The most important rules and regulations have been highlighted here for you.

1. ATTENDANCE REGULATIONS

Who can attend?

• Conference attendants must be owners, officers or employees of FIDI Affiliates or Affiliated branches:
           - Owner: Individual who owns a FIDI affiliated business entity and generally has decision making abilities and first right to profit
           - Officer: Individual who acts in an official capacity on behalf of the Affiliate, such as a Director, Executive, Manager, President, Vice President, CEO or other individual authorised to so act, and who is responsible to manage the day-to-day business and to carry out the policies set down by the company board
            - Employee: Individual works under a written contract of employment with the Affiliate or Affiliated branch
• Staff and official representatives of FIDI Associations, Directors and Board Members of Affiliates and Direct Affiliates
• Past Presidents and Honorary Officers of FIDI
• Official guests and sponsors invited by the President or the FIDI Board
• Non-industry attendees (referred to as “social delegates”)

• A new element is that FIDI will allow staff of new applicants, owned by an existing FIDI Affiliate, who have passed the objection stage to attend conferences
• Since the FIDI Office cannot check the background of individual delegates (as you demonstrated very well), as from now the FIDI Associations will screen the list of registrations to validate whether a delegate meets the rules

 

Each FIDI delegate is entitled to invite one non-registered guest to the FIDI Gala Dinner or FIDI Welcome Reception, providing availability and payment of an attendance fee for this event, as defined by FIDI.

Attendance Authorisation Process:
Since the FIDI Office cannot check the background of individual delegates, the FIDI Associations will screen the registration list to validate whether a delegate meets the rules and inform the FIDI Office accordingly.

If you are uncertain about whether you are eligible to attend the conference, please check with the FIDI Office before registering (conference@fidi.org), or directly with your local FIDI Association.

Code of Conduct

For those contemplating attending, bringing partners or colleagues to the FIDI Conference without registration, the following penalties will apply:

• The ‘First Participant late registration’ fee will be invoiced to any person found to be infringing the rules, either during the event itself or after the event based on valid reporting
• Any person not in compliance with the conference attendance/registration regulations will be requested to leave the conference premises immediately

Attendees are required to observe the following rules and regulations:

• To meet the requirements for representing the FIDI Affiliate they are registering under
• To only promote the business of the FIDI Affiliate the attendee is representing
• To ensure that the annual FIDI Membership dues for the year have been paid prior to the conference
• To ensure immediate payment of the FIDI Annual Conference registration fees by the payment methods offered during the FIDI registration process

2. Anti-trust scrutiny

Most trade association activities are procompetitive or competitively neutral. For example, a trade association like FIDI may help establish industry standards that protect the public or allow components from different service providers to operate together. The association also may represent its affiliates before legislatures or government agencies, providing valuable information to inform government decisions. When these activities are done with adequate safeguards, they need not pose an antitrust risk.

But forming a trade association like FIDI, and particularly participating in a Conference, does not shield joint activities from antitrust scrutiny: Dealings among competitors that violate the law would still violate the law even if they were done through a trade association.  For instance, it is illegal to use a trade association or trade Conference to control or suggest prices of members. It is illegal to use information-sharing programs, or standardized contracts, operating hours, accounting, safety codes, or transportation methods, as a disguised means of fixing prices.

FIDI is an organization built on the principles of trust and integrity and the highest standards of behavior.  Adherence to the rules of competition is an intrinsic part of that integrity which FIDI has as part of its aims. In order to operate, FIDI must be able to inspire confidence in the market that both it and its Affiliates aspire to those high standards.   Worldwide competition laws prohibit agreements and concerted practices between companies that restrict competition, such as price-fixing, market sharing, collusive tendering and exchange of commercial information.

FIDI is expecting all its Affiliates to be aware of the risks of infringing competition rules in trade associations and to explicitly dissociate themselves from such anti-competitive behavior.

