The Joint Meetings Industry Council, which presents The Iceberg, has released a manifesto that sets out arguments as to why business events can and should be utilised to drive economic recovery and renewal in the post-COVID-19 era.
The document was assembled with the advice and input of a broad range of industry leaders. This was supplemented with commentary from Global Advisor on Cities Professor Greg Clark. All these views were also presented in a two-part webinar produced by The Iceberg. This was played into satellite events across four regions of the world on July 2nd, hosted in an historic collaboration by four global industry trade shows. AIME hosted the Asia-Pacific edition, Meetings Africa hosted in Africa and the Middle East, IBTM hosted in Europe, and IMEX in the Americas.
“COVID-19 has again highlighted a core weakness of the global business events industry. We struggle to share a joint message, to stand as a united industry, when it matters”, said JMIC President Kai Hattendorf. “With policymakers, this puts us at the end of the queue of industries seeking to showcase their respective roles for economies and societies”.
The manifesto is a resource for industry professionals and representatives worldwide who advocate for the reopening of business events in their respective communities. While the industry and many meetings are themselves global, the decision processes around reopening events are often made locally, and can be tied to local economic recovery strategies.
“The core of the document is a list of 15 reasons why business events should get priority attention from governments as a vehicle for economic recovery and renewal” said Hattendorf.
The JMIC Global Manifesto (click image to read).
JMIC has also now released the two part webinar. Zoom interviews were conducted for this by Iceberg Founder James Latham, and the webinar was edited and is presented by Iceberg Curator Robert Coren.
Part I includes introductions from JMIC President Kai Hattendorf and Executive Director Rod Cameron. Professor Greg Clark offers his own COVID-19 analysis, and comments on industry leaders’ thoughts about…
- Business Events and the Business Events Industry
- Cities and Meetings
- Mid-Sized Cities
- Associations and Association Meetings
The JMIC Manifesto Webinar was presented by Curator of the Iceberg Robert Coren.
Part II sees Professor Greg Clark offering his own view of how the next two years will play out, after commenting on industry leaders’ thoughts about..
- Meeting in the Age of the Pandemic
- Advocacy with the JMIC Manifesto for Economic Recovery Using Business Events
- The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
The webinar’s main commentary came from Global Advisor on Cities, Professor Greg Clark.
Further content about the manifesto and webinar:
The JMIC Global Manifesto: More than Just Another Pronouncement (JMIC Executive Director Rod Cameron article)
Learning to Speak with One Voice (Conference & Meetings World article)
New Global Collaboration to Drive Joint Messaging for the Meetings Industry (Exhibition World article)
The Role of Business Events in the Economic Recovery (Boardroom article)
Is the Meetings Industry Doomed to Repeat Itself? (Association Meetings International article)
