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Three Questions: Vancouver Convention Centre’s Claire Smith

Claire Smith is Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at Vancouver Convention Centre, and also Chair of PCMA. Here she answers three questions: about how working with associations has changed for her over the years, about the kind of meetings her venue targets, and about the future of the association sector itself. From Boardroom…

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All Change for Associations: Ben Hainsworth

Association governance has changed dramatically in recent years and a key focus is on business sustainability, both financial and reputational. The latter is often part of any conversation about legacy. Ben Hainsworth has worked in the past for a large European medical society. Today he is Executive Director of Berlin-based PCO K.I.T. Group. From PCMA…

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Obesity Conference Creates Public Health Legacy

The 5th UK Congress on Obesity is taking place early in September at Newcastle University. The local organising committee was keen to leave a lasting legacy in the North East. So the Association for the Study of Obesity is also hosting a public event before the main conference begins. Photo: Sarah Cossom. From Boardroom…

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AIPC 2018: How the Global Affects the Local

Iceberg partner AIPC, the international association of congress centres, represents more than 185 venues in 60 countries. The AIPC Annual Congress fosters excellence in every aspect of centre management, and the 2018 event at ExCeL London saw about 250 delegates tackling the theme of “Strategies for a Changing World!”. From Boardroom…

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Indianapolis: An Eventful MPI World Education Congress 2018

Meetings Professionals International’s World Education Congress has just concluded in Indianapolis, having welcomed around 2,200 attendees. Since WEC 2017 MPI had totally reimagined the event, and the 2018 running was certainly eventful, even to the extent of a Sudanese-Australian speaker being unable to attend because of a US visa waiver refusal. From Meetings & Conventions…

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Medical Meetings Under the Microscope: Part II

Medical meeting organisers at the PCMA Education Conference also got a behind-the-scenes look at how the Cleveland Clinic is now reshaping the future of both patient care and medical education. David McMillin reports from the visit and offer his five takeaways, including the power art can play, especially one “amazing Iceberg”. From PCMA Convene…

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Medical Meetings Under the Microscope: Part I

The Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland also hosted the recent PCMA Education Conference. The event included a focus on medical meetings. Convene Editor-in-Chief Michelle Russell took time out from the floor to put the evolution of the sector under the microscope with Robert Heard of the American College of Emergency Physicians. From PCMA…

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Copenhagen: Evaluating Academic Conferences

During IMEX, Copenhagen described the image problem academia is facing: endless conference invitations alongside carbon footprint concerns and straining public budgets. Industrial PhD student Thomas Trøst Hansen has been researching how delegate academics work and receive recognition through the value chain used as a basis for evaluating academic events. From Boardroom…

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Three Key Questions: The USPs of PCOs

At the recent International Association of Professional Congress Organisers Annual Meeting in Tokyo, an Iceberg partner asked four distinguished industry voices – including IAPCO’s new president – what value a PCO brings to the table for associations, what sector trends they were seeing, and how they saw the importance of IAPCO certification. From Boardroom…

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A Practitioner’s Guide: The Decoupling of Associations in China

Two years ago the authorities in China began the long process of decoupling an astonishing 700,000 associations or scientific societies from government sponsorship and control. International conferences also must have local partners. Olivia Jia, Senior Manager of consultants IME and publisher of the China Social Organisation, reflects on working with associations in China. From Boardroom…

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Medical Meetings: Patients are a Virtue

Medical conferences that invite patients onto their stages and into their planning committees are finding out that patients are a virtue. Over the last decade there has been a slow-moving revolution in leveraging the legacies that can accrue to both healthcare professionals and to patients when the latter play a meaningful role. From PCMA Convene…

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Visit Faroe Islands’ Ambassador Network

The Faroe Islands are in the North Atlantic Ocean above Scotland. They belong to Denmark but are semi-autonomous. They also have a meetings industry and are seeking to attract international congresses. Visit Faroe Islands even has an Ambassador Network, with an Ambassador Day and Ambassador Awards, to do just that. From tmf dialogue marketing…

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Medical Conferences in the Modern Age

National medical associations hold conventions yearly, while international ones are held every two to four years. But educational timeframes have utterly changed in the digital age. So what will happen to the traditional convention model, and its role in medical professional education? Neurosurgery Professor Antonio A.F. De Salles asks whether conventions will become digital. From Boardroom…

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“Crazy Idea”: Psychotherapy Congress’ Freudian Walk

Sometimes meeting and destination are truly a perfect fit. In 2023 the World Council for Psychotherapy’s World Congress returns to its inaugural venue, the Sigmund Freud Private University in Vienna. With the city being the birthplace of Freud himself, the Vienna Convention Bureau suggested the “crazy idea” of a “Freudian walk”. Photo: Gugerell. From PCMA Convene…

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Convening Leaders 2018: Aligning Meetings with Knowledge Hubs

The Iceberg’s very own James Latham presented a session at Convening Leaders 2018 in Nashville called “The Rise of Intellectual Capitalism: The Role of Meetings”. Destinations and conferences which align themselves to knowledge clusters like biotech, fintech or healthcare reap benefits on all sides, he said. Latham was also interviewed by Amanda Marijanovic. From PCMA Convene…

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Medical Conferences: A Healthy Future?

Artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, 3D printing, wearables, telemedicine: the convergence of healthcare and technology is reaching an inflection point at a time when other pressures are putting the squeeze on medical meetings. How can they stay relevant if the entire structure of healthcare is about to fundamentally change? From PCMA Convene…  

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