Security Exhibition: technologies and innovation

S News meets Roberto Ditri, President of Fiera di Vicenza.

President, Security Exhibition organized by Fiera di Vicenza undoubtedly represents a new way of exhibiting security. Can you outline the new features and the main drivers behind the ideas? 
Fiera di Vicenza strongly demonstrates vitality and capacity of development of Founders during an extremely difficult period of the international fair sector. It is able to continually adapt to proposals and has the ability to constantly create new formats where exhibitors and visitors alike can feel more involved. 
This urge for innovation mainly regards our core events: the gold and jewellery fairs.  VICENZAORO brand is growing due to its propensity towards new content, research and design which go hand in hand with market trends and the demands of the evolved consumer.
Fiera di Vicenza also invests in niche areas of the market, such as lifestyle and technological innovation. In this field we are mainly focusing on the need for greater environmental comfort, which implies greater security and privacy within an ecological and sustainable context.
Of course we have taken the public into consideration but we have also invested in the entire security field by including and sensitizing all the various categories, producers and distributors included, and involving the competent institutions and the force of law and order.  
Security Exhibition has adopted a format aimed to both traders and public that has been successfully used by Fiera di Vicenza at other shows, such as the VICENZAORO, Hunting Show-Pescare Show and Abilmente, the handicraft Exhibition that is becoming increasingly popular, is attended by thousands of people and has led to the creation of a community of enthusiasts and hobbyists who keep in contact between one fair and another.
The aim is to give the final user, citizens and sector operators the opportunity to see the best the market has to offer, to exchange ideas and information and to improve their knowledge of the sector.
Apart from the economical aspect, Security Exhibition proposes an intensive technical training activity and an overview of the public’s opinion regarding important social matters like those dealt with during the first edition, i.e. violence against women, the phenomenon of stalking and the security of urban centres and youth.
For the 2012 edition of Security Exhibition, we are working towards giving extra value, content and importance to the show, making it a national event, both in terms of the completeness and innovation of the offers exhibited and the debates and discussions on the various security matters.

This year’s edition, which will take place from 23rd to 25th November, will offer extremely clear ideas which, when put together, will give an absolute and complete picture of the entire security sector.
A reduction in crime and abuse is based on a better awareness of security culture, intended as knowledge, innovation and the use of technological solutions and procedures to prevent critical factors and risks, the backbone of a sector that has an estimated value of 10 billion euro in Italy.
Today the topic of security extends to many aspects of daily life: from health and safety at work to the protection of intellectual property, from the security of IT data to privacy laws.   
It is an extremely wide and articulated sector, that includes divisions like, security, safety, vigilance and prevention services and one that requires a continuous and fast updating of sector topics along with standard practices.
The quality of Security Exhibition stands will give a complete overview of the state of the art technology in this sector along with an opportunity to meet operators from the public and private sector.
The Show will be open to all operators, companies, institutions, public administrations, law and order authorities and citizens who have to deal with the problem of security every day.

At the last edition everything was prepared and ready to receive Mr. Maroni, the  Minister for Internal Affairs, but, with the fall of the Government just a few days before the opening of Security Exhibition, everything was cancelled. This year Minister Cancellieri has been invited. At just six months down the road and with this continual change of scene, how do you see the political-economical situation of our Country and what are the factors that could influence the market and the specific policies on the security of our Country?
The last 30 years has seen our country make considerable progress in reducing traditional crime, thanks to institutions and law enforcements that have put extraordinary prevention strategies into practice. This is an ongoing process that must steadfastly continue.
As authoritative surveys show, the significance of Security in the last 3 years for European citizens has become a social topic summarized by the uncertainty of the economy, the fear of being unemployed and worries linked to savings and the family income. Not to mention the cost of living, high taxation and the possible consequences that these difficulties imply.
To all of this we can add the citizens’ demand for “security” in terms of “safety” especially in dynamic, highly populated and complex areas which have grown enormously in recent years.
Giving an answer to the need for “security and safety” is a winning challenge for Fiera di Vicenza, one that it principally faces with in-depth research in order to be able to offer an exhaustive range of solutions and technologically advanced tools so that ordinary people and groups of people can feel free to move, live and integrate in “protected” and “safe” places.
Technology plays a key role but is not enough in itself.  Training and qualifying the sector operators is just as important. They need to be able to know how to manage new technologies and benefit from them.
Facing the security theme in its entirety, with the right focus on innovation and professional development could also lead to the creation of new companies and jobs: another goal of Fiera di Vicenza.

by Monica Bertolo