In 2014 WETM-IAC invites all professionals from the global au pairing, working holiday, internship, volunteering and cultural exchange industries to London, for its 20th edition.
AMSTERDAM – The Work Experience Travel Market and IAPA Annual Conference (WETM-IAC), which took place in Rome 13-15 March, was a tremendous success with 233 delegates and 1,677business appointments made during the three days, a 19% and 17% increase respectively compared to the previous year.
Intrax, a globally oriented cultural exchange company, is one example of the types of organisations which attend WETM-IAC. When asked for the reason, Philippe Kohn, VP International Sales & Marketing, said: “We have been attending WETM-IAC for many years as we find it extremely valuable to meet our existing partners, as well finding a couple new opportunities every year. It’s also a great conference since it’s smaller, about 250 participants from around the world in attractive European cities. Can’t afford missing that one!”
During this year’s WETM-IAC the International Au Pair Associate appointed Patricia Brunner (Munichaupair) as its new chairperson while Delphine Vaills (Europair Services) joined the board and Femke Meyer, representing AISF Germany and Au Pair Link (New Zealand), was named 2013’s IAPA Au Pair of the Year. Meanwhile, the IAPA endorsed Quality Campaign Workshop resulted in Italian Au Pair agencies starting an Italian National Au Pair Association as part of IAPA’s drive to improve standards and regulations on a national level.
Besides the business appointments, workshops, awards and networking opportunities, the daily seminar programme provided delegates with important insights and updates. A key and very well attended topic was “Child Safety”, presented jointly by Experiment e.V. and Child-Safe International, resulting in great audience interaction. This was also true for the annual update on rulings and changes around the J-1 Visa programme, given by Michael McCarry from the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange.
In 2014 WETM-IAC invites all professionals from the global au pairing, working holiday, internship, volunteering and cultural exchange industries to London, for its 20th edition.
“We are excited to be hosting this event,” Sandra Landau, Chairperson of the British Au Pair Agencies Association (BAPAA) said. “In many ways it is the perfect match. London has consistently been one of the top destinations for young people looking to work abroad and a city which receives hundreds of Au pairs from the EU each year.”
