Sustainable event organisation Positive Impact is urging event professionals to post, share and pledge during the United Nation’s #FlipTheScript action strategy. The Iceberg partner has joined with the UN campaign to take critical action over the Sustainable Development Goals, flipping the script for a more sustainable world. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
In October, Germany will host an international meeting to discuss Ukraine’s reconstruction following Russia’s invasion. The meeting will focus on rebuilding large parts of Ukraine’s infrastructure. The event hosts will be Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. From Conference & Meetings World…
A group of academics from various disciplines will promote the capital city of New Zealand as a place to hold international conferences. Wellington has just launched its Advocate Network, a pool of local thought leaders and subject experts to help enhance the success of the city’s business events bidding. From Association Meetings International…
Peggy Daidakis joined the Baltimore Convention Center just ahead of its grand opening in 1979. Eight years later, she stepped into the role of Executive Director, the first woman to do so at a US convention venue. Now in 2022, after years of service and awards, she is retiring from her post. From PCMA…
Future Meeting Space’s latest research radar has looked at global studies, reports and articles on the future of both business events and business travel. Across over eighty studies, nine concrete trends have been identified about the industry, from the impact of sustainability on mobility to the role of hybrid event formats. From Response Room…
A new initiative at the Collision tech conference is now expanding the community-centred impact and influence of Indigenous-led tech startups in Canada. In 2019, there were only two such organisations among 1,000 at the event. By 2022, there were over twenty among the 1,500 on site, in a legacy showcase of “Indigenomics”. From PCMA…
Australia is a hotbed of business event excellence, the country’s cities and states both competing and collaborating to win events for the destination. In this high-powered video double bill, The Iceberg hears once again from BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith, and also from Tourism Australia’s Robin Mack, about the role of meetings in diversifying destinations’ economies….
Located in the Beijing Olympic Green Area, the China National Convention Center, Phase 2 is on track to open in 2025. CNCC-II will host conferences, forums, and banquets for up to 20,000, as well as exhibition events for over 50,000. Rod Kamleshwaran, pre-opening international consultant of CNCC-II and partner at Iceberg partner GainingEdge, explains. From GainingEdge…
Over 35 policy makers from nineteen countries gathered at the IMEX Policy Forum 2022, held on May 31st as part of IMEX in Frankfurt. The meeting takes place annually and provides a collaborative, global discussion platform to encourage policy creation that directly benefits the global meetings and business events industry. The aim of this year’s…
There is still a compelling need to meet in person, but post-pandemic travel has to be business critical to justify the financial and carbon cost. So says a new report from Accor. It claims twenty percent of business meetings “may have gone forever”. But virtual meeting technology is one silver lining. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Over 40 percent of associations will hold their largest meeting in person this year, according to a survey by ICCA (the International Congress and Convention Association). But only 35.6 percent told the Iceberg partner that it was “very important” to “reduce the environmental impact of their event”. From Association Meetings International…
There is nothing like a face-to-face gathering to conduct business, says an RX global study. Face-to-face remains a key priority for survey respondents, with 78 percent of businesses stating trade shows offer them something unique that cannot be created elsewhere. This number is up from 68 percent in 2021. From Trade Show Executive…
Hopin has laid off 29 percent of employees, merely four months after the virtual events startup let another twelve percent of staff go. Once valued at $7.8 billion, Hopin is one of several online platforms that thrived over the pandemic but that has since seen a slowdown in its growth. From Conference News…
Event technology platform Bizzabo has laid off 120 employees, or thirty percent of its 400-strong workforce, reacting to what it called the “swift economic downturn”. Meanwhile, AI and transcription unicorn Verbit laid off sixty members of staff, about ten percent of total, following a period of rapid growth. From Association Meetings International…
Over a hundred parties made a pledge at COP26 to reduce the carbon emissions created by the events industry. The coalition has doubled in size since that time. Kai Hattendorf, the President of Iceberg partner UFI and former Chair of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (which presents The Iceberg), helped make it happen. From PCMA…
Jaimé Bennett, PCMA’s Regional Director of EMEA, was taken on a tour during her site visit to Vienna earlier this year. The aim was to find places Convening EMEA participants could explore during the meeting. One was a café which helps older residents augment their pensions and social lives through baking. From PCMA…
The UK has experienced red weather warnings and unprecedented high temperatures of late, with services shut down and events postponed. Europe and the United States have also suffered. Liz Taylor, the CEO of event management firm the Taylor Lynn Corporation, has sweated over the best solutions to keep delegates cool. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
On the back of a flash survey, Editor James Lancaster talks with Loren Edelstein, VP Content Director at Northstar Meetings Group, about how the US Supreme Court’s about turn on Roe v. Wade could inflence where international associations meet, and whether organisations should be being political about site selection. Photo: Ted Eytan. From Association Meetings International…
During the pandemic, uncertainty was a daily torment for association meeting planners. With the threat of lockdown ended in most countries, the market is approaching business pre-pandemic. But organisers are also caught between a labour and skills crisis plus rocketing inflation. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
The Editorial Director Martin Fullard recently visited Scotland to find out how important business events are to the region. He talked to some of the country’s leading eventprofs, learning about VisitScotland’s new and improved “Policy Driven Model”, its “Journey to Change” project, and how universities are helping to bring in business events. From Conference News…
There are signs the event tech goldrush is already over. How quickly organisers harness the potential of online meetings will determine the size of any returns in future. William Thomson, Founder of Gallus Events and Practically Perfect PA, examines how the sector is now facing something of a reckoning. From Association Meetings International…
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