Development and innovation
2020, what a year for all of us! For our families, for our jobs, for our industry, for our world
Being the voice of the bunker industry means creating a community. By conferencing we bring people and businesses together to share some of their professional experiences and therefore develop or even shape the industry together.
Due to the pandemic, we, IBIA had no intention of slowing down and IBIA’s impact and events activity has developed in a different, virtual way in the past year.
During 2020, as physical events became a no-go, we organised several online Member Meetings, we launched 10 bunker training modules (there are more to come in 2021), we co-organised a webinar and online conference with S&P Global Platts, we have supported other industry conferences, our director spoke at several significant online events and webinars, and we conducted our first virtual Annual Convention in November.
Taking the IBIA Annual Convention online was a strategic decision, to ensure that the Convention would take place this year. With innovation and the new ways of working, our vision was to deliver a unique and advanced way of conferencing.
The panels we put together brought us a fantastic range of voices addressing the biggest issues facing the industry. We delivered a series of both regionally focused panel discussions in three time zones, and a final day of comprehensive global panel debates. The participation was truly global with 398 delegates from over 50 countries.
We would like to thank our strategic partner Ship & Bunker, sponsors, media sponsors, and supporting organisations. The IBIA Annual Convention 2020 would not have been possible without their support. They have shared valuable insights, continuing to uphold the values and best interests of the bunkering industry. Thank you!
As I write this report summarising our online events activities for 2020, we are putting together our largest ever virtual networking room, continuing our tradition of the IBIA Annual Dinner. Wherever you live or work, you will still have the opportunity to virtually connect with around 1,000 stakeholders of our industry. We hope to ‘see’ you all on Monday 22 February 2021.
For the closure of this report, we are pleased to announce our first webinar of 2021, which will be in partnership with the UK Chamber of Shipping. Shell will be the main sponsor of this webinar, which will focus on GTL Fuel, an alternative diesel fuel derived from natural gas, which burns more cleanly than conventional crude oil-based diesel.
In the meantime, we warmly encourage you to take advantage of IBIA’s portal, where you can find important insights for the industry, our member directory as well as actively participate at our working groups.
If you want to become a speaker, sponsor or find out more about our events, you can contact Sofia Konstantopoulou at sofia.konstantopoulou@ibia.net.
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This article was first published in the final 2020 edition of World Bunkering, IBIA’s official magazine.