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Matthias Schultze, the Managing Director of the German Convention Bureau, is adamant that meetings and events’ environmental impact on the world needs to be addressed in their design. Here he discusses Germany’s approach to sustainability and findings on its importance in GCB’s Meeting & Event Barometer. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Industry demand for female keynote speakers has more than trebled in five years, according to bureau Speakers Corner. In 2018 female presenters and moderators made up 35 percent of bookings, from just ten percent back in 2013. Younger speakers are also in favour, with growing demand for “the wisdom of youth”. From Association Meetings International…
Back in 2014, meetings and events industry veteran Fay Sharpe began Fast Forward 15, a mentoring programme to give 15 female professionals a voice in the industry. The scheme includes one-to-one sessions, group workshops and a graduation ceremony, held this year on board the Silver Sturgeon on the River Thames. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Harrogate Convention Centre in Yorkshire has hosted more than 320 suppliers from UK and Ireland at the ExploreGB event, together with at least 250 international organisations from 31 countries. Peter Dodd, the Commercial Director of Welcome to Yorkshire, offers a north of England events perspective. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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…
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…
Lyn Lewis-Smith, CEO of Business Events Sydney, recently joined a Trans-Tasman Business Circle’s #womenintechontour visiting San Francisco and Silicon Valley to gather intelligence on the skills and talent attraction strategies of US multinational corporations. Global meeting attendees present a ripe opportunity that is currently being overlooked. From Lyn Lewis-Smith via LinkedIn…
The recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka have devastated a country enjoying resurgent tourism since the end of civil war a decade ago. It is crucial that the international community, especially in incentive travel, does not abandon the destination. Rajeev Kohli is joint MD of Creative Travel DMC, which has operations in Sri Lanka. From PCMA…
Recently almost sixty incentive travel professionals took planes, trains and automobiles from sixteen countries to Verbier, Switzerland, to attend the inaugural Society of Incentive Travel Excellence’s SITE Incentive Summit Europe. SITE’s Chief Marketing Officer now reports on the four day alpine excursion of connections, education and destination discovery. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
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…
As event organisers attract bigger audiences, they can outgrow the centres that once hosted them. But expansion of those venues is a tall order since most involve public funding. Getting buy-in for major investment may mean navigating a complex political maze, wrangling support, and explaining why a centre matters to a city’s economy. From PCMA…
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…
A global initiative to address plastic use at events has just been launched by Iceberg partner Positive Impact, supported by the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The campaign is collecting usage data as well as encouraging the switch to alternative materials, and began when the two organisations’ CEOs met at a conference. From PCMA…
School computer labs across rural Sarawak, Malaysia, will be benefitting after convention organisers and their delegates complete surveys from the Sarawak Convention Bureau. Sarawak CB will be making a donation for each returned form to the Chumbaka Junior Innovate Fund. By Jane Vong Holmes, Senior Manager Asia, at Iceberg Partner GainingEdge (second left). Many of the world’s…
In advance of the Business Visits and Events Focus North conference in Leeds, organiser John Gallery has been making the case that the north of England offers meetings industry planners good value for money. Some of the region’s destination marketing organisations are also aligning economic development ambitions with events in target sectors. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Associations World Congress has just taken place in Gothenburg, Sweden. After an opening forum for medical associations, with a keynote on collaboration from Volvo, a new format encouraged delegates to move freely between content streams. Highlights included sessions about governance, communications and also the association of the future. From Boardroom…
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