Under the guidance of one of the eBF curators, Mr. Karel Otýs, there was another novelty. This was the Sixth Stage in the Puppet Theatre, where you could listen to the stories of buyers from international corporations as well as Czech and Slovak companies. They talked openly about how to make savings happen in line with the management's expectations and how to negotiate with suppliers at a time of rising prices, amongst many other topics. The new programme format worked great. It turned out that the greater the authenticity of the story, the more people identify with it.