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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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Big Questions, Difficult Answers: Meetings and Climate Change

The looming threat of climate change poses huge questions for the international meetings industry, particularly for high profile global events under intense media scrutiny like COP24, the World Economic Forum and the UN Climate Change Conference. But does the sector itself have the answers, and how is it approaching the problem? From Association Meetings International…

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GMID 2019: Legacies Created by the Global Meetings Industry

From campaigns in Atlanta and New York combating  human trafficking, to a visit to Washington DC and Capitol Hill sharing the sector’s economic value with members of Congress, the global meetings industry came together on April 4th at events all around the world to create legacies for Global Meetings Industry Day. 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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London Meetings Set for Brexit Boom, Says Industry MD

London’s meeting industry will see a Brexit boom whatever happens. That’s according to etc.venues MD Alastair Stewart, who is refreshingly optimistic amid the current political turmoil and uncertainty. He sees substantial change as inevitable, and with change comes the need for meetings to address it. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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International Women’s Day 2019: An Australian Events Perspective

Australian event and conference management company Arinex has worked with several associations ahead of International Women’s Day to empower women. Among the company’s events is the annual awards dinner (pictured above) of Australia’s National Association for Women in Construction. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Jill Manley: Women in Events, ICC Wales, ROI, Wellbeing and Brexit

2019’s International Women’s Day is aiming to leave behind the legacy of a more gender-balanced world. Jill Manley, Business Development Director at ICC Wales, looks at the role of women in the meetings industry. All of the senior sales directors and managers at ICC Wales are female. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Panels Not Manels IV: Inviting Only Women Speakers

How hard has the art of putting together panels become in an age more finely attuned to gender inequality? In the run up to International Women’s Day, a conference came under fire for being too sure it was booking panels, not manels. It invited only women scientists to speak. From PCMA…

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Thinking Before Using: Creating the Ethos of a Sustainable Venue

London’s 15Hatfields was set up as a sustainable venue in 2008, avoiding single-use plastics from day one. The venue needed to find a general manager who could embody this environmentally-minded ethos. Warren Campbell has been helping clients embrace sustainability in Central London ever since. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Advocacy: Clear Goals, Good Storytelling and Industry Coalition

The Iceberg sits at the heart of the advocacy that the meetings industry makes to the world outside. But how do those who represent and defend the sector see their role? The views here include those of two Iceberg partners: IMEX Manager Natasha Richards and European Cities Marketing President Dieter Hardt-Stremayr. From Conference & Incentive Management…

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US Visa Entry in the Trump Era: A Growing Challenge for Events

The TED Radio Hour just interviewed Yassmin Abdel-Magied, an Australian author, TV personality, and founder of Youth Without Borders. In April 2018 Abdel-Magied traveled to the US to speak at an event, but was denied entry because her country of birth, Sudan, was on President Trump’s original travel ban. From PCMA…

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First M&IT Survey of Mental Health Reveals Industry on the Edge

An Iceberg partner’s first ever mental health survey received responses from event professionals struggling to stay afloat. The results reinforce the much-referenced CareerCast survey from 2017 that ranked event planner as the fifth most stressful job in the world, beaten only by roles in the emergency services and military. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Designing Legacy: The Meetings Approach Across Africa

The legacy of events is best pictured as an iceberg, as this website should certainly know! Design Indaba, held annually in Cape Town, is extending the legacy it creates for participating SMMEs through four simulcasts of its conference. Natasha Skoryk looks at the impact of business events on destinations and the meetings industry itself. From the Event…

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Meetings Accessibility: True Colours Shines Through in Singapore

Iceberg partners BestCities Global Alliance and GainingEdge recently published a report on accessibility in meetings (see Research). It featured real-life examples of events, hosted in BestCities’ destinations, that make inclusivity for those with disabilities a key focus. The True Colours Festival held in Singapore last March was one such case study. From PCMA…

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ICC Sydney’s Geoff Donaghy: CSR, Legacy and Hosting Sibos

The place of corporate social responsibility, the importance of incorporating legacy, plus the recent hosting of Sibos, are all among the subjects discussed by ICC Sydney CEO and AEG Ogden Director Convention Centres Geoff Donaghy, as his venue prepares for its busiest year ever after a successful run of events in 2018. From Boardroom…

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