From left to right: Lilia Postolachi, the World Trade Center’s director of membership and  international business services; Brian Hogg, executive vice president, Portman Holdings; Josette Gauthier, president and CEO Azion LLC and Genevieve Gauthier, Azion’s sales and marketing manager at the “young entrepreneurs” event.

The World Trade Center Atlanta held a reception March 5 to encourage “young entrepreneurs” to attend the Futurallia conference in Quebec City May 21-22.

Josette Gauthier, president and CEO of the consulting firm Azion LLC, encouraged the 50 or so attendees to sign up for the conference that has been bringing together representatives of small- to medium-sized companies from around the world for 13 years.

Ms. Gauthier has been traveling throughout the Southeast promoting the conference, which is expected to draw more than 1,000 representatives of companies from some 30 countries.

“Although we focused at the World Trade Center on the young entrepreneurs, the conference will be of interest to any businessperson,” she told GlobalAtlanta.

She also underscored that this would be the best time to visit Quebec City because it is celebrating this year the 400th anniversary of its founding.

The city has spent millions of dollars, according to Ms. Gauthier, in preparation of all the cultural and business events that are to take place there throughout the year.

She said that the cost of attending the conference is $1,150 including a three-day stay in an upscale hotel, banquets and meals, and one-on-one prearranged meetings with representatives of up to 12 companies. The conference fee does not include transportation.

Representatives of companies in the following sectors are scheduled to attend: agrifood, construction, defense, geomatics, electronics, manufacturing equipment, environment and sustainable development, secondary wood processing, transportation equipment, optics/photonics, plastics and composite mertials, information technologies and life sciences.

The World Trade Center is to launch a mentoring program for young entrepreneurs who join the center and wish to participate in a mentoring program with CEOs, who are members.

The launch party is to be held at Cafe 458, 458 Edgewood Ave., on April 5.