Organised over 3 days last January, the 11th International Symposium on Optronics in Defence & Security took place at the Cité Mondiale venue in the heart of Bordeaux, in a vibrant atmosphere particularly conducive to exchanging ideas and networking.
Jennifer Savina, event consultant, and Aude Lurbe, event project manager with the French National Aeronautical and Astronautical Association (3AF) worked hand in hand for several months to organise this event geared towards optronic specialists looking to catch up with all the sector’s developments.
Delighted with this first for Bordeaux (and outside of Paris), they take a satisfied look back at the highlights of this successful event :
‘3AF plays a key role in bringing industrial players, engineers, schools and universities together’, Aude Lurbe explains. ‘We were therefore seeking a venue which could host both conferences and the exhibition space OPTRO participants are accustomed to, a setting that facilitates product presentations and discussions in a friendly atmosphere. The Cité Mondiale was the perfect solution!’
Attended by more than 250 people, the 11th Symposium addressed another challenge: ‘This was the first time we decided to hold OPTRO outside of Paris’, Jennifer Savina tells us. ‘Competing against other major French cities, Bordeaux stood out thanks to its accessibility and the local economy’s catchment area’.
Accessible, central and on a human scale, conducive to networking thanks to its fluid layouts, the Cité Mondiale appears to have conquered the hearts of organisers and participants alike. ‘We also appreciated the BEAM team’s proactiveness and attentiveness, alongside their great flexibility, both in terms of the tailor-made offer and the budget’, the consultant says.
