Dear Business & Professional Event Sector (BE) Stakeholders,
Industry leaders co-created The Iceberg in 2017 as the chosen metaphor for highlighting both the tourism benefits of events, but also the social, economic, and societal impacts aligned to the purpose of them.
Thanks to funding support from the sector leadership, The Iceberg has used the intervening period to curate a powerful and compelling body of evidence-based data and storytelling which has helped to re-shape the narrative of the business and professional events sector beyond its consumption economy.
The Iceberg has witnessed growing recognition, across the sector, of the transformational value created by congresses, trade fairs, and corporate meetings. These social, economic, and societal outcomes in individual and organisational success, trade & exports development, inward investment, scientific research and innovation, start-ups & scale-ups, job creation, and lives saved are so often sourced through events.
And it has witnessed increasingly sophisticated impact methodologies and tools emerging from within the sector to support, and evidence, these impacts as fact.
The Iceberg’s Global Advisory Board has concluded that now is the time to take the message beyond the echo chamber of the sector itself, and to present the unique combination of the value consumption, and sustainable value creation, of the business events economy to governments and their policymakers.
This will require consistency of message delivered globally – and locally – through our many voices because no one individual or organisation can do this. It must be a collaborative effort from both the demand and supply sides of the sector. And it will require a unique combination of organisational and individual messengers, articulated in the video below:
It’s time to break out of the echo chamber – to establish ambassadors in every city or country who can connect business and professional events to government agendas
A recent report from Business Events Industry Week in Washington DC and at EU Dialogue in Brussels illustrated the power of collaboration when the industry conveyed a united message to governments and their policymakers.
This effort inspired the Global Advisory Board, supported by a Theory of Change devised by The Iceberg Partners, #MEET4IMPACT and Talley Management Group, to develop a Strategic Plan designed to make The Iceberg more interactive globally, to strengthen and leverage its global movement to advance the focus on event impacts further and faster, and to mobilise the whole sector in an effort to achieve the goals identified in its Theory of Change.
The Board are calling this effort The Iceberg 2.0 and its chair, Gary Grimmer, explains the approach:
Why The Iceberg 2.0?
We want to help event organisers and destinations build stronger partnerships to increase the impacts of events and to gain more government support for the business events industry. The key to the effort will be increasing awareness that events are powerful drivers of social, economic, societal, and environmental impacts.
What are the overall goals of The Iceberg 2.0?
- To continue to strengthen awareness of the importance and broader impacts of meetings
- To elevate the focus on event impact by event organisers
- To deepen the involvement of host destinations in building event impacts
- To strengthen government support for business meetings and events
What will The Iceberg be doing to accomplish these goals?
- Partnering with other industry organisations and peak bodies to support and help amplify their own event impact initiatives
- Animating a global ambassador programme
- Activating a global network of advocates to governments at all levels
- Creating feedback loops so that stakeholders become active participants in The Iceberg’s network and programmes
- Making tools available to event organisers and destination hosts to enhance their abilities to maximise event impacts
- Curating and disseminating knowledge on the impact of business events
Grimmer: “Any city that’s not buying into using events as a strategy for their societal advancement is a city that’s missing out.”
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
In addition to the Sector’s leading Organisational Partners, we now call upon YOU or your ORGANISATION to become one of hundreds, if not thousands, of voices as The Iceberg’s ‘Partners & Ambassadors’ – as willing participants in the Movement that takes the message and resources curated for you – to every city, state, or national administration where relevant policy and investment decisions are being taken.
We invite YOU or your ORGANISATION to be the voice of the Business & Professional Sector in YOUR hometown, city, state, region, or country and play a vital role in delivering on The Iceberg Mission.
The initial Campaigns & Activities will be released to Partners & Ambassadors of The Iceberg Movement in January 2025 following the completion of this initial MANY VOICES, ONE MESSAGE Campaign.
TERM
The Iceberg Calls for Partners & Ambassadors for the next 3-year term from January 2025 to December 2027 in order to meet its goals identified in its Theory of Change.
The Iceberg welcomes Organisational Partners who have a connection to the Business & Professional Events sector. Organisational Partnerships commence from £1,000 PA; Individual Ambassadorships are £350 PA.
Please confirm your Partnership or Ambassadorship for 2025-27 no later than 31st December 2024 by completing a registration form.
If there is anything that you would like to discuss about your participation, please contact The Iceberg Secretariat via admin@the-iceberg.org, who will oversee your Ambassador / Partner profile at www.the-iceberg.org
Welcome to the 2024-2027 edition of The Iceberg presented by The Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) as we seek to amplify the societal transformation of Business & Professional Events and challenge government to recognise events as change agents, not just travel agents!
James Latham
Founder & Producer of The Iceberg
The Iceberg and Business Events World are presented by the Joint Meetings Industry Council, and facilitated by The Fred Production Company Ltd.
