More than a conference: The IFD Connection Forum

By Emma Peterson. 

The new IFD Connection Forum gives attendees the opportunity to exchange ideas, discuss industry challenges and learn from projects around the world. 

For a new episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Sabine Rothschuh, the International Federation of the Roofing Trade (IFD)’s secretary, stopped by The Coffee Shops™ to discuss their newest event – the Connection Forum!  

This forum was developed based on feedback from the IFD Members. Sabine shared some insight into that, saying, “We listened to our Member’s feedback and a big throughline was that people wanted more time to meet, exchange and connect with each other. And that’s where the idea for building a new event format came from.” 

And that idea became the Connection Forum, a new IFD event designed to be more interactive than their other offerings. Sabine explained, “It is not a traditional conference with presentations and speakers. It's more designed as an interactive meeting where participants can actively exchange ideas, discuss current developments and the most important thing is to develop relationships.” 

A great example of how this interactivity will play out during the forum is the IFD project presentation programme. This section of the event invited people from across the world to share their work so that all attendees can learn from each other. As Sabine put it, “his programme is to create an exchange of learning, because the way we approach problems is often totally different based on our location.” 

This is just one of the ways IFD’s new Connection Forum promises to be a unique and powerful opportunity for any roofing professional from anywhere in the world to learn and grow. This first forum is hosted by Wienerberger and sponsored by VELUX, Murexin and Fakro. 

The first Connection Forum is scheduled for 14-15 October 2026 in Vienna, Austria. Learn more at www.rooferscoffeeshop.uk/event/ifd-connection-forum-2026.