Geoff Donaghy, ICC Sydney CEO, AEG Ogden Director Convention Centres and Iceberg Ambassador, just joined a panel at IMEX Frankfurt on placemaking (pictured). Here he discusses how an event precinct can sit at the heart of any destination’s placemaking strategy to drive its economic, cultural and social growth. From Geoff Donaghy via LinkedIn…
At IMEX Frankfurt last week the usual sector promotion and celebration was clearly on display. Concern about the industry’s future, though, was also common in discussion, particularly on sustainability and the health of group bookings overall. The former has become an area of increasing focus, with the aim of reducing future political risk. From Skift…
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…
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…
Business and professional events are key to economic and social transformation. South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, confirmed as much at Meetings Africa 2019, held recently in Sandton, Johannesburg. Minister Hanekom acknowledged the contribution to tourism numbers from business events but emphasised that the legacies of events in healthcare and economic development were where…
The Greek capital is targeting small and medium-sized international conventions with “know-how and financial resources”. So said Alexis Galinos, MD of ADDMA (the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency), at the 9th Hellenic Association of Professional Congress Organisers conference. Athens is currently 26th in ICCA city rankings. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
400 participants from 40 countries have gathered in Madrid for the World Hospital at Home Congress, the first event of its kind. Dr. Bruce Allen Leff, the event co-chair, said: “We talked a lot about the HaH community that this meeting has helped to build, but with this congress, we became a tribe”. From PCMA…
The Easter Sunday bomb attacks carried out in Sri Lanka have “directly implicated” International Congress and Convention Association hotel members, according to ICCA CEO, Sri Lanka-born Senthil Gopinath. As a gesture of solidarity, Gopinath has announced that ICCA will pay its respects to the victims during a chapter meeting at IMEX Frankfurt. From Association Meetings International…
The Palais des congrès de Montréal has announced that it is joining the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As well as making daily efforts to reduce its environmental footprint, the venue has also become one of the first centres in the Americas to say its building will be going carbon neutral. From Boardroom…
For the first time, the total economic impact of exhibitions around the world has been calculated by Iceberg partner UFI, the industry’s global association. With an output of $325 billion in business sales every year, the sector matches many industries, and ranks equal to the 56th largest economy in the world. From the Event…
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…
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…
To quantify the economic significance of exhibitions globally, Oxford Economics has prepared a comprehensive model of global exhibitions activity that references recent studies on their economic significance. The results of this study show the scope of the global exhibition sector in terms of direct spending and jobs, as well as the total impacts of exhibitions…
First announced in February, the #MEET4IMPACT Project is the brainchild of Geneviève Leclerc, Founder of Caravelle Strategies. Along with several partners, the initiative is creating a framework to support the generation and measurement of association meetings’ social impacts. More details have now been unveiled about the approaches being taken. From Boardroom…
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