Globalisation, the world’s closer integration, is under attack. After nativism, terrorism and of course climate change, now a microscopic pathogen is even stopping us from gathering to meet. If globalisation does have a positive legacy though, international association meetings may be the best of what closer integration gives society. From Association Meetings International…
Māori culture gives New Zealand its distinct identity, but is also moving centre stage at meetings hosted in the country. This was very evident during the 2019 International Union for Health Promotion and Education Conference, which drew to Rotorua 1,185 attendees from 73 countries. From Association Meetings International…
Iceberg partners AIPC (International Association of Convention Centres), ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) and UFI (Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) are jointly now backing a campaign “This show is open for business” first launched by UFI and SISO (Society of Independent Show Organizers). From Association Meetings International…
The decision to cancel a conference in Denver over COVID-19 fears has left some of its more than 10,000 delegates perplexed and angry. The 55,000-member American Physical Society, a professional association for physicists, cancelled its largest meeting of the year less than 48 hours before it was due to open. From Association Meetings International…
What’s the number one challenge facing business events? When this question was posed in November 2019 by Convene as part of its 29th Annual Meetings Market Survey, just a few answers talked about dealing with the unknown. One respondent alone cited the management of risk, and specifically of epidemic risk, as a challenge. From PCMA…
Organisers of the 2020 American Physical Society March Meeting opted to cancel their event due to concerns about bringing COVID-19 into Denver. With more than 10,000 attending, some from risk countries, the “gut-wrenching” call was taken “out of an abundance of caution”. But the decision was made less than two days before opening. From PCMA…
Julia Sonnemann, PR Manager for ITB Berlin, was all smiles during a press conference on February 19th. On February 28th, days before its opening, the travel and tourism trade fair was forced to cancel because it couldn’t meet local health authority requirements on COVID-19. Sonnemann now picks through the difficult decisions that were faced. From EventMB…
Wellington in New Zealand punches above its weight in meetings. Last year the Business Events team at WellingtonNZ won 34 conference bids across a range of industries like computational engineering, medical science, environmental studies and public law. A new convention centre is due to open by the end of 2022. From Association Meetings International…
Many DMOs (Destination Marketing Organisations) have started to realise the true value of meetings and are tracking the social outcomes they deliver. Some governments include business events as part of policy. Karen Bolinger, Strategic Advisor at Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance, talks “beyond tourism” legacies. From City / Nation / Place…
Copenhagen’s strong life sciences sector has proved to be fertile ground for researchers in reproduction, with the city winning the 36th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. The event is expected to attract 10,000 experts on infertility and reproduction to the Bella Center this July. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Glasgow’s Conference Ambassador Programme, the first in the UK, has contributed at least £650 million to the city’s economy since it started thirty years ago. The scheme has 1,600 members. 141 events, indeed 35 percent of all meetings held in Glasgow last year, were led by a local conference ambassador. From Association Meetings International…
A brand new event for association executives has been added to the calendar, and it’s taking place in Switzerland. GIAF, or the Geneva International Association Forum, is to be held in June, bringing together the not-for-profit sector to “tackle common challenges”. GIAF’s venue has yet to be announced. From Association Meetings International…
As global leaders form strategies to contain the spread of coronavirus, so also must event managers and owners. Four distinct requirements are critical to meet. That’s according to Sylvia André, the Vice President for Marketing and Communications at Iceberg partner MCI. The article links to Professional Convention Management Association resources on coronavirus. From PCMA…
“Conference shame” was the term used in a Bloomberg article about the threat to events of “the Greta effect”. So the sector now needs to get its “game face” on. Partners of the Iceberg IMEX, Positive Impact and GDS-Index have already done so. Photo: World Economic Forum / Manuel Lopez. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
It has ancient academic powerhouses with adjacent knowledge clusters like Oxford and Cambridge. It has the meetings-friendly pairing of Newcastle and Gateshead in the North, not to mention Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and of course London. England’s expertise is making it a world-class meeting destination. Photo: VisitBritain / Guy Richardson. From Boardroom…
With a scientific consensus that we are already in a full-blown climate crisis, events are under widespread scrutiny for environmental impact. So are meetings now in a state of emergency? German Convention Bureau Director Matthias Schultze, UFI CEO Kai Hattendorf and Iceberg Founder James Latham are among the sector voices canvassed. From EventMB…
As Sherrif Karamat, President and CEO of the Professional Convention Management Association explains, PCMA and the PCMA Foundation have set a goal of raising at least $250,000 to help those affected by the recent bushfires in Australia and earthquakes in Puerto Rico. The first $50,000 is already committed. From PCMA…
According to Jim Sharpe, the new CEO of Aventri, event technology is now far easier to use. Whether it’s using a WhatsApp group to stay in contact with event planners, or automating reporting to capture meeting metrics, technology is not only impacting carbon footprint but also changing and upskilling teams. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Sheffield is the birthplace of stainless steel. Today the South Yorkshire UK city has a modern knowledge economy “making solutions to some of the worlds toughest problems”. World-class research centres and Marketing Sheffield’s ambassador programme are combining to attract targeted UK and international events. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Edinburgh International Conference Centre is “on track” for “record sales and operating profits” in 2019 after hosting some of the world’s most high-profile conferences. EICC has also calculated that the economic impact the venue makes on the region lies at around £55 million. From Association Meetings International…
Convention centres let architects push the limits of creative design and pioneer innovative solutions. With seventeen decades of venue architecture behind us, the 1850 Bingley Hall in Birmingham being the first example, here are five extraordinary modern venues. Photo: R. Elton. From Association Meetings International…
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