Today, the Independent Print Industries Association (IPIA) and British Association for Print & Communication (BAPC) released a statement in regards to the status of their planned joint conference this month, as detailed below.
“The IPIA and BAPC have today made the decision to postpone their joint spring conference ‘Where do we go from here?’ until later in the year. The event was due to be held on Thursday 19 March at The Shendish Manor Hotel, Hemel Hempstead.
This decision was made after several sponsors, partners and speakers shared with the IPIA and BAPC their Head Office directives — that due to the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus they are not permitted to attend gatherings or meetings and to restrict all business travel until further notice.
Both organisations understand and respect this decision to prioritise the health and safety of all, and we need to be sensible about how this impacts our ability to deliver the quality of event that our members and the industry have come to expect from us.
All conference bookings will be transferred to the new date and a new confirmation issued. Those who are unable to attend on the new date can either credit their ticket against another event, or be issued a refund.
The IPIA and BAPC will continue to monitor the situation with our sponsors, partners and speakers and will announce a new date as soon as we possibly can. The venue will remain the same – The Shendish Manor Hotel, Hemel Hempstead.
Whilst the UK risk level of coronavirus has been increased from low to moderate, the risk to individuals has not changed at this stage and remains low. We are monitoring the situation and will keep you informed, but at the moment it is our intention to carry on with our participation with the B2B Marketing Expo on the 25-26 March at London ExCeL.
However, we continue to follow the guidelines set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the various relevant local governmental bodies, but it continues to be a fast-moving situation. If the WHO and local/national UK authorities’ advice changes, our position will change.”
