Footwear World Congress creates international “great expectation”

Ninety-five proposals from 19 countries representative of the main players in the world of footwear were submitted during the public presentation period of ideas that precedes the world congress of the sector, which is held in May in Porto.

According to the Association of Industrial Footwear, Components, Leather Goods and Their Substitutes (APICCAPS), China, India, Italy, Mexico, Portugal and Spain "were the most represented countries during the call for papers," impending to the eight experts from the Scientific Committee of the International Union of Footwear Technicians (UITIC) the selection of the best proposals to be discussed at the 20th sectoral congress, scheduled for May 17 and 18.

In this "restricted group" of specialists, the association points out, Portugal is represented by the director general of APICCAPS, João Maia, and the director of the New Materials Unit of the Technological Centre of Footwear, Maria José Ferreira.

The first panel of speakers will be known at the end of February, and "25 to 30 presentations" will be selected for discussion at the meeting.

Emphasizing that this edition of the UITIC congress - which is subordinated to the theme "From Fashion to Factory: a new technological age" - "is generating a great international expectation", and the organization points out the "growth of proposals regarding previous congresses" : "At the last congress held in India, for example, only 13 countries submitted applications," he recalls.

To the secretary-general of the Scientific Committee of UITIC, Françoise Nicolas, these numbers reveal that the "UITIC congress is, increasingly, a reference to the sector”. 

 

The technical panels that will integrate the congress are already defined: "New products and new services related to the needs of consumers", "Intelligent development and production: a technological revolution", "Sustainability, transparency of the supply chain and regulatory trends affecting factories" and "Factories centred on man and new forms of management".

According to APICCAPS, it is expected "hundreds of the world's leading experts in the sector" of footwear at the 20th congress of UITIC, and Françoise Nicolas believes will be "a great opportunity to meet relevant experts from the main areas of footwear production, have detailed information on the state of the innovations available and familiarize themselves with the main technological guidelines for the footwear sector. "

In addition to the two days of conferences, a three-day program of visits to more than two dozen Portuguese footwear companies will also be organized at the World Footwear Congress with the aim of making known "on the ground, the national reality "of the footwear industry.

"Another relevant information is related to the media exposure. Until now, it is confirmed the visit of more than 30 journalists to Portugal, from about 20 countries. The Portuguese footwear industry will be, definitely, on the international media agenda in 2018”, concludes APICCAPS.