3. REGISTRATION

Registration and payment to the FIDI Annual Conference has to be completed through the FIDI dedicated online registration form, and prior to the start of the conference.

Once you have registered for the FIDI Conference, you will receive an official confirmation of all activities you signed up for and the related invoice/receipt.

Please note:

Providing your identity picture is a pre-requisite to register and attend the FIDI Annual Conference.

Replacements of attendance

If you have registered to the conference and are unable to attend, please request the authorisation in advance to send someone else from your company to replace you at conference@fidi.org

4. FIDI CONFERENCE BADGE REGULATIONS

As a delegate to the FIDI Conference, you will be given a personalised conference badge which cannot be exchanged for any reason.

• There will be only one badge (and one lanyard) per delegate. If it is lost, an extra badge can be issued subject to an administrative fee of 15 EUR
• Your (profile) picture will be printed on your name badge, thus making it personal and not usable to other delegates
• If for any reason your badge or lanyard is damaged, it will be replaced against the return of the damaged one
• Attendance to all events/activities, including the FIDI Networking lounge will be by badge only
• No badge – no entrance to FIDI events and/or functions
• The badges for the "Gala Dinner" and "Welcome Reception" extra guest only give access to the pre-paid selected event and NOT to the whole FIDI Conference

5. CANCELLATION / NO SHOW AND REFUND POLICIES

Cancellation/Travel insurance

We strongly recommend you acquire adequate cancellation/travel insurance through your local travel agency or similar. FIDI will not refund any travel or registration tickets for an attendance cancellation, it is up to the individual to ensure they are covered.

Conference registration cancellation

Please note the following cancellation rules are applicable when cancelling your attendance registration to the 2017 FIDI Conference. It does not apply for any cancellations pertaining to optional payable tours, activities nor to your hotel accommodation.

Until Tuesday 3rd January 2017 inclusive	70% refund
From Wednesday 4th January 2017 until Wednesday 1st February 2017 inclusive	50% refund
As from Thursday 2nd February 201 onwards	0% refund

Hotel accommodation cancellation/changes/no shows (see accommodation)

All optional payable tours and activities are non-refundable, with no exceptions.

Credit notes policy

Changes falling under the FIDI Conference cancellation policy will be granted a refund. A credit note will be issued after the FIDI Annual Conference and the related refund will then be paid back to the account, as used for the registration.

6. PASSPORTS / VISAS / INVITATION LETTERS

You are responsible for checking your passport and visa requirements to attend the FIDI Annual Conference. FIDI takes no responsibility in obtaining visas for delegates, but will assist with any documentation or information needed for your application.

Please note that no refund of monies will be considered for non-attendance due to visa problems. Should a problem occur on entry to Dubai or on application for a visa to visit, FIDI aisbl reserves the right to decline assistance.

Please see the Visa page for further information and links to refer to.

7. FORCE MAJEURE

FIDI aisbl is not liable for any acts of “Force Majeure / Acts of God”, nor for any event cancellation(s) or non-delegates’ attendance due to any acts of “Force Majeure”.

8. CHANGES TO THE PROGRAMME

Whilst every effort will be made to deliver the itinerary for the conference and its social events as published on the FIDI Conference website and/or brochures, in the unlikely event that FIDI considers, for whatever reason, including Force Majeure to change the destination, hotel and/or programme, FIDI aisbl strictly reserves the right to change, amend or cancel any specific event without notice. 

In this case every effort will be made to provide a substitute destination or event although FIDI aisbl may NOT be held liable for such curtailment, cancellation or substitution. During the conference you are advised to check daily the FIDI Conference website or the FIDI notice board at the on-site FIDI hospitality for any last minute changes to the programme.

9. SPECIAL NEEDS

Should you have any special requirements (such as disability, dietary, or general condition that requires separate or special attention, etc.) we kindly ask you to notify FIDI prior to the conference, if possible, of these so that we can accommodate you as much as possible.