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BESarawak: the Lasting Literary Legacies of the Longhouse Library

Community libraries in Sarawak, Malaysia, are leaving incredible legacies. One of them, Batang Ai’s Nanga Ukom Longhouse Library, is even a business events CSR project organised by BESarawak together with Iceberg partner ICCA on the occasion of Kuching, Sarawak, staging the Asia Pacific Regional Hub of the 59th ICCA Congress. From Options…

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MCI’s Nikki Walker: Associations and Events Through the Pandemic

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…  

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Brewers Association DEI Mini-Grants Ferment Beer Event Legacy

“Mini-Grants” for diversity, equity and inclusion are being used by the US Brewers Association to ferment legacy at craft beer sector events. One meeting funded was a 2021 hybrid conference at which local female music producers created beats inspired by different craft beers to attract new consumers. From Associations Now…

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BESarawak Legacies: Celebrate the Past to Awaken the Future

“MICE” is a term long-associated with the meetings sector. But now the small and wily mouse-deer of Malaysian folklore has become a metaphor for how Business Events Sarawak has crossed the river after the pandemic and resumed business events activities through its Legacy Impact Initiative. Photo: Dave Curtis. By Jane Vong Holmes, Senior Manager Asia, GainingEdge….

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Chemical Reaction: Science Conferences After the Pandemic

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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Fast Forward 15 Founder Fay Sharpe OBE Talks Mentorship

Fay Sharpe, Founder of the mentorship programme Fast Forward 15, was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s New Year’s honours for services to mentoring women, gender equality and charity fundraising. Sharpe has also retraced her career on M&IT’s Talks podcast. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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A New Word for the Serendipity of Events: “Liminality”

If attendees are missing the chance encounter at virtual events, the lack of “liminal” space in the environment may be the culprit. This can also be missing at in person events. Julius Solaris, VP of Marketing Strategy, Events at event tech company Hopin, gives us a new idea for planned serendipity, “liminality”. From PCMA…  

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PCMA CL22: Digital Attendee Experience Surveyed at Tech Village

Companies at Convening Leaders’ Tech Village at Caesars Forum were asked to identify what has changed about digital attendee experiences during 2021. The need for quality content with no “fluff” or “friction”, the opportunity for event delegates to socialise, and the chance to reach a global audience were among the key takeaways. From PCMA…

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PCMA CL22: Leaving a Legacy of Childhood Literacy in Las Vegas

Hospitality Helping Hands (HHH) during PCMA Convening Leaders 22 left a legacy advancing child literacy across 62 schools in the Las Vegas area. The nonprofit Spread the Word Nevada brought in four big boxes to Caesar’s Forum with 10,000 books for children that volunteers sorted and prepped. PCMA’s Foundation also donated $10,000. From PCMA…

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UK Events: The £84bn Sector That Deserves Government Respect

The UK events industry as a whole is a vastly fragmented animal, before the pandemic worth £84 billion to the country every year. This leading article from Martin Fullard is a direct message for the UK’s Government, which calls for the industry now to be shown the respect it deserves. From Conference News…

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Event Travel Retrain: London to Barcelona, The Sustainable Way

Anna Abdelnoor, Co-founder of the event sustainability body Isla, took a different journey to IBTM World in Barcelona this year. To show her commitment to slow travel, Anna opted for rail over air, and producd 97 percent lower carbon emissions than she would have had she flown. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Jane Cunningham: Remembering Twelve Years at BestCities

The Iceberg ambassador Jane Cunningham (pictured centre with Lesley Williams and Nigel Brown promoting “Incredible Impacts” as “The Incredibles”) is leaving Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance after twelve years. The Iceberg will pay its own tribute elsewhere, but Jane has also given this interview to her own BestCities colleagues. From BestCities Global Alliance…

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Convening EMEA 2021: Sustainability Kept Front and Centre

PCMA’s Convening EMEA, which brought attendees from 29 nations together in Lausanne last October, started and ended on a sustainable note. Measures included giving the delegates a first-class pass on public transport, no paper handouts, and a hosting venue clad with columns of photovoltaic cells, the SwissTech Convention Center. Photo: Mattias Nutt. From PCMA…

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Making Events Inclusive Means Making Them Accessible for All

The bad experience of an Israeli minister, unable to enter a COP26 venue because she is a wheelchair user, reveals the distance planners still have to travel on accessibility and inclusivity. Lizzy Eaton, the Founder of Oddity Events and Marketing, remembers her own mistake on accessibility. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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COP26: A Watershed Moment Both for the World and Sector

It is hard to think of a conference with higher stakes than the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties. As well as the future of the entire planet, it also could define that of business events. Net Zero Carbon Events from JMIC, and Iceberg partner Positive Impact, played their part. From PCMA…

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