The International Footwear Forum was announced by CEC’s president, Jean-Pierre Renaudin, at the last edition of the World Footwear Congress held in Léon, México, in November 2014, and aims at promoting dialogue and collaboration for the benefit of global businesses.

Mr Renaudin recently clarified: “The Congress is in particular dedicated to businesses in order for them to learn and share the latest developments in our sector, whereas the Forum expects to open a collaborative dialogue between representatives of footwear associations and chambers”.

In his view, the World Footwear Congress organized by CEC every three years, has an “agenda quite intensive in order for companies to take the most out of it, and does not let room for a deeper dialogue between the sector’s associations”, so the new International Forum will give associations and chambers the time to focus on common concerns with other footwear associations. "It will be THE TIME for us, a dedicated meeting point for the associations and chambers. It is clear that it will be difficult to have all worldwide colleagues available on that date, but the representatives who are able to join us will certainly benefit from the exchange of views and best practices, and we might see the start of further collaboration between certain countries. For that we need to know each other better, so, yes,  please join us. All representatives of footwear associations and chambers from around the world are invited to participate in the first edition of the International Footwear Forum”, Mr Renaudin told the World Footwear.

The first edition of the International Footwear Forum will take place in Milan (Italy) on Friday 4th September 2015 during the last day of theMICAM. Mr Renaudin commented: “We consider that the fair show will also provide an excellent opportunity to third countries’ representatives participating in the Forum for discovering the latest European products and exploring new business opportunities.”