of course, two great venues for our Gala Dinner and Party Night. We have worked with our newly convened RMC DSP Forum to come up with a survey which was sent to members last month and we will be basing the agenda for our RMC Meeting in Warsaw on the results. The forum is made of 6 representatives from our existing RMC Group and 6 DSP representatives. We had our first meeting in London in January and it was incredibly constructive. Myself and the Board have the aim of developing EuRA’s knowledge sharing and research capabilities over the coming years and this group will be central to that. We all want to make sure that EuRA is an inclusive association that works solely in the best interests of its members. That’s why we have always been and always will be, not for profit.
See you in Warsaw!