Many DMOs (Destination Marketing Organisations) have started to realise the true value of meetings and are tracking the social outcomes they deliver. Some governments include business events as part of policy. Karen Bolinger, Strategic Advisor at Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance, talks “beyond tourism” legacies. From City / Nation / Place…
A recent Twitter #Expochat devoted an entire session to the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on US and global exhibitions. Industry leaders including Kai Hattendorf, MD and CEO of Iceberg partner UFI, talked through the shows being cancelled or seeing major absences from their Chinese delegations. Far more are going ahead than not. From UFI…
Often legacies we leave behind are not as much under our control as we might like. Stylianos Filopoulos, Board Member of the European Society of Association Executives, argues that association leaders are not the sole drivers of association legacy, but caretakers who protect the vision that inspires and unites members and stakeholders. From Boardroom…
Profit and productivity rank high when buyers of incentive travel experiences list the objectives of their programmes. Except that isn’t the whole story. There’s a powerful narrative emerging around other objectives incentive travel sets out to achieve which has little to do with tangible metrics. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
The Iceberg is now identifying and celebrating the greater mass of hard-to-see business events legacies that lie hidden beneath the surface in a new podcast “Below the Waterline”. In the fifth of a series featuring significant meetings industry players, Iceberg founder James Latham catches up with Talley Management Group President and CEO Gregg Talley. Gregg…
Copenhagen’s strong life sciences sector has proved to be fertile ground for researchers in reproduction, with the city winning the 36th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. The event is expected to attract 10,000 experts on infertility and reproduction to the Bella Center this July. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Japan is hosting a “smart farming” conference this year as its manufacturers use technology to improve yield efficiencies in the sector. The International Conference on Agricultural Internet of Things and Smart Farming is being held this April in Tokyo. It comes as the Osaka-based Kubota Corporation has unveiled a fully autonomous tractor. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
The IRF 2020 Trends Report highlights key trends that will affect organizations, their products and services, and the workforce in 2020. From enhancing program reporting to embracing the experience economy, the study identifies key areas of change and their implications for workforce engagement, incentive travel and recognition. The IRF 2020 Trends Report (IRF website version)
Travel restrictions are in force across the globe as the number of cases of novel coronavirus continues to grow worldwide and the death toll within China mounts. The outbreak is now disrupting meetings all across the region. A UN biodiversity meeting was relocated. IT&CM China and CTW China have been postponed. From Association Meetings International…
The Events Industry Council recently held a webinar “Industry Discussion on Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV): Identifying Reliable Sources and Factors for Informed Decision Making”. The conversation centred on how organisers should approach the choices about whether or not to postpone or cancel an event. Photo: Huangdan2060. From PCMA…
Homeless hackathons, like those being held this year in Edinburgh, Montreal, Barcelona, Dundee and London, are one way for meetings to tackle this pressing social issue. The MD of organiser Gallus Events recently had a personal experience of homelessness outside COP25, the UN Climate Change Conference, in Madrid. From Association Meetings International…
The Iceberg recently published German Convention Bureau MD Matthias Schultze’s views about the multisite BOCOM conference being held this April. As the coronavirus crisis devastates the whole global meetings industry, this borderless communication event’s approach could perhaps not be more timely. From Matthias Schultze via LinkedIn…
Both the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild served meatless meals during their award ceremonies this January. Meatless meals were also served up at Convening Leaders in San Francisco, sponsored by Iceberg partner IMEX. There are many good reasons to go meatless, but it’s not always easy getting attendees to stomach the idea. From PCMA…
As global leaders form strategies to contain the spread of coronavirus, so also must event managers and owners. Four distinct requirements are critical to meet. That’s according to Sylvia André, the Vice President for Marketing and Communications at Iceberg partner MCI. The article links to Professional Convention Management Association resources on coronavirus. From PCMA…
“Conference shame” was the term used in a Bloomberg article about the threat to events of “the Greta effect”. So the sector now needs to get its “game face” on. Partners of the Iceberg IMEX, Positive Impact and GDS-Index have already done so. Photo: World Economic Forum / Manuel Lopez. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
2020 began with disturbing images of burnt koalas and fears of their “imminent extinction”. Climate change has played a role in the catastrophic and unprecedented early fire season, and the meeting industry can take a lead in tackling this universal issue. Paula Blomster of MPI’s European Advisory Council explains. From Association Meetings International…
Over 500 senior oil and gas executives will visit Nairobi in March with Kenya poised to become a hub of oil and gas exploration. The sixth edition East Africa Oil & Gas Summit & Exhibition will bring together government officials, national oil companies and investors to examine significant opportunities across the region. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
With the WHO declaring coronavirus a public health emergency, and with airlines suspending their flights to China, conference managers are having to cancel, delay or relocate their meetings in the country. One professional congress organiser said his clients were exercising “extreme caution” because of the crisis. From Association Meetings International…
ExCeL London is partnering with the London Academy of Excellence, a sixth form centre in local Stratford. The venue has contributed to LAE’s Hardship and Opportunities Fund to assist with visits that raise student aspirations. CEO Jeremy Rees called it “part of ExCeL London’s lasting legacy for the local community”. From Boardroom…
Seven national and international organisations have already signed contracts to hold events in the $288 million Oklahoma City Convention Center, scheduled to open at the end of 2020. Together the bookings account for more than 37,000 room nights and an estimated $20 million of direct economic impact. From Meetings & Conventions…
Iceberg partner IMEX Group has announced that its fourth annual “Talking Point” will address the power of “Nature” and include IMEX’s largest ever research study. The theme will run for two years not one, with the research being lead by Guy Bigwood, MD of Iceberg partner the Global Destination Sustainability Index. From Meetings International…
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