Associations
June 2018
17
Winning formula
How associations impact our day-to-day lives?
Claire Wormsley, MD at GCN Events, explores
Th e recent European Association Awards
held in Brussels helped to shine a light on the
often-pioneering work done by organisations
across a diverse range of sectors and industries.
Highlighting just a few of those that made it
to the winners podium shows what a richly
diverse arena associations are active within and
how they impact our day to day lives for the
better.
One winner Infl uenza Hub – a partnership
between ZN Consulting, Mylan, Sanofi
Pasteur, IFPMA, WMA is a great example
of how collaborative eff orts between diff erent
agencies can really make a diff erence and
taking messaging to a much wider audience
that might otherwise have been achieved.
Another campaigning example was one
conducted over Social Media for EENA.
Called Make EU Safe – it was focused on
improving safety and security of people by
contributing to the amelioration of emergency
services.
Others may have less resonance form an
individual perspective but do work in terms
of bolstering industry with knock-on eff ects
of protecting and indeed boosting jobs – such
as winner European Chemical Industry
Council (Cefi c) – campaign to safeguard the
competitiveness of European manufacturing
industries which resulted in a renewed
industrial strategy being adopted.
Th e ethos of changing lives for the
better can also benefi t those who work for
associations themselves and this in turn is
amplifi ed in the wider community. One
example of this is the Liechtenstein Banker’s
Association won for their trail-blazing work
in the arena of childcare – Simon Tribelhorn,
CEO, sums up what the project means and
what winning an award means for them. He
said:
“Th is important social engagement project
highlights the value that our members place
on families being able to manage their careers
with family life, and that the two can be, and
are, compatible.
“We are very proud and honoured to have
won the ‘Best Membership Initiative by an
Association’ for this project. Th e award is an
important acknowledgement of not only the
Villa Wirbelwind initiative but of the team’s
daily work. We entered the awards as we feel
it is very important to recognise and highlight
what the LBA team achieve. Th e project goes
beyond the daily work of our association and
shows the great value associations can add to
their members and the wider community, and
the contribution banks make to their society.
As a small association we are particularly
proud of winning as it illustrates that all sizes
of associations really do add tremendous value
to their members.”
Th e importance of Awards – in general –
and also the European Association Awards
is also summed up nicely by one of our past
judges, Dr James Watson of SolarPower
Europe: “Th e work of associations in Europe
is crucial to having a strong voice for business
and industrial sectors represented to decision
makers. Th is work needs to be celebrated, as
it ensures that Europe remains a key global
market and growth engine. Th e European
Association Awards are a unique way for the
industry to recognise leading and proprietary
work of associations and promote best practice,
innovation and creativity.”