Top swimmer Van der Weijden motivates WoTS exhibitors even more

Former Olympic champion and world champion open water swimming Maarten van der Weijden made a deep impression on the more than 140 exhibitors who attended the meeting during the kick-off of WoTS 2022 in the Jaarbeurs. His motivating (life) story, which discussed perseverance, setbacks and the long road to success, gave everyone an extra impetus to make the World of Technology & Science a very successful event.

By: Dimitri Reijerman

At the start of the kick-off on Tuesday afternoon, the opening words were given by Arjan Coppens, chairman of the FEDA. He described the successes of previous WoTS editions, the cooperation between all parties and the fact that after all the corona issues and the cancellation of the 2020 edition, exhibitors finally have the opportunity to organize a great fair again.

Linda Bos from the WoTS project team provided the exhibitors present with a lot of practical information. Consider, for example, the options for stand construction, but also options regarding catering and logistics issues. Of course, the slightly changed layout of the fair floor plan was also discussed.

Substantive program

The various substantive aspects of the fair were explained by Paul Petersen, director of FHI. He provided an overview of the various seminars during WoTS 2022, provided insight into the various target groups and worlds at the fair and answered a number of questions.

During the break, among other things, the WoTS project team made a number of short videos in which exhibitors were given a short time to promote their trade fair participation. These clips will soon be available and can be used by participating companies to promote the fair.

Social media and a top swimmer

The second part of the program started with a number of useful tips & tricks from Charlotte Backx, content specialist at Lotje Getikt. Because with tools like LinkedIn, exhibitors can approach their customers directly in an accessible way and ask if they would like to visit the WoTS for free in September.

The final agreement was for top swimmer Van der Weijden. In a catchy story with the necessary humor and side paths, he talked about how he found his motivation to realize his Olympic dreams. These encouraging words will probably linger in the ears of all visitors and encourage us all to make it an optimal trade fair week at the end of September. So we are already making a flying, or swimming?, start for WoTS 2022.

You can view all presentations that were shown during the kick off download here.