As a founding member of twenty years’ standing, the departure of Edinburgh from Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance came as quite a shock. BestCities’ new MD Lesley Williams felt the loss very keenly, having in the past spent seven years as Head of Business Tourism at Marketing Edinburgh’s Convention Bureau. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance is marking its 20th year on the back its Copenhagen Global Forum in December. Madrid has been announced as taking on the baton of the 2020 event, under the banner strapline of “Developing Legacy Together”. In Copenhagen, eighteen international association executives attended. From Meetings International…
Homeless hackathons, like those being held this year in Edinburgh, Montreal, Barcelona, Dundee and London, are one way for meetings to tackle this pressing social issue. The MD of organiser Gallus Events recently had a personal experience of homelessness outside COP25, the UN Climate Change Conference, in Madrid. From Association Meetings International…
The “Incredible Impacts” grants celebrate the “beyond tourism” legacy value of international association meetings and their projects that are delivering positive social impact. A panel of independent judges from the association world determines which meetings have left a proven legacy, and award three grants of $7,500 on behalf of Iceberg partners BestCities Global Alliance and…
The teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg may have grabbed more headlines, but meetings and events leaders also got to address some of the biggest sustainability challenges facing the industry during a panel debate at UN Climate Conference COP25 in Madrid. Article includes full video from the session. From Association Meetings International…
Congress organisers at ESTRO, the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology, are requiring host destinations bidding for their events to help them connect with local communities and create lasting legacies in cancer care. They are doing so through the running of so-called “engagement projects”. Ideas for such initiatives, typically with stakeholder involvement from cancer specialists,…
2019 was the year veganism went mainstream. In 2020 Veganuary, or going vegan for January, is bigger than ever. One Iceberg publishing partner is sampling fast food vegan options, went vegan at Associations UK Congress 2019, and will again at all 2020 events. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Sustainability is high on the events industry agenda. COP25’s Events Industry Council panel discussed vegan menus, recyclable cups and refillable bottles. Britain’s Brexit is shaking up supply chains and may encourage local sourcing. Iceberg partner Positive Impact is engaging the industry in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Last December Mariela McIlwraith, Director of Industry Advancement at the Events Industry Council, went to the UN Climate Conference COP25 in Madrid. There she took part in a panel discussion on the role of the meetings sector in bringing people together to act on climate. From the Events Industry Council…
Last month, just prior to IBTM World’s staging, the Iceberg partner’s inaugural Global Policy and Practice Forum was held in partnership with The Business of Events. Supporting the gathering were the Barcelona Convention Bureau, PCMA (the Professional Convention Management Association) and JMIC (the Joint Meetings Industry Council, which presents The Iceberg). The forum brought together…
The IBTM World Trends Watch Report by Rob Davidson and Ali Turner is an insightful compendium of data that crosses business, industries, economies and geographies within the global meetings and events industry. The IBTM World Trends Watch Report 2019 (IBTM World website) Virtual Experience Economy Set to Grow, Says IBTM Trends Watch Report (Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Silicon Valley start-up “wordly”, which uses voice recognition and artificial intelligence to translate between 15 languages, has won the Iceberg partner IBTM World’s Tech Watch Award. The interpretation app was praised by judges for helping event planners reduce costs by eliminating the need to hire translators in sound-proof booths. From Association Meetings International…
Heike Mahmoud, Chief Operating Officer of CCH (Congress Center Hamburg), has won JMIC’s Profile and Power Award for being “an inspiring symbol of influential women” in the meetings industry. She accepted the honour at the Meetings Leadership Summit of Iceberg partner IBTM World. The Joint Meetings Industry Council presents The Iceberg. From Association Meetings International…
The virtual experience economy is set for big growth, according to the annual IBTM World Trends Watch Report. The complete study, which analyses the future of the events industry, was compiled using over 25 existing data sources and was unveiled on the first day of Iceberg partner IBTM World in Barcelona. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
In advance of IBTM World 2019, just staged in Barcelona, interest from new exhibitors more than doubled compared to 2018. More than 2,600 exhibitors took stands at the Iceberg partner event, 35 of them coming from destinations that hadn’t before, including Greece, Azerbaijan, Macau, South Korea and Croatia. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Opening in 2021, Macau’s Galaxy International Convention Centre is aiming for the title of Asia’s most technologically advanced venue. Galaxy’s Director of Operations Development, Scott Kreeger, has been speaking about the facility at IBTM World in Barcelona, and says incentives will be one of its core markets. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Dr Nicholas Barrett is Consultant in Critical Care at London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Starting out in Sydney Australia, he now specialises in extra-corporeal life support for acute heart and lung failure. Dr Barrett is also Chair of EuroELSO 2020, being held at London’s Queen Elizabeth II Centre next May. The congress…
Companies offering event artificial intelligence, virtual reality and facial recognition technology feature in this year’s Tech Watch Award, with seven finalists now announced by organiser and Iceberg partner IBTM World. One company will be named overall winner by the judges, with another taking home the People’s Choice Award (voting now open). From Association Meetings International…
The first day of IMEX America in Las Vegas saw appointments, enquires and bookings for the event’s high-level meetings industry participants. IMEX attendee numbers, including exhibitors, are expected to exceed 13,000 people this year, with more than 70,000 appointments being held across the event. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
CWT M&E has unveiled its ranking of the top ten cities for meetings and events in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2020, with London holding onto the coveted number one spot. The ranking is based on data in the CWT 2020 Future Trends in Meetings & Events report just out. From Meetings International…
Iceberg partner IBTM World has announced first details for its 2019 Association Programme, which takes place on the show’s first afternoon this coming November. The annual event for the global events sector will be attended in Barcelona by over 15,000 professionals, among them 300 international association meetings planners. From Boardroom…
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