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Legacies of Daegu’s Energy Olympics: Hosting WEC 2013

Daegu in South Korea hosted the 2013 World Energy Congress, often referred to as the “Energy Olympics”. The meeting built upon long-term city strategy in solar power and upon staging earlier events in the sector. It went on to create multiple legacies to shape Daegu’s future. By Jane Vong Holmes, Senior Manager Asia, GainingEdge. Two…

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Healthcare Meetings Beyond COVID-19: A Medical Examination

There is no denying events have changed because of the pandemic, as have the wants and needs of both organisers and attendees within the healthcare space. So, what are the key changes, and the trends we are seeing in terms of the way that the industry approaches them? From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Edible Insect Meeting Seeks to Solve Global Hunger Crisis

The problem is familiar and has been escalating rapidly over the decades. Global food produce is not enough to cover the needs of our planet’s ever-growing population. The issue will be discussed in depth at Quebec City, Canada, throughout the fourth edition of the International Insects to Feed the World conference. From Boardroom…

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Old and New Normal: Sector State of Play After the Pandemic

In the heat of the pandemic, meeting tech evangelists were hailing the switch to virtual as a transformational moment, rather than a practical necessity. It was always odds on that most would return to meeting in person once the worst was over. So, is the new normal the same old normal? From Association Meetings International…

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Meeting Sustainability: Hero of Zero Waste IMEX Group

Iceberg partner IMEX has now been championing sustainable exhibitions for over two decades. With its two huge global events generating zero waste and powered by renewable energy, the Group has just set its sights on zero carbon. CEO Carina Bauer explains how exhibitions need to become much more sustainable in order to survive. From Exhibition News…

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Redefining Incentives: Slow Pace, Short-Haul Motivational Travel

Fresh off the back of taking her first incentive trip since the start of the pandemic, agency Eventful’s Head of Incentives Holly Mills shares the changes she has witnessed in the industry and the trends that are going to shape the future of the category, including replacing that word “incentive”. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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AACB’s Andrew Hiebl: Australia’s Return to Business Events

Australia’s recent reopening to the world, and the lifting of domestic border closures and restrictions, makes this an important moment in the county’s business events sector. Andrew Hiebl, the CEO of AACB (the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux), discusses the upcoming pipeline plus Tourism Australia’s Business Events Bid Fund. From Association Meetings International…

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Glasgow’s COP26 and Sustainability Legacy: Reusing Materials

Over thirty charities have benefited from the materials used at last year’s COP26 as part of the positive legacy of the UK’s largest business event ever, which was held in Glasgow. Identity Group, which delivered the meeting for the UK’s Government and venue SEC, tasked Event Cycle with redistributing materials. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Masks Masterstroke: Quebec Venue Forms Recycling Partnership

Early in the pandemic, Quebec City Convention Centre’s Director of Building Management and Event Support Marc Poirier was shocked at how many masks were ending up in the venue’s rubbish. He set to work finding a partner to reuse them. Also in Quebec, Go Zero Recycle has developed the process. From PCMA…

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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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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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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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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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The Farm at Javits Center to Produce Forty Crops for Venue

The Farm at Javits Center, managed by urban farming company Brooklyn Grange, will produce 40,000 pounds of produce annually at the New York venue. The crops will be irrigated by rainwater gathered in an enormous underground cistern, and the space will also become the largest rooftop solar farm in all of Manhattan. From PCMA…

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