Sally Beerworth and Caroline Fleming from Good Talent Media share best practices on how organisations can move from reactive to proactive advocacy, to turn good ideas into impactful influence: For associations and not-for-profits, advocacy isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s essential to delivering on our mission. These days, making your voice heard feels like shouting…
From AMI: The campaign will throw a spotlight on how IAPCO members can help associations through governance support, driving advocacy, and creating outcomes that matter. Martin Boyle, CEO of IAPCO, said: “Associations deserve the highest standards and IAPCO accreditation is that guarantee. From strategic guidance and content curation to logistical precision and compliance expertise…
For all those confused about the roles and aspirations of the umbrella organisations that aim to provide global leadership for our industry (and our Alphabet Soup of business event associations!), Kai Hattendorf’s article is a must-read: Global Meetings Industry Day to move from US Travel Association to EIC—an alignment, or a strategic power play?
Mark your calendars for 5 May 2026, when the next iteration of this global report is issued (superseding the 2023 edition) on Global Meetings Industry Day, the global advocacy programme championed by Events Industry Council. This is the most authoritative global estimate of “above the waterline” economic impact of event expenditure by delegates and organisers….
Business NSW’s gain is also a win for the Business Events sector, recognising the importance of meetings in a destination’s economic strategy… Business NSW is pleased to welcome Lyn Lewis-Smith OAM GAICD to the Board, appointed as a director on 1 September 2025. Lyn has served as a Business NSW State Councillor since February and…
From Boardroom: Sven Bossu, CEO of AIPC, unpacks the complexities and challenges of advocacy within the meetings industry. Drawing from first-hand experience and real-world examples, he explores why a structured, consistent approach is essential to making the industry’s voice heard—especially at the policy level.
Hattendorf argues that government support is vital for SME participation in international trade fairs, and is critical for many early-stage export-oriented companies’ success. We now have evidence of what happens when the government funding tap is turned off (in UK) and clear ROI data for schemes that have been consistently running for decades (in Germany).
From Boardroom: As the European Green Deal is shaping various sectors in the continent, associations need to step up their game for advocacy and actively lead their sectors towards transformation. Few have risen to that challenge with the clarity and collaborative ambition of the European Boating Industry (EBI), which has just been awarded the 2025…
Ex-UFI CEO turned industry thought-leader Kai Hattendorf was ubiquitous at this year’s IMEX, challenging the industry to up its game in terms of global advocacy, arguing that this is even more critical than ever during a time of geopolitical flux and uncertainty, and then eloquently demonstrating in a series of interviews how to frame the…
From Thoughts & Observations on Business Events with Kai Hattendorf: Today is the 10th “Global Exhibitions Day”. It was launched in 2016 by UFI to bring together many actors across the trade show ecosystem that had been mulling a joint advocacy activity for a while. Now, every year, exhibition professionals in more than 100 countries…
The Australian Business Events Association (ABEA) broke new ground when it successfully brought all industry organisations and stakeholders under one umbrella organisation. In so doing, its CEO, Melissa Brown, has the mandate to craft the message conveyed to government – across all departments. As its chair, Peter King, reminded The Iceberg when the association was…
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