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No Pressure for a PCO: World Peace v. Fire and Fury

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo may have met North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, but we now know that President Trump’s face-to-face with the Supreme Leader on June 12th won’t take place. Before it was officially cancelled, one Iceberg partner pondered the pressures for organisers of such meetings. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…

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The JMIC Summit: Giving Business Events a Global Voice

The Iceberg revels in the complex cross-networking of its industry association partners. Recently the Chief Marketing Officer of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence attended his first Joint Meetings Industry Council summit in Hannover, Germany. Here he is with the confessions and impressions of a JMIC virgin. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…

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Cape Town Water Legacies: “Never Waste a Good Crisis”

Despite being a coastal city, Cape Town is fighting the worst drought in its history and has come close to actually running out of water. But even before the problem turned critical, water-related conferences were identifying opportunities for creating legacies in the destination. “Never waste a good crisis” has become the apt motto. From Boardroom…

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Istanbul ICCA Rankings: The Second Fall of Constantinople

In 2016 Turkey’s largest city Istanbul claimed eighth spot in ICCA’s much-trumpeted city rankings. Today it is in 133rd place. Over the past 24 months the city has suffered deadly terrorist attacks, a failed coup, and a series of purges against its citizens, including teachers, journalists and lawyers. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…

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Canada: Four City Destinations and their Ambassadors

Last year Toronto hosted 951 meetings and events that attracted 400,000 delegates and generated $634 million for the local economy. But business events are too often overlooked in the wider accounting of tourism impact across Canada, as are the ambassador programmes that bring in such meetings to Canadian destinations. From BNN Bloomberg…

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IMEX 2018: Five Themes for the Meetings Industry

IMEX 2018 is currently underway in Frankfurt. One of the greatest meetings industry exhibitions, the event also showcases key trends and advancements in the sector. The Iceberg’s favourite topic, legacy, is the main theme this year, but also making headlines are: event tech, wellness, live and experiential, and CSR and sustainability. From tmf dialogue marketing…

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Government Bidding: Australia’s AU$12m National Bid Fund

The announcement of the Australian Government’s AU$12 million national bid fund is a major turning point for the business events industry. Tourism Australia’s unit Business Events Australia will oversee the fund, which has been made possible in no small part by Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steve Ciobo. From CIM News Magazine…

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Amazon: Is Not Speaking Smart?

Amazon’s smart speakers like the Echo and Echo Dot may be always listening. But the company itself has very firm ideas about how meetings are run, and they begin with up to thirty minutes of silence. Is the business that made Jeff Bezos the world’s wealthiest man onto something? From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…

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Gothenburg: A Big-time City for Big Events

Seasoned meetings industry veterans always take pleasure in discovering any destination unfairly overlooked. For one Iceberg partner a new find is the Swedish seaport of Gothenburg. Hotel Svenska Massan / Gothia Towers recently held a centenary event for customers from all over Europe “that combined intelligence with stardust”. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…

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ICC Sydney: Formalising Legacy Creation

“Legacy” is the talking point not just of The Iceberg but also of the IMEX Group’s 2018 events. So as the global industry gathers in Frankfurt, The Iceberg is reposting thoughts on legacy published earlier this year by ICC Sydney CEO Geoff Donaghy. In 2017 the venue unveiled a multi-streamed legacy programme. From Geoff Donaghy via LinkedIn…

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The Gender Agenda: An End to All-Male Panels?

Despite a recent report that men give more than twice as many talks than women at scientific conferences, there are signs that female-to-male ratios are improving at some events. One of the best strategies for tackling the gender agenda is to include women as part of the team that selects speakers. From PCMA Convene…

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Fam Trips: The Case for Upper and Lower

While The Iceberg prefers to write “familiarisation trips”, the rest of the industry seems to stick with the shorter “fam trips”, or sometimes the capital “FAM trips”. Which should be considered correct? One of our more particular partners places the use of that shift key under the microscope. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…

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Child’s Play II: A World Economic Forum Legacy

The Iceberg has previously covered the legacy created by Calgary for the International Play Association World Conference. Now delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, have also taken time out to talk about play. Unilever, LEGO Foundation and IKEA Group founded the Real Play Coalition in partnership with National Geographic. From PCMA Convene…

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Scheduling: Better Late Than Early?

As meeting marketers try to turn prospective participants into registered attendees, it might seem that publishing a complete schedule early would be more than helpful. But in a fast moving knowledge sector, like that of the American Association of Cancer Research’s Annual Meeting, this can become a game of juggling crystal balls. From PCMA…

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Three Key Questions: The USPs of PCOs

At the recent International Association of Professional Congress Organisers Annual Meeting in Tokyo, an Iceberg partner asked four distinguished industry voices – including IAPCO’s new president – what value a PCO brings to the table for associations, what sector trends they were seeing, and how they saw the importance of IAPCO certification. From Boardroom…

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An Olympic Legacy: Korean Rapprochement

Even before the leaders of North and South Korea shook hands over the Demilitarized Zone border, plans were already being made for a possible meeting between Kim Jong-un and US President Trump. Is this political coup the legacy of an event: the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang? From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…

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