Successful Secretarial Working Group (SWG) Meeting on 26th January 2024 in London: A Recap of Key Agendas and Future Plans
Olivier Mazoyer, President of IUCAB, Matthew Tickle, Chairman of the SWG, and Christian Rebernig, Secretary General, welcomed the National Secretaries from 7 countries, who exchanged on current issues and discussed the situation of commercial agents worldwide.
The meeting was attended by Tintti Ikonen (FFTAF, Finland), Marco Righetti (USARCI, Italy), Alexia Scotto di Carlo (APAC, France), Helena Waker (ATPS, Sweden) and Bror William Stende (VIRKE, Norway).
Current Developments and Activities
Matthew Tickle (The MAA, Great Britain & Ireland) opened the meeting as Chairman and handed over to the Secretary General who informed the participants on the current developments referring to the commercial agent profession. The increased virtual engagement of Secretaries, a shift towards global monitoring of Commercial Agents and Associations, and the exploration of international contacts for research were highlighted.
Social Media and Communication
Christian Rebernig gave an overview of the social media activities of IUCAB. The number of followers on LinkedIn and Facebook is still increasing. He shared the current status quo of the Website Refresh and informed the Secretaries that the date to go live is set in February 2024. He also outlined the next steps in implementing SEO strategies to enhance the website’s visibility and reach.
On occasion of the meeting in London, Matthew Tickle summarized the past LinkedIn training sessions and presented how to create short video clips during a live session.
Update on the LUCA-Project to strengthen the skills of Commercial Agents
Regarding the Erasmus-Project LUCA – Leveling Up Commercial Agents Competencies, Marco Righetti and Christian Rebernig provided insights and updates into the two-year initiative running from November 2023 to October 2025. Topics included the kick-off meeting in Vienna and the project content. They underlined the importance of the involvement of the National Member Associations.
Annual Meeting 2024 in Vienna, Austria
The annual meeting is scheduled from 9th to 11th May 2024 and hosted by the Austrian Association WKO Sales Agents. The program and the website for registration were presented and invitations to Member Associations will be sent by February 2024.
Award 2024 & National Training Program
The Secretaries were reminded to send their nominations for the George Hayward Award 2024 and to forward applications regarding the renewal of their National Training Program.
Finally, the Secretaries expressed the importance of these meetings in order to exchange experience and knowledge to benefit from each other. The next SWG meeting will be held on 9th May 2024, in Vienna (Austria).
