Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) along with Event Show Asia pledged for the first time at Sahara Star on 25th April under the We are SAFE initiative. The initiative ensures Safety at Events, Exhibitions and at all the experiential marketing events.

The event witnessed the pioneers of the event and entertainment Industry. Right from Brian Tellis to Viraf Sarkari, Sabbas Joseph, Sameer Tobaccowala, Siddharth Ganeriwala and the entire event fraternity from EEMA came together and pledged to think safe, act safe and be safe. They pledged ‘Safety First’.

Safety is the need of the hour and it is important for the industry to be Safety compliant at all levels. The pledge summarizes the highest priority of safety during event planning and execution.

Sharing EEMA’s perspective Sabbas Joseph, President EEMA said, “It is indeed shocking to realize how little time we spend on adhering to safety protocol as it not only affects our lives, but also the lives of our invited guests, besides our livelihood. I am relieved that we at EEMA are placing this issue on top priority – at least then we’ll all be on the same page. From EEMA’s side I can assure you that Seminars and Workshops on SAFE topics will be conducted both nationally and regionally to ensure that every single EEMA member is well informed on the dangers lurking within every event and the precautions that must be taken.

EEMA also plans to set up a task force of national & regional experts, who can advise on better safety standards, with critical inputs from a panel of international advisors as well.

The panel discussion on Safety at Events in Real terms: ‘Where to Begin’ moderated by Viraf Sarkari - Founder and Director, Wizcraft International and among the panelists were Ajit Thakkar- Director, Jess; Vaibhav Kapoor - Third Wave Solutions; Manish Mavani – Director SnL Pro and Warren D’souza – Director, Sound.com contributed key points which EEMA as an association can implement:

-  EEMA to conduct sessions to educate and create awareness among Clients about health and safety standards and,  impress upon them on the critical need to spend a little extra on key measures to create a successful events

-  It is important to ensure that safety norms and standards are adhered to by companies registered with EEMA, especially associate partners and vendors who provide services to event companies

-  EEMA will also create a list of health and safety compliant companies to give a direction to the industry

Siddharth Ganeriwala, VP- Health and Safety, who initiated this campaign said, “Having been an event manager for well over two decades now, I still have butterflies in my stomach before the start of any event, because even though I believe in Safety, I have no clue whether the technician or the labourer down the line believes in adherence as intensely as I do. This was why I decided to set this plan rolling in order to ensure a holistic synchronisation of priorities.  If every single person on site ensures Safety Integrity in what they do individually, we can collectively approach D-Day with confidence.”