Royal Jaarbeurs: the friendly, sustainable and innovative host for all of the Netherlands. A place where you meet, inspire, learn and grow. We'd love to tell you what's going on at Royal Jaarbeurs and the way we do things. How? By getting to know our strongest point: our people. Audrey Wilschut has been working at Jaarbeurs for over twenty years. She is an inspired exhibition manager for, among others, the National Education Exhibition (NOT), the largest education event for professionals in childcare, after-school care and primary and secondary education. Next year's NOT will take place from Tuesday 21 to Saturday 25 January 2025. We step into Audrey's world and take a behind-the-scenes look at the NOT where Audrey explains all the tricks of the education trade.
22 years of Jaarbeurs: from retail, beauty, tourism, collecting to education
Audrey graduated from the Journalism and Press Information programme at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences in 2000. Over 22 years ago, she started her career as an employee Business Cards at Trade Mart, Jaarbeurs's buying centre. With a smile, Audrey says: "22 years sounds like an eternity, but to me time has flown by. That's what you get in the dynamic event world!" After her time at Trade Mart, she worked at Jaarbeurs as project coordinator of the Retail Business Show and as press officer at the Vakantiebeurs. After many conversations with her then manager, she eventually found her way through the beauty, gathering, ICT and construction sectors to the education sector. In many career discussions Audrey had with her manager, her response was always: 'I've never done it before, so I think I can do it'.
"I've never done it before, so I think I can do it"
25% of the population engaged in education every day
Proudly telling Audrey about her passion for education, "Education is so important. It is the foundation for everyone. Without education, there is no future." What Audrey loves most is working with passionate teachers and teaching staff. "Teachers really love their students. They are full of passion and drive, that's what people in education and childcare are all about. Even during holidays, they miss their classes and groups. I always love hearing this from the teachers and childcare professionals I speak to in the run-up to NOT."
Audrey's passion: helping education move forward
Audrey's responsibility from her role as exhibition manager at Jaarbeurs is to help education move forward. "It's about personal development of people themselves, of professionals, but also of students. Regardless of background. Everyone has the right to a good education for a good future. In whatever form." The NOT offers a packed programme full of knowledge, practical tips and inspiration, everything education professionals need to make their work even more fun and effective. Audrey continues: "We are a platform that is free of charge. We come up with the programme with the sector itself, chairs councils, unions, educators. The whole programme is supported by the whole market. We also have an education panel that thinks along. We first ask about bottlenecks and what they really want to see at NOT. We then check this input with the programme committee to ensure that the programme optimally meets the needs in education. Partly thanks to this panel, we now have a new main stage with an innovative and cool programme featuring leading speakers. Think for example of day chairs Karim Amghar and Floor Doppen, but also speakers such as Marc Tuitert, Erik Scherder, Floortje Schepers, Louise Elders, Marjolijn Moorman and influencers Juf Pleun and Juf Ivana. This is how we help education professionals grow and progress." The speakers will elaborate on topics that connect to what is really going on in education. Audrey explains: "Diversity, equality and inclusion take centre stage on the first day of the fair, followed by citizenship, craftsmanship, healthy and safe education and finally quality and development. Each day offers new insights and inspiration and no topic goes unaddressed."
An un(der)wise party on the exhibition floor
During NOT, the exhibition floor buzzes with energy and experience. There is something for every education professional. "We have divided the exhibition floor into five different segments, all focusing on the latest trends and developments in education," says Audrey. One of the segments focuses on didactics, the beating heart of any education programme. "This is all about how best to convey knowledge and teach students the right skills," Audrey explains. Technology plays an increasing role in this. "Think of adaptive learning tools and gamification. Personalised learning thus becomes a lot easier." There is also a segment that pays plenty of attention to physical learning environments. "How do you create an inspiring, safe and flexible learning environment? From interactive furniture to digital screens, everything passes by."
"All facets of education pass by on our exhibition floor."
In the 'Professionalisation and policy' segment, social issues are given plenty of space. "Here, we discuss the ever-increasing workload on teachers and how they can get the right tools and knowledge to do their jobs well." Trade unions, SLO and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, among others, will be present. "In addition, you will find everything about education, training and coaching." Finally, there is the 'Day trips, theatre and culture' segment. "Cultural institutions such as the Rijksmuseum will show how culture contributes to education."
Jaarbeurs education portfolio expands
Full of pride, Audrey explains that Jaarbeurs recently acquired the education trade fair and knowledge platform IPON. "With this expansion to our education portfolio, we are relevant year-round. In this way, we can respond much faster to themes that play a role in education. Education professionals thus have year-round access to the latest developments in technology in education. With IPON.nl, we respond to the knowledge needs of education professionals 365 days a year."
Audrey gives one more bouncer at the end of the interview. "What just makes me really happy is that everything comes together during NOT. We really are the meeting place for networking, for knowledge sharing and for highlighting current education topics."
Want to know more about the NOT? Go to: www.not-online.nl
