A large number of meetings industry groups have now made statements condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are raising awareness or funds, or have barred Russian state participation in meetings. More and more convention venues in Europe have now converted their facilities to house the millions of Ukrainians escaping the ravages of war. From PCMA…
As refugees flee the war in Ukraine, Russian members of Iceberg partner ICCA (the International Congress and Convention Association) will not be attending association events until further notice. The ICCA board also cancelled all planned activities and meetings in Russia. Iceberg partner UFI has as well suspended Russian members. From Association Meetings International…
IMEX in Frankfurt has barred all Russian state enterprises from exhibiting at the show in May in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Iceberg partner’s Group CEO Carina Bauer and its Chairman Ray Bloom posted the decision in a statement on social media which also offered Ukraine sipport. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Iceberg partner UFI, the global association of the exhibition sector, has released the latest edition of its flagship Global Barometer. Figures highlight the quickening pace of the industry’s recovery in 2022 after the continuing impact of the pandemic throughout 2021. The results vary between locations, primarily driven by reopening dates for exhibitions.. From Exhibition World…
Three industry associations have published a white paper calling on governments to harness the power of business events to stimulate their economies. “Business Events are the Fast Track to Recovery” documents support for the return of the sector and is the work of AIPC, ICCA and UFI, all Iceberg partners. From Association Meetings International…
After two extremely hard years for associations, the first edition of the Brussels International Association Forum, from ASSOCIATIONWORLD, has been held, making a community out of its attendees. The changing sector models, good governance, diversity and inclusion, as well as skills of pandemic leadership, all made for lively panel discussions. From Boardroom…
The “Metaverse”, as a concept, has been around for a long time. But it now looks set to become a reality and have significant impact within the events industry. Harry Prince, the Creative Content Manager at venue finder Spacehuntr, explains how the Metaverse will improve networking for hybrid meetings. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Marjorie Anderson, the Founder of Community by Association, tells the Deep Dive podcast how associations should be addressing DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). After definitive definitions of DEI, the conversation looks at how to be more inclusive at conferences, accommodating those delegates with impaired hearing or mobility, or with neurodiversity or photosensitivity. From Association Meetings International…
Carola van der Hoeff is the new President of AC Forum (Associations and Conference Forum). In a broad interview on the Deep Dive podcast she discusses restarting association events, changing business models, building back better and organising her first webinar. As well as that, she looks forward to face-to-face IMEX meetings. From Associations Meetings International…
According to Nikki Walker, who is Global Vice President Engagement, Associations and Communities at Iceberg partner MCI, associations are craving to get back to meeting face-to-face, yet prefer to hold a fully virtual substitute rather than hybrid. In this Deep Dive podcast, Walker examines how associations have evolved through COVID. From Associations Meetings International…
The recent BestCities Global Forum explored how legacy-building with every conference can quickly lead to dramatic change. A trio of videos from the Iceberg partner event examines the ESTRO Madrid Project which yielded a €700 million legacy for cancer patients, the new Madrid PLUS tool for creating legacy, and the personal legacy of BestCities’ Jane Cunningham….
This global census covers all exhibition venues with a minimum of 5,000 square metres of gross indoor exhibition space. Regionally, Europe is home to 39 percent of the world’s total venue capacity, followed by the Asia-Pacific region (32 percent) and North America (20 percent). In terms of size, the number of “mega venues” (those with…
Re-imagining the future of events during a global pandemic is one of the industry’s biggest challenges. During the 2020 ICCA Congress, Iceberg partner ICCA delivered the Kaohsiung Protocol as a strategic recovery framework to guide the global meetings and events industry forward. Now, thanks to the guidance and input of its global community, ICCA is…
COVID-19 has accelerated the delivery of events in a digital environment, thus impacting the way participants make the decision to attend and engage in events. Best practices are rapidly changing with few benchmarks to guide success for organisations delivering business events across various factors and formats. PCMA and the AC Forum embarked on a research…
This report does its best to lean on both empirical evidence and highly credible opinion, that give a glimpse into both the immediate and long-term futures the industry faces. It looks at the past to predict the future, but also finds “grass root” trends that may grow to dominate how the sector goes about its…
The Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe has published a white paper on The Future Role and Purpose of Convention Bureaux, providing a shared vision of the convention bureau of the future and a visionary roadmap for further developing the role of convention bureaux in the coming decade. Intended as a conversation…
Three German cities are among the top ten destinations chosen for large international meetings, according to new figures in Northstar Meetings Group’s Convention Cities Index. Frankfurt tops the list, with Cologne fifth and Hanover eighth. The update is the third publication of the index, which was launched in 2020. From Association Meetings International…
The dawn of 2022 saw organisers of international association meetings grappling with more restrictions as governments tried to curb spread of the new Omicron variant. Across the world countries tightened their rules about who could travel and where people could meet as the highly infectious strain caused a massive surge in cases. From Association Meetings International…
The spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is causing havoc for meeting planners, with major events being cancelled or postponed right across Europe. The World Economic Forum has postponed its high profile meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The in person event, scheduled for mid January, has been pushed back to the Summer. From Association Meetings International…
PCMA Editor-in-Chief Michelle Russell drew our attention to this discussion of how the model of scientific conference should be changing in the wake of the pandemic. It contains a fantastic example of serendipitous legacy, a chance meeting at a conference in Puerto Rico leading to some Nobel prize-winning CRISPR gene editing. From Chemistry World…
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