SA Events Council is a federation of Event-related Associations. Our collective is now 14 Associations strong and the latest Board member, Township Events Business Council of South Africa (TEBCO – SA) on board, extending our reach into Township Events across the country.
There is no SA Events Council membership as such, if you are a member of one of the SAEC Associations, you are automatically part of SAEC. From time to time, SAEC co-opts consulting members to attend meetings where they can be instrumental in furthering our cause. We are currently working closely with Wesgro and SA Tourism and engaging with Dept. of Tourism, DSAC, JOC, GOCTA and the DTI.
The past couple of months at SAEC have been spent lobbying government for a seat at the table to engage with government on the Reopening Guidelines on the extension of TERS Payments for the events industry and for increased capacity at events at every level. Unfortunately the reopening has been slow although we have the ear of the DDG and DG and are engaging with the Departments of Sports, Arts and Culture and DoT. We need all our Association members to pull together to keep up the pressure on government and keep our industry in the spotlight. We are calling for your support in our efforts to reopen our industry safely.
CURRENT FOCUS
Pushing for increased capacities at events
Business events not sufficiently distinguished from large gatherings in the eyes of Government. We are focused on raising awareness of events that ARE happening safely around the country and using them to demonstrate how we are able to host events safely and responsibly.
The Restart Expo which takes place on 25th and 26th Nov is a Proof-of-Concept /Event Capability study, for exhibitions. We will use this event specifically as a vehicle to push for increased capacity, working off floor capacities rather than the capped capacities currently in play. We are hoping for a stepped relaxation of capacity restrictions over the next few months, by demonstrating our proficiency at managing protocols on business events.
Help us draw attention to this demonstration of competency by posting and reposting on your social media platforms using the hashtags
#restartexpo #50%floorcapacity #reopeneventsandexhibitions @saeventscouncil
More information on the Restart Exhibition can be found here.
See attached social media handles and images that can be used to support the event.
Entrenching safety compliance at all levels
As recent events have proved, lax implementation of safety protocols position events and gatherings as a major catalyst for spreading the virus quickly. Unless everyone at an event is adhering to the safety guidelines and organisers are making sure that the suppliers/venues they are using are equally compliant, we prove to be our own worst enemy. We urge everyone involved in events to continue to practice safety consistently and stringently across all events. Just one non-compliant event will put our industry on the back foot and potentially back under lockdown.
Training
All SAEC-affiliated Associations will be hosting Training Workshops on COVID-19 Safety Protocols for Events within the next month to give everyone an opportunity to fully understand what is required for a safe event. Look out for the date on which your specific Association has been allocated a training slot. Until such time as we have sufficient competent safety personnel in place, we need to self-regulate and with the festive season fast approaching, we need to act NOW. We are looking to secure governmental backing to roll out more comprehensive industry training across all provinces.
Register your Event on the SAEC website
A SAEC Registered Event provides a level of confidence to those attending your event – it means that you are ensuring that the necessary safety guidelines are being adhered to, as per the latest government guidelines. If you belong to one of the SA Event Council (SAEC) member associations, we invite you to register your event on the website link here.
Many thanks
Warm regards,
Robyn D’Alessandro
SAEC PR
