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2019’s Best in Show: Ten Fresh Approaches to Meeting Design

PCMA, the Professional Convention Management Association, has just published its annual “Best in Show” list. The ten stories include using art therapy at a haematology event, a heart rhythm meeting dropping registration fees for self-paying attendees from lower income countries, and a biomedical event letting students earn credit towards attendance costs by staffing the meeting. From PCMA…

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BestCities’ Jane Cunningham on Association Legacies

Jane Cunningham, Director of International Associations at Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance, has recorded a video with Kit Watts, Strategic Communications Director at IMEX, also a partner. In it she talks about the role of associations, the legacies their events leave, the “Incredible Impacts” awards, and even The Iceberg. From BestCities Global Alliance…

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Pharma Event Discusses Science of Healthcare Congresses Report

The findings of “The Science of Healthcare Congresses” (see Research), Ashfield Meetings & Events’ new study of over 200 healthcare professionals, was a focus of discussion at the 36th Pharma Fortbildungs-Forum in Cologne. Its results were presented by Ashfield’s Client Relationship Director Fabienne Wild. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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The Future of Congress Centres: AIPC Annual Conference 2019

Iceberg partner AIPC, international association of congress centres, has just held its annual conference in Antwerp. At the Flanders Meeting and Convention Center, next to the city zoo, 150 delegates discussed future economics of such venues, the technology transforming them, and the expectations of big clients like Sibos and the European Society of Cardiology. From Boardroom…

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Associations Differing with Destinations on Outreach and Legacy

The perspectives on outreach and legacy of associations, compared with destinations, have significant differences. So says a new study by MeetDenmark, the development association for business and event tourism in Denmark, and meetings consultancy and Iceberg partner GainingEdge. But the study also shows common ground to build on. From Boardroom…

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The Medical Meeting that Changed the Course of a Life

Dr Lance O’Sullivan certainly knows the power of conferences. Aged 17, the twice-expelled disruptive child from a deprived background was taken to a Māori medicine meeting by his aunt. A smart and charismatic doctor speaking there captured the teenager’s attention and started his career path as healthcare innovator. From Association Meetings International…

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“Women Deliver” Draws 8,000 to Vancouver Convention Centre

The Women Deliver conference has just brought 8,000 world leaders, advocates, academics, activists and journalists from over 150 countries into the Vancouver Convention Centre. The meeting aims to influence policy makers and politicians, and to drive investment into the lives of girls and women. Photo: Jon Benjamin Photography. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Astra Zeneca: Meetings “Vital Tool” in Medicine Innovation

One of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, British-Swedish multinational Astra Zeneca is responsible for research into and manufacture of many cutting-edge medicines. As Catherine Boissier, Associate Professor and Associate Director working as a Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control Project Lead in Gothenburg explains, meetings are a vital tool in that endeavour. From Meetings International…

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Breaking Taboos to Create a Legacy in Global Sanitation

Jack Sim founded the World Toilet Organisation in 2001 as the global voice of toilets and the sanitation agenda. Its aim is to break taboos over a hard-to-discuss subject and also to engineer a massive legacy: addressing the crisis of 2.6 billion people living without clean toilets and hygienic sewage treatment. From BestCities Global Alliance…

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WCPT’s Tracy Bury: Building Communities, and Creating Legacies

How do you create a cohesive community right across a global profession? Tracy Bury is Deputy Chief Executive of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy. Her portfolio includes the WCPT Congress, which in 2017 won the association an inaugural “Incredible Impacts” grant for its commitment to creating legacy. From BestCities Global Alliance…

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Association Versus PCO Origination: Choosing Your Meeting Tribe

Big association conferences are often regarded as being at the very centre of the events universe, with long lead times and high returns, both in prestige and legacy. But professional congress organisers also create original events, like Kenes Group’s recent and “tribal” World Hospital at Home Congress (pictured). From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…

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Destination Marketing: The Role of Conference Ambassadors

No convention bureau would be seen dead without a conference ambassador programme. But why are they important? Here’s a round up from Edinburgh, where budget cuts recently threatened the very existence of its ambassadors, to Glasgow, Dubai, Montreal (whose ambassador gala awards is pictured), Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto and Korea. From Association Meetings International…

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The Iceberg’s James Latham: Creating Positive Impact

How can events have a “positive impact” on their destination? James Latham of The Iceberg discusses key trends in legacy and how meetings can create them, legacies being those outcomes relating to the purpose of an event in trade, innovation, education, healthcare, conflict resolution etc. which grow over time. From BestCities Global Alliuance…

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Medical Meetings: Correctly Diagnosing Return on Investment

The financial health of a medical association convention can depend on whether its exhibition floor is or isn’t sold out. Attending doctors though aren’t usually buying drugs directly but prescribing them. So measuring the return on investment of exhibiting at medical meetings has become a science in its own right. From PCMA…

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Associations Growing Global VII: IASP’s Painless Growth

The Iceberg is publishing a series of interviews about the globalisation of large associations. These are jointly produced by partners Boardroom and the Global Association Hubs Partnership. Matthew D’Uva, CEO of the Washington DC-headquartered International Association for the Study of Pain, describes reaching 100 chapters around the world. From Global Association Hubs Partnership…

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Access to Scientific Meetings: UK and US Visa Refusal Woes

Are openly hostile immigration policies in the UK and US making it harder for delegates from lower income countries to attend scientific meetings? Here’s a round up from both sides of the pond of events that have faced very high levels of visa rejections with delegates attending from developing nations. From Association Meetings International…

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