Everyone makes friends at industry conferences. These friendships often come from a business relationship or, over time, become such.

That’s partly what conferences are for after all.  But relationships are usually limited to staying up until 3am in the bar once a year talking about sport and movies.  

But for Lydia Kunihira-Kaweesa from Worldwide Movers Uganda and Nataliya Stepanova from Globalink Logistics in Kazakhstan, a chance meeting turned out to be life changing. And it’s all down to FIDI.

It started when FIDI was in Lisbon in 2011.  Lydia was attending her second conference.  She had already registered and was sitting in the lobby waiting for her bags.  Nataliya walked into the lobby speaking Russian to a colleague.  It was her first FIDI.

“She asked me where to find the registration desk,” said Lydia. “We met again later that evening and just got on so well.”  Apart from a joint connection with the moving business they had nothing in common: two girls, in a foreign land, from different backgrounds, cultures and environments. 

Since then they have become best friends.  “We share our secrets and stories,” said Nataliya. “If she ever comes to Kazakhstan they will say ‘Hi Lydia’ because everyone will know her.” Yet they have never worked together and have never visited each other’s countries.  “We keep in touch with regular phone calls and on social media.”  They even went on holiday together to California – a sure way to test the friendship.

“It’s the same in Uganda,” said Lydia.  “My friends talk about her as if they have met her.  All my sisters are now her friends on social media.”

“My mum shows her pictures to everyone and calls her niece,” Nataliya added.

So are they planning to visit each other at home? “We would love that very much. Only problem is we are very busy in the summer and it’s very cold in Kazakhstan in the winter,” said Nataliya. “It’s minus 20 and she’s from Africa, she wouldn’t survive.”

Congratulations FIDI.  More friends for life.

Photo: Lydia Kunihira-Kaweesa from Worldwide Movers Uganda and Nataliya Stepanova from Globalink Logistics in Kazakhstan.