Walk the World

Richard Menzies-Gow, Director of Investor Relations, Informa Group, London

Walk the World (“WTW”) entered its third year in 2018 and it really is amazing to see how it has flourished. It is testament to the team who promote, organise and manage the WTW programme and also to all our Informa colleagues around the world for adopting it and making it so special. Last year more than half of all colleagues took part – over 4,000 – up from 2,000 just two years ago. This meant that almost every office was represented and, together, we managed to walk the total length of the equator!

WTW has now become a highlight of Informa’s year. As a colleague-driven initiative, it gives everyone in our business, all around the world, a chance to come together as part of a team, as part of an office, as part of a business and as part of the Informa Group. Each walk is unique to the local office culture and ambition, and it’s exactly these distinct differences within the common ambition that is what makes Walk the World feel like a natural part of our business.

We have a small team here at Informa Group to help co-ordinate the event, but it’s really created and delivered by hundreds of passionate colleagues allover the world: our WTW champions. Each of them chooses to help to bring their colleagues together and raise money for a local cause selected by the office.

We’re now seeing some offices with more than 80% of colleagues participating, and a few actually reached 100%, with some also inviting along groups of customers, partners and suppliers. It’s great to see the programme take on a life of its own, with individual initiatives at various offices ranging from silent auctions and charitable volunteering to Informa’s latest WTW song, written and performed by our Taylor & Francis office in New Delhi!

We have big plans for WTW in 2019, with several thousand new UBM colleagues joining the business and a growing number of offices preparing to invite external partners.