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The 20^th EuRA International Conference was held in beautiful Dubrovnik, bringing together 700 global mobility professionals from over 100 countries, representing the corporate and provider sides.

“The great thing about this conference is the networking and open exchange of ideas that it fosters,” said Laura Levenson, Practice Leader in Weichert’s Advisory Services Group. “With providers from across the world in one room you get that face-to-face interaction that builds stronger working partnerships.”

Laura was invited to speak on the important and popular topic of Diversity and Inclusiveness in Global Mobility, alongside a panel that included Mercedes D’Angelo of Cultural Awareness International; Tim Dwyer, School Choice International; Ana Garicano Solé, of the immigration law firm SAGARDOY Abogados and moderator Isabel Cudell of Moving on Mobility, a European Destination Service Provider.

Laura has spoken on this topic at a number of industry conferences, and it was understandably a point of great interest at EuRA, as the organization’s mission is to promote intercultural understanding, social values, diversity and inclusiveness.

“As you can imagine, it’s an emotional and sensitive topic anywhere in the world,” said Laura.

“Across Europe, thoughts on this topic differ greatly from country to country and it was very interesting to hear a broad range of viewpoints and engage in discussion of such things as the challenges in getting medical coverage for same sex partners and the questions assignees have to answer on certain forms about relationship status.”

This conference also helped validate a trend that Laura has witnessed among the companies she works with: that India is becoming the next hotbed of relocation activity, poised to surpass China. India’s talent shortage was a much-discussed topic as the country sees greater demand for talent located in the south to relocate up north, particularly in the field of technology.

Another topic of concern that was discussed was the General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR compliance, with a session devoted to this subject during the conference.

Discussions were also held on the concern of, “embracing new technology” and how the evolution of technology is changing the way in which we do business, as seen from how RMC’s and DSP’s can integrate systems resulting in a more streamlined and error-free data entry process.

Laura attended EuRA primarily to speak on her panel but also to support her colleague, Mary DeVeau, Weichert’s Director of Global Supply Chain.

Mary has been attending the EuRA Conference for 17 years and in that time has created long-term partnerships with local Destination Service Providers that have blossomed into a strong network of in-country advocates to assist and support Weichert’s clients’ global assignees.

Attending this conference allows me the opportunity to meet with Weichert Global Representatives in one place as opposed to traveling to a multitude of destinations,” said Mary. “I’ve had 38 meetings over the event’s four days, including due diligence on several perspective DSPs that may be considered for our network in the future. These are connections that will ultimately pay dividends for our clients and their assignees.

Andreas von Strachwitz, Weichert’s Regional Vice President, EMEA, found the conference a great opportunity to build new and strengthen existing relationships.

“EuRA provides an excellent forum for meeting with our supply chain partners to discuss industry trends, country-specific developments and, most importantly from my perspective, opportunities to better serve clients and prospective clients,” said Andreas “Strengthening that trust with our supplier partners has been proven invaluable.”

This year, Weichert also co-sponsored the closing night event at the Banje Beach Club in the Dubrovnik Old Town.

“This was a nice way to end a week of meetings and enjoy a fun evening out with all conference attendees,” said Mary.

EuRA members are dedicated professionals who share our same vision and values in helping create a better business environment.