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Mike Williams: Unlocking the Future of Business Events

Mike Williams, Senior Consultant & Partner at GainingEdge and AIME Ambassador, talks to AIME about current industry challenges and trends, engaging with the next generation of delegates through immersive experiences and new technologies, partnering with Government entities with shared economic goals, and creating legacy programs, and tracking and evaluating their economic and social outcomes…

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For Tech’s Sake…

Why the sector needs to stop jumping on new technology fads and assuming that they will benefit events. By Simon Clayton, chief ideas officer, RefTech, from M&IT Magazine: We don’t manufacture anything, and the events we organise are generally transient – but we’ve been around as an industry for hundreds of years…

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Kai Hattendorf: 2023’s Five International Trends to Watch

The CEO of Iceberg partner UFI, Kai Hattendorf (pictured right!) has been looking into his crystal ball yet again as the year ends. With the pandemic lingering in some territories, Russia’s war in Ukraine, inflation skyrocketing and the climate crisis, what are the key trends to see business events through 2023? From Exhibition News…

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Copenhagen Legacy Lab: Leading Global Legacy Creation

Copenhagen Convention Bureau launched the Copenhagen Legacy Lab in 2019 to bridge international congresses held in Copenhagen with the local public, business and science communities. This Iceberg partner lets global associations both to achieve their objectives and solve societal challenges through events, and it aims to create the world’s leading hub for legacy. From Meetings International…

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DI’s Jane Cunningham Talks Legacy and Net Zero Carbon Events

Jane Cunningham has worked for hotels, a convention centre, a DMO (destination marketing organisation) and a PCO (professional conference organiser). She has also worked for two Iceberg partners, BestCities Global Alliance and Destinations International. Here she offers her thinking on legacy and Net Zero Carbon Events. From Meetings International…

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How an Association Put Sustainability in Its RfP With GDS-Index

How does a desire to minimise the environmental impact of events fit into a traditional RfP (Request for Proposal)? This was the question asked by Guidelines International Network when sourcing a place to hold its international conference in 2023. The starting point was with Global Destination Sustainability Index, an Iceberg partner. From Association Meetings International…

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The Invisible Industry Gets 49-Foot Trailer Advocacy Roadshow

The “Invisible Industry” was a label put on the meetings and hospitality sectors back in 1996 by broadcaster Charles Osgood. Now this title has become an advocacy roadshow, thanks to a 49-foot trailer stocked with interactive media. It launched a year-long “Invisible Industry Tour” of US cities last June. From PCMA…

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Book Extract: “Business Event Legacies” by Goodfellow

Last year Goodfellow Publishers released “Business Event Legacies: Global industry case studies”, from Carmel Foley, Deborah Edwards and Karin Weber. Previous work by Foley and Edwards includes the first JMIC Case Study published here on The Iceberg, and this book cites all of those studies. Here the volume’s content is outlined. From Meetings International…

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Pandemic Heroes: One Year Later, How the Sector Survived

One year since exhibitions returned after the UK’s COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, EN guest editor Phil Soar explores who the true “heroes” of the pandemic have been. He looks in particular at the roles played by venues that became National Health Service “Nightingale” field hospitals, and finds some encouraging causes for hope. From Exhibition News…

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Explaining Events to Policymakers: ECA’s Tommy Goodwin

The workday of Tommy Goodwin, Vice President of the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance, is explaining the importance of business events to policymakers. But are they finally starting to get it? Goodwin explains the purpose of the business events advocacy association set up in early 2021. From Association Meetings International…

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Sustainable Congresses: No Quick Fixes, Just Twelve Key Tips

Director of Event:Decision Matt Grey, together with Mark Handforth, Director of 3Sixty Event Consulting and Healthcare Venues, haven’t got a quick fix for sustainable meetings and conferences. Instead, they lay out the most effective methods to cut the emissions produced by events in twelve key tips for the sector. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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PCMA Discussion Takes Talk of Destination Boycotts to DC

PCMA has held a roundtable discussion in Washington DC on how to navigate events in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision on US abortion rights. Ninety minutes of fascinating crosstalk on the rights and wrongs of events boycotting destinations because of their laws ensued. From PCMA…

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Ten Ways to Make Your Business Event Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive

Keeping events diverse and inclusive often means thinking about issues like age, mental and physical ability, culture, religion, gender identity or language. But how can organisers deliver on diversity, equity, access and inclusion? Arinex Managing Director Nicole Walker offers ten tips for holding a more inclusive event. From Association Meetings International…

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