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The wheel of circular economy turned even faster at the 1st Forward Green International Circular Economy Exhibition, which was held from 8-10 June at the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre, organised by TIF-Helexpo.
The first ever Forward Green event was a resounding success and it was yet another pioneering exhibition venture, even for European standards, as it is one of the very few exhibitions on this subject matter that is geared towards professionals and entrepreneurs.
The ‘reuse-repair-renew-recycle’ model, which condenses the entire philosophy of circular economy, was the main message of Forward Green, and the distillate from the Circular Economy Forum and many side events.
Forward Green hosted 138 exhibitors, 107 direct exhibitors from Greece, Germany, Bulgaria, and Switzerland, and 31 indirect exhibitors from Bulgaria, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Ireland Italy, China, Portugal, and Finland. At the same time, it welcomed 60 international hosted buyers from Bulgaria, Germany, South Korea, Romania, Cyprus, Portugal, and Poland.
Bulgaria, Forward Green’s Honoured Country, had a dynamic presence with 32 enterprises, and many institutional representatives and business executives on the Circular Economy Forum panels.
The exhibition’s entrepreneurial identity was made clear through the more 270 partnership business meetings (B2B) organised by TIF-HELEXPO and Enterprise Europe Network Hellas of the Federation of Greek Industries. Meetings were held between 54 Greek and 43 international businesses from countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Germany, and Poland. Even more business meetings were held at the exhibitor stands.
The Circular Economy Forum (which was streamed live) on ‘The present and future of Circular Economy’ covered several themes, all of which garnered a lot of attention. It was co-organised in partnership with Improvetech and the Hellenic-German Chamber, under the auspices of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece, Sponsored by MOTOR OIL, and Supported by ACCI (Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and EOT (National Tourism Organisation).
There was also a wealth of actions at the 2nd ‘Thess Clean-Thess Green’ Circular Economy Festival of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, while there were many side events at the Forward Green Open Stage, covering all the sectors of circular economy.
Art also had a place of honour at Forward Green, through CIRCULART, a visual art proposal in which five very important young artists presented their work, made using recyclable materials. CIRCULART was held in partnership with Lola Nikolaou Gallery, while it was curated by the Art Director of Art-Thessaloniki International Fair, Mr Pantelis Tsatsis.
Visitors also had the opportunity to see in person all 61 of the works of art selected in the Painting Competition held for the first time in the framework of the 86th on ‘Young people paint the future’, organised by the Regulatory Authority for Energy in partnership with the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Fine Arts of AUTh and the support of TIF-HELEXPO.
In the framework of Forward Green, the ‘Contract for consultation services for the development of the Climate City Contract in the Municipality of Trikkala’ was signed on Saturday 10 June at the TIF-HELEXPO offices, in order to support the inclusion of the city of Trikala in the 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities of Europe by 2030.
The contract was signed by the Mayor of Trikala and President of KEDE, Mr Dimitris Papastergiou, with the President and CEO of ‘ANAPTYXIAKI LLC’, Mr Athanasios Kouloutmanis, and Founder and Managing Director of ‘MELLON LABS LTD PARTNERSHIP’, Mr Kyriakos Tsitouridis, in the presence of the President of TIF-HELEXPO, Mr Tasos Tzikas.
Upon the conclusion of Forward Green, the new exhibition initiative, would like to thank all exhibitors, visitors, partners, and entities that supported this new venture, and it would like them to save the date for the 2024 Forward Green.