IAPAs to be held online

The International Awards for Powered Access (IAPAs) and IPAF Summit will take place as an online event.

Scheduled to be held in London, UK, on 18 March 2021, the IAPAs and IPAF Summit will now go ahead as a purely digital event on the same date, with delegates joining online from around the world, to allow maximum certainty for those wishing to attend during the ongoing pandemic.

Event organisers IPAF and KHL Group jointly took the decision to host the event as an online-only platform as uncertainty persists surrounding measures to slow the resurgence of the virus during the last quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. 

Peter Douglas, CEO and MD of IPAF, said, “While we hope the pandemic is under control by March, continuing international travel restrictions, as well as local regulations in the UK concerning the number of people allowed to gather indoors, mean those hoping to attend in person cannot plan with the degree of certainty required with just five months to go until the event is scheduled to be held.

“At the same time, we are all now used to a new way of working, joining in meetings, hosting webinars, workshops and roundtable discussions online via platforms such as Teams or Zoom. We have seen how effective these can be when international travel and physical gatherings have proved impossible.”

Anyone who was booked to join the event in London will be able to request a refund. Those who reserved hotel accommodation at the venue, the Millennium Gloucester, are advised to contact the hotel directly to discuss cancellation in line with the hotel’s standard policies. The awards will be based on the shortlist announced earlier this year. 

Murray Pollok, editorial and events director for KHL Group, commented, “We have already moved the planned date of the IPAF Summit & IAPAs twice, and do not wish to face the possibility of another postponement in Q1 2021, and bringing the event into the online realm opens up some interesting opportunities for delegates.

“We will still be able to offer a high-quality series of speakers and announce the winners of the various IAPAs categories effectively online. In fact, we are confident hosting the event digitally will allow more people from around the globe to join than would have been the case with a physical event, so the possibilities are quite exciting.

“We trust all event attendees understand why IPAF and KHL Group have come to this decision. We hope those who had already booked to attend will appreciate the clarity and maximum advanced notice that this brings, and that those planning to join in person will still wish to participate online in what promises to be a great digital event.”

Douglas added, “The annual IPAF Summit & IAPAs is a highlight of the worldwide powered access events calendar, we sincerely hope that those planning to attend will log in to join us for the first ever edition of the event in the virtual realm; it certainly promises to be an intriguing and engaging highlight of the 2021 events calendar.”

• For further information, programme and speaker announcements, and details about how to secure your place at the first ever online IPAF Summit & IAPAs, please visit the event website, which will be updated soon and as information becomes available: www.iapa-summit.info