This high speed debut will be followed by the maritime panel, which summarises in its title the teething issue that has occupied our thoughts and projects for some time now: 'Sustainability at What Cost?' Mr Jens Roemer, FIATA Senior Vice President and FIATA Working Group Sea Chair, a friend the FlyingTypers has gladly interviewed more than once in the past, will be moderating the panel where contiguous interests will be represented to entertain a lively debate.
     It should come to no surprise that FIATA embraces such a wide variety of topics. If you look at the screenshot of today’s FIATA website, there is hardly any hot issue missing from the front line:
     And if you delve into the lines of the FIATA Review and the various newsletters, the landscape of the issues we are facing is complete, without forgetting a human touch such as FIATA Members’ efforts for the terrible earthquake in Turkey and Syria. We should not forget how crucial the sector has been in the deployment of COVID vaccines and PPE’s all around the world. Is there anybody who could calculate how many more lives would have been lost in this situation without the efficient global logistics machine in operation? Hardly, but this is history in a fast moving organisation like FIATA. So let us go back to the upcoming Headquarters’ in Geneva and its informative bonanza.
     In preparation of my travel to Geneva, I had a piece of luck: Stephane Graber, FIATA’s Director General, found the time to release a brief statement. Having worked in his demanding position in years past, I consider the mere fact that he found the time to respond to my appeal as a friendly favour. Here goes his professional statement: “The logistics community must come together to navigate the uncertainty that underpins geopolitical tensions, economic volatility and regulatory ambiguity. The FIATA Headquarters meeting aims to be the platform that brings FIATA's Association Members to Geneva. FIATA is committed to continuous improvement and strives to make the 2023 Headquarters meeting more engaging and interactive than ever, by involving its 200 attendees from the forwarding and logistics sector in a series of workshops and panels. Key themes this year include decarbonisation of the shipping sector, workforce shortage, cybersecurity, cargo loading safety, a fit for purpose global programme for air freight, and trade facilitation. The FIATA team has curated exchanges with 30 experts on these topics and welcomes you to Geneva to benefit from a mutually enriching exchange.”
     Speaking of Stephane Graber’s team, I was able to witness their multifarious abilities last year on the same occasion in May. Members’ expectations are high, but surely these will be not only met, but surpassed by the women and men of the fine team working at FIATA today. The team’s continuous assistance ensures the smooth deployment of the sessions, and this will be crucial with topics of importance on Sunday 19th of March, when inter-alia the Customs Affairs Institute’s (CAI) Workshop will take place debating the challenges of 'Trade Facilitation and regional AEO programmes', as well as 'Standardisation and harmonisation of Advanced Cargo Information globally, and dataset standardisation to facilitate electronic data exchange'. The professionals participating in the deliberations are front runners and will not fail to capture the attention of the audience, despite the technicality of the issues. CAI is not the only FIATA body where technique is on demand, the Safety and Security Panel will not baulk before technical questions, considering the panel will debate the issue of 'Combatting Cybercrime – Best Practices for A More Resilient Business’. We all know that “best practices” is a key word to watch for, if you wish to learn something new in trade and logistics. I shall make sure not to miss this session.
     Indeed, the FIATA production is flourishing in other directions as well. Just days ago the Best Practice in contract management has been launched and now the AB Legal Matters launches a quarterly newsletter for members that, in their own words, will deal with “the rapid evolution of global events in the maritime supply chain [which] has seen the emergence of important legal developments for the freight forwarding and logistics industry, as well as a renewed focus on legal aspects as part of risk management strategies. This quarterly legal newsletter will inform FIATA members of important legal developments around the world and provide practi¬cal considerations from a legal perspective.”
     An all-time favourite for many a member, the ABLM, chaired by our friend Dr Yang Yuntao, is where my journey in FIATA started over thirty years ago . . . This year their attention is focussed on ‘UNCITRAL work on negotiable multimodal transport documents’. After many years there is some advancement and many counties are contemplating the legal instrument with keener interest. My memory goes back to the years when I was attending the sessions in Vienna in the company of the distinguished colleagues who worked with great intuition and dedication to achieve a result that seemed impossible many years ago. Another session to follow and treasure in my view.
     The day closes with airfreight and here I daresay FIATA comes back to the front line with a conversation on the ‘Development of a Global Air Cargo Programme for all regions’, which is a topic that has occupied FIATA’s and IATA’s pages for well over a decade, with many phases of stop and go. As FIATA itself puts it: “Regional FIATA Representatives will focus on facilitating an engaging internal discussion with FIATA Association Member delegates from all Regions, with a view to gathering practical feedback on industry needs for a modern global air cargo programme. This will equip FIATA and its delegates with the necessary tools and strategies needed in this quickly evolving sector.”
     There is a panel, interlinked in the airfreight part of the meeting, which will then debate ‘Effective Handling and Transportation of Unit Load Devices: Addressing Safety, Security, and Best Practices in Airfreight’, with distinguished panellists from all corners of the industry: Christopher Licht, Managing Director, Çelebi Aviation Holding, André Majeres, Head of Cargo Operations, Mail and E-commerce, IATA (International Air Transport Association) and Dawit Woubishet Teklemariam, FIATA Airfreight Institute Chair, among others participating in the Air Freight Institute part.