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A New Remote Normal: The Plans of AC Forum Member Associations

In times like the current pandemic, how can associations begin to plan for the years ahead when decisions they are taking today may no longer be valid even in the very near future? Association not-for-profit AC Forum explains how its members anticipate changes in the sector and in their events. From Boardroom…

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Birmingham ICC’s Tory Conference Hat-trick Reveals Legacy

The UK’s Conservative Party will be hosting its annual conference at Birmingham in 2022, 2024 and 2026. The event has alternated between ICC Birmingham and Manchester Central since 2008. Both used to be Labour heartlands, which shows the legacies that come from targeting a specific destination. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Not Another Industry Statement: The JMIC Global Manifesto

Months now into the COVID-19 pandemic we are awash in sector pronouncements and assertions, even if the route to recovery in this challenging situation remains rather unpredictable. But the recent global manifesto from the Joint Meetings Industry Council is a little different. So says JMIC’s Executive Director Rod Cameron…

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Associations: The New Dawn After COVID-19 There to Grasp

Associations are perfectly placed to reshape the world emerging from lockdown. They are repositories of expertise and best practice. They are trusted curators of information. They connect people all around the world and provide lifelong learning beyond university. But is this an opportunity they will grasp? From Association Meetings International…

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Fiona Pelham: JMIC’s Manifesto and Making Events Sustainable

The webinar that The Iceberg just produced on JMIC’s Manifesto for Economic Recovery Using Business Events contained a section on the document promoting the use of business events as a means of addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Fiona Pelham, the CEO of Iceberg partner Positive Impact Events, picks up that baton. COVID-19 has changed the…

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Geneviève Leclerc: Business Events and a New Social Contract

During COVID-19 the meetings industry has pivoted to serve the community. Venues have become field hospitals, logistics networks have shipped personal protective equipment, and surplus food has also been donated. A new social contract is being written, explains Geneviève Leclerc, CEO of Iceberg partner #MEET4IMPACT. From European Cities Marketing…

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Review of the JMIC Manifesto Webinar: Historic or Déjà Vu?

The Iceberg has just hosted a webinar built around the JMIC Manifesto for Economic Recovery Using Business Events. This review says the packaging may have been “inflated”, but that the content was “laser-focused”, and that the main speaker Prof. Greg Clark (left) was “supernaturally articulate”. How unified is the sector? From Association Meetings International…

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Martin Sirk: Reopening Business Events Both Globally and Locally

Martin Sirk, of both Sirk Serendipity and Global Association Hubs, an Iceberg partner, has thoughts on how some countries will be more successful at reopening business events than others. International events can only reopen at the pace of the slowest participating country to get their COVID-19 under local control. From Association Meetings International…

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The Deep Dive Podcast: Jane Cunningham on Meaningful Meetings

Jane Cunningham (second left) is Director of Community Engagement for Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance, and Global Ambassador for the Joint Industry Meeting Council. In this new Deep Dive podcast, AMI Editor James Lancaster asks Jane how associations and destinations best collaborate. From Association Meetings International…

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Wetlands Conference Prompts Legacies in Host New Zealand

A New Zealand conference where experts will discuss protecting the earth’s precious wetlands is being held up as an example of the great positive impact of business events upon society. The 11th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference is being staged in October 2021 at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…

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Coronavirus: Freeman Launches Meetings Hygiene Report

Once in-person meetings are taking place again, health and hygiene are going to be top priority. In “The New Normal: Considerations for Business Events in a Post-COVID-19 World” experts from agency Freeman offer ideas, processes and protocols that guarantee the safety of controlled business events. From Associations Now…

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Coronavirus: Asia’s Business Events to Rebound First

Asia’s business events industry has the potential to rebound faster than that of other continents, but being able to conduct business safely is important. So said the panellists at a Global MICE Situation in the Time of the Pandemic webinar, among them regional managers from the Iceberg partners ICCA and UFI. From Meetings International…

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Coronavirus: Freeman CEO Bob Priest-Heck Talks Go LIVE Together

In April the event agency Freeman joined up with eighty other industry leaders to form Go LIVE Together as a response to COVID-19’s impact on live events. One month on Freeman CEO Bob Priest-Heck discusses the importance of advocacy, the status of government funding, and hopes for the future of the industry. From BizBash…

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Coronavirus: Aberdeen Proffers Energy Alliance Advice on Collaboration

Aberdeen Convention and Events Bureau’s Graeme Mackay, Senior Business Development Executive, sees collaboration as the best way to navigate the current pandemic. The Scottish seaport is part of the Energy Cities Alliance (along with Abu Dhabi, Calgary, Lausanne and Stavanger), an example of just such collaboration in action. From Boardroom…

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Coronavirus: Profound Reordering to Come, GAHP’s Martin Sirk

The Iceberg is sorely missing a wide range of cancelled industry events. We’re also sorely missing the cheery Martin Sirk selfie posted from all of them. Fortunately, the International Advisor of our partner the Global Association Hubs Partnership has recorded a podcast. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…    

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Coronavirus: Lessons in Scottish Patience: We Will Wait For You

Ancient King of Scotland Robert the Bruce once learned a lesson about patience watching a spider spinning its web. Now modern Scotland has sent a clear message to the world’s business events community in the wake of the country’s coronavirus lockdown: “we will wait for you”. From Boardroom…

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