The European Retail Academy for many years partipates at the Astana Forum; Prof. Dr. B.Hallier is member of the Club of Eurasian Scientists and was speaker in 2017 at the EXPO-event at the Nazarbayev University, together with the Korean Nobel Laureate Prof. Raekwon Chung. Hallier appreciates the high-speed international education programs in Kazakhstan like the Master Program for International Relations.

Taken the Top Ten of retail formats - and giving 10 points to the number 1 and 9 points for the number 2 and so on - it accumulates to a Total of 55 points. Analyzing the 2017 data of the Kuala Lumpur Awards of the magazin Retail Asia this is an interesting indicator for country-competences.

The defeat of the Germany Army at Stalingrad/Wolgograd 75 years ago was a major turning-point of World War II. In the Post-War-Era the cities of Wolgograd and Cologne/Germany have been the spearheads of the German/Russian city partnerships. Visiting Wolgograd Prof.B.Hallier resumed that Wolgograd is a symbol for human beings suffering by conflicts of ideologies ending in wars. The young generation has to learn from history.

Another historical focus is Yekaterinburg/Ural where 100 years ago the Romanov-family was liquidated at the start of the Sowjet-Empire. It was the courage of the Russian President Jelzin - who came from Yekaterinburg - to disclose the hidden graves of the Zar family and to transfer their bodies to St.Petersburg - and to rename Yekaterinburg again to its historical name - as in Sowjet times it was called Swerdlowsk in memory of one of the revolutionaries. The USUE, which honoured Prof.Hallier by a Doctor h.c., is releasing a Call for a Summer School to explore the history and challenges of the Ural (more: Call Letter, Flyer). The German DAAD will support this initiative.
 

Traveling to Far East since 1974 and being a member of the international Jury of the magazine Retail Asia for more than a decade for Prof.Dr.B.Hallier the united Vietnam is a special case of development and innovation (see: LINK YouTube).

"In my student time Vietnam was the controversial hot-spot in society - dividing people according to political systems. Within the last 20 years the united Vietnam shows how important PEACE is for the human beings, economics and the region! The European Retail Academy is happy to help in this transformation by an exchange of students - working in an international Team Spirit" Prof.Hallier stated thanking his two ERA-students Trang Pham and Sampsa Hyväri for the YouTube video.
 

Started in 1997 as an annual congress-show to bridge the years between the triennial EuroShop meanwhile EuroCIS in Dusseldorf/Germany is an annual hot spot for the European retail technology - during the EuroShop years as a special segment and in the two years in-between as a stand-alone exhibition.

For the event in February 2018 expected 11.000 visitors will see about 450 exhibitors from 28 countries on 13.000 square meters net exhibition floor. "Technology is the main driving-force for innovation of retail in this century" Prof.Dr.B.Hallier stated in expectation of this record breaking exhibition.