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Manchester: A Light That Never Goes Out

The horrific suicide bombing at a concert in Manchester Arena was the deadliest terror attack in the UK for almost twelve years. In weeks to come it will pose tough questions for venue operators and the rest of the industry. But the days immediately following the outrage were for reflection and solidarity. Photo: Tomasz Kozlowski. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…

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IMEX 2017: Final Day, Final Thoughts

IMEX is now over for another year. The last day may be like Sunday at the Glastonbury Festival – perhaps with slightly less mud – but in amongst the networking frenzy and preparations for a return to reality, take a quiet moment to appreciate IMEX’s spiritual home… the German city of Frankfurt. From the editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…

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The Impact of Changing MedTech Regulation on Conferences

US medical conferences are currently braced for impact as a result of changes to the rules under which European medical technology suppliers operate. Not only may delegate numbers be badly hit, the medtech companies themselves may also be less willing to attend and exhibit at events when they can no longer sponsor delegations. From PCMA Convene…

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EU Referendum Take 2

With the UK Prime Minister Theresa May just having called an early general election, a viral BBC interview highlights the electoral fatigue Britain is now feeling after the outcome of its Brexit ballot. But perhaps Brits – including the UK meetings industry – should consider the June poll a second referendum on EU membership… and vote accordingly. From the editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…

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United Airlines: Supporting Passenger Rights

Another view on the United Airlines Flight 3411 debacle tackles the story from a US passenger rights – rather than reputation management – perspective. The Business Travel Coalition’s Kevin Mitchell argues that the legal protections available to passengers need strengthening. He advocates supporting the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights sponsored by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. From Meetings & Conventions…

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United Airlines: While My Guitar Gently Weeps

As lawyers now tuck into the meal United Airlines just made of what should have been an instant and profuse apology, the sorry story of Flight 3411 already merits its own chapter in textbooks of bad brand management. But the carrier has history here: a musical tragedy that became a hit YouTube video. From Martin Lewis at Meetpie.com…

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Why Meetings Industry ROI Measurement is Futile

Here are some controversial thoughts about that alluring and elusive butterfly… return on investment. No sooner do we get really near to it than it flutters away out of reach. So is it time for to rethink calculating the ROI of meetings and events… or would that indeed give much of the industry butterflies? From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…

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Face-to-Face Meetings: Five Reasons We Need Them

To celebrate Global Meetings Industry Day 2017, INCON has collected five views from its partners around the world on why organising face-to-face meetings is as popular and successful as clearly it is. ORTRA’s Galit Shimshoni, DEKON Group’s Michael Kern, MCI’s Robin Lokerman, Arinex’s Roslyn McLeod and AIM Group International’s Patrizia Semprebene Buongiorno all contribute. An INCON Expert Guide…  

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Learning Rethought

Death to death by PowerPoint! These days learning needs to become engaging and experiential. So absolutely critical to knowledge transfer moving forward are… making content available online, using technology to encourage interaction, establishing networks, adjusting venue configurations and making it emotional. Some further thoughts on future trends from German Convention Bureau Managing Director Matthias Schultze…

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Addressing the Individual: Four Key Sector Developments

Here are four emerging industry trends seriously worth bearing in mind for future meetings and events… and how to address them. Contending for your consideration: understanding the changing needs of so-called millenials, also of so-called silverpreneurs, customising for the individual… and making use of the sharing economy. From German Convention Bureau Managing Director Matthias Schultze…

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Mind-to-Mind Can Deliver More Impact than Face-to-Face

With the German Convention Bureau now a partner of The Iceberg, here is the first of several opinions from Managing Director Matthias Schultze. He argues it is time to move beyond the term “face-to-face” and to describe next level business and professional events – and their impacts and outcomes – more accurately as “mind-to-mind” meetings. From the German Convention Bureau…

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Subvention and Demonstrating Legacy

Could the requirement of demonstrating wider legacies to receive the sweetener of subvention encourage event organisers better to measure outcomes for their own stakeholders? The Seoul Convention Bureau is now favouring applications for financial assistance from meetings committed to local sourcing and to improving the environment. From editor James Lancaster’s blog at Association Meetings International…

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Breaking Down Walls: Next Gen Business Events Redefine Legacy

PCMA’s Convening Leaders, the world leading educational conference for business event strategists, selected the “organised bohemia” of Austin, Texas, for its 2017 edition. The event is renowned for challenging the established best practice of event design and joins other revolutionaries including South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, C2Montreal, TEDex in Longbeach, and Falling Walls in Berlin  – which have all re-shaped the content and community…

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Dubai Expo 2020’s Legacy Plans

  Dubai’s hosting of the next World Expo – which will bring together 180 nations and perhaps 25 million visitors – is of course right at the centre of its event planning. But the emirate isn’t just thinking about what will be taking place between October 2020 and April 2021. It is also planning what will be happening after the Expo is over….

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Why It’s Important to Tell the Story

Borneo’s orangutans are among the beneficiaries of two corporate social responsibility programmes that were part of the recent ICCA Congress in Kuching, Sarawak. Now the wider outcomes the event delivered will be part of a new study measuring its impact. By Jane Vong Holmes, ICCA Asia Pacific Chapter Deputy Chair and Senior Manager Asia, GainingEdge. In many parts of Asia, although the interest is…

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Dubai’s Knowledge Economy Drive

  Dubai is well known to international travellers as a glamorous and luxurious playground. But it is also a thriving regional hub with a defined and strategic vision of its future… and of the significant part professional and business events will play in this development. In an exclusive video recorded for The Iceberg at the recent BestCities Global Forum, Steen Jakobsen – Director of Dubai Business Events – discusses the emirate’s diversification from a historical reliance on oil towards…

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