Advocacy
ESCA Advocacy
Advocacy remains a cornerstone of ESCA’s initiatives, representing a fundamental pillar of our strategic vision. This practice is vital in championing the rights and interests of our member organizations, ensuring that their valuable perspectives are acknowledged and considered in the decision-making processes shaping our industry’s future. Our commitment to advocacy is exemplified through our integral relationship with the Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance (ECA). As a key contributor and founding member of the ECA, ESCA underscores the significance of collective advocacy in advancing the interests of the face-to-face business events industry.
Exhibitions and Conference Alliance (ECA)
The Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance (ECA) is dedicated to the recovery and advancement of the face-to-face business events industry. Our mission is to help government officials understand the important role these events have on economies and job creation. We promote the impact of the sector, drive general industry awareness, monitor legislative issues, advocate for the industry’s common interests, and work with partners globally as needed, to maintain a favorable operating environment within the U.S.
ECA provides a long-term strategy focused on creating substantive relationships with policymakers and ensuring priority matters are heard.
Since early 2020, advocacy has been critical for ESCA, its members, and our whole industry. Now more than ever, it is vital that policymakers understand and support the essential role that face-to-face business events have on economies, job creation, and supporting small businesses.
That’s why ESCA is a founding member of the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA). Established earlier this year, ECA is an alliance of nine professional, industry, and labor organizations working together to advocate for the business events industry in Washington, DC, city halls, and statehouses nationwide.
In 2021, ECA successfully accelerated the reopening of business events nationwide, championed industry relief and recovery efforts on Capitol Hill, worked tirelessly to bring back international attendees and exhibitors, and helped change the public conversation about our industry. From leading reopening coalitions in Las Vegas and New York to ensure that Congressional bills such as the Hospitality and Commerce Job Recovery Act and the MUSIC Act would help us get back to work and back to business. ECA has been championing our industry’s recovery with elected and appointed officials at the local, state, and federal levels.
In the future, ECA will play a critical role in helping us navigate policymakers’ responses to the Omicron variant, championing passage of a grant program to help industry small businesses and advocating for important legislation like the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act, which would help bring back communicable disease coverage to event cancellation insurance.
ESCA has been proud to support ECA as it advocates for the recovery and advancement of the face-to-face business events industry. The board of directors and I recognize that advocacy has never been more critical to our future, which is why I am reaching out today to ask for your support. In 2022, ESCA would like to contribute $75,000 to support the work of ECA, which would be underwritten by contributions to ESCA from valued members like you.
We want to encourage you to support ESCA as we work to grow the impact of ECA in 2022 and beyond. Please email julie@esca.org to make your contribution today!
