In 2003, the South East Euro Info Centre agreed to be the
national contact point for the Discovering Europe exhibition.
In May 2004, the EIC hosted the exhibition in the Central
Library at Lady Lane in Waterford City. The launch of
the event was held a week before the exhibition and
a press launch was arranged to further publicise the
exhibition. The exhibition was well timed, only two
weeks after the EU enlargement celebrations and one
week after the informal EU Environmental Ministers meeting,
which was held in the city the weekend prior to the
exhibition. Therefore, interest in the enlargement process
and the new member states was very high. This was reflected
in the number of visitors to the exhibition.
Promotion
- A press release was sent to the regional newspapers
a week prior to the event to publicise the arrival
of the exhibition.
- An invitation was sent to all members of Waterford
Chamber of Commerce (the third largest Chamber in
Ireland) to both attend the launch event and to visit
the exhibition when it arrived. Invitations were also
sent to the nine other Chambers of Commerce in the
South East of Ireland.
- A letter was sent to all schools in the area, accompanied
by copies of the “Discovering Europe”
booklet and postcards to encourage them to bring their
students to visit the exhibition.
- Various cultural groups were also informed of the
arrival of the exhibition.
- A photo call was arranged to publicise the exhibition
in the newspapers while the exhibition was held. This
served to highlight the event regionally. A second
press release was sent with this photo.
- Posters with details of the exhibition were displayed
in the three libraries of Waterford city, in Waterford
Chamber of Commerce and the EIC and in various cultural
and educational premises in the city.
Event
The publicity event was held on Tuesday May 11. As
the exhibition was travelling around Europe and availability
of the exhibition at this time was tight, we found
it difficult to co-ordinate the availability of our
speakers with the arrival of the exhibition. We therefore
proceeded with the publicity event as close to the
date as we could. The event was held in association
with the Maltese Embassy and the European Movement
and details of the exhibition were announced to the
attendees by the Chairperson of the event. A wine
reception was held afterwards courtesy of the European
Movement. The speakers presented a brief history of
Malta, along with an outline of the culture, society
and economic position of the new member state.
Press Launch
The EIC also organised a press launch to ensure further
publicity in the papers for the exhibition. This was
featured in the regional weekly papers on the week
of the exhibition.
Details of the Exhibition
Dates: Tuesday 18 – Wednesday
26 May 2004
Location: Reference & Internet
Area (First Floor), Central Library, Lady Lane, Waterford
City
Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday
10.00-18.00, with late opening on Wednesday and Friday
(10.00-20.00)
The Central Library was chosen as it has recently
reopened following extensive renovations and there
is a high level of interest in the changes and innovations
of the new facilities. It is centrally located in
the centre of the city and has a high degree of daily
traffic. It has extensive opening hours, which allowed
for flexible times to visit the exhibition. The first
floor was chosen, as there is a high level of traffic
through this area due to the free Internet access.
Also, for space reasons, it was the most suitable
for the optimal display of the panels. Please refer
to annexes for photos of the location of the exhibition.
Mary Conway, Branch Manager of Central Library expressed
her delight at the success of the exhibition and reported
a high level of interest from the public. Her only
regret was that they could not have had the exhibition
for longer.
Teilnehmerzahl / Besucher: Citizens
in general, businesses, school children and college
students and interested cultural groups
Veranstalter: South East Euro Info
Centre
