Dr Mike Duigan from the Centre for Events & Festivals clarifies how two very different but equally powerful conceptual frameworks – Theory of Change and Field Configuring Events – can be used in tandem to generate practical, lasting transformation, both in host destinations and more generally in service of the event-owning organisation’s mission.
There are plenty of thought-provoking insights and useful lessons for Business Events professionals from the parallel universe of music, culture and the creative economy, in this White Paper style report produced by specialist agency Sound Diplomacy.
Hip replacements in Africa, domestic violence abatement in Mongolia, autism inclusivity, First People’s engagement, public health structural transformation – the wide-ranging case studies highlighted in this Boardroom article have one thing in common: a shift from “recognising” the impact of events, to partnerships between organisers and destinations that proactively plan for positive outcomes and long-term…
Association-Destination-Matching platfom Conferli has conducted in-depth research that obtained data on subvention policies and practices at 115 destinations worldwide, revealing wide variations in decision-making, scale of financial support, and regional utilisation. Over 90% of respondents agreed with the prompt that subventions could be used to drive forward sustainability and destination legacy objectives, yet only 6%…
Gothenburg used the city’s progressive social objectives and programmes, its membership of WHO’s Age Friendly Cities & Communities network, and the city’s 400th anniversary to successfully bid to host the 2024 World Masters Athletics Championship. The result: inspiration for local citizens to live healthier lives, lifelong friendships forged amongst the over 8,000 athletes in categories…
Prof Mike Duignan deconstructs the academically rigorous structure underpinning Destination Canada, #MEET4IMPACT and GainingEdge’s multi-year, multi-event impact research project, which is leading the way in developing insights on the key determinants and best models for measuring societal, scientific and business impacts. The five Vs are: Volume of data; Variety of sources; Velocity with which data…
Amelia Roziman, CEO of Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak), has been honoured with The Iceberg Excellence Award. This recognition was presented during the inaugural LEGACY360 Education in Kuching, where Amelia’s bold vision, leadership in legacy-driven event strategies, and pioneering contributions to sustainable business events were celebrated. From TTR Weekly…
Business Events advocacy veteran Rod Cameron eloquently sets out the arguments why our sector shouldn’t let the “overtourism crisis” go to waste. Business, professional and scientific events need to be clearly differentiated from leisure tourism, when communicating with the public as well as with policymakers, and now is the perfect time to do this: There…
EIA (the Event Industry Alliance) and UFI have collaborated with Oxford Economics to assess the economic impact of exhibitions in the UK for the year 2024. The report highlights the exhibition industry’s contributions to the UK’s economy, including output, GDP, and job creation, driven by participant expenditures. View / download the report here…
What if a conference could alter the trajectory of a student’s life? Influence public policy? Spark a regional movement for women’s safety or accelerate the next major scientific breakthrough? These possibilities are no longer hypothetical, they are the foundation of BESydney’s Social Impact Strategy, a pioneering framework that redefines the role of business events…
The latest edition of Sarawak’s Borneo Inspires Legacy Awards (BILA) programme celebrates the power of business and professional events to generate positive societal value | From Borneo Post: Sarawak today celebrated visionary individuals and organisations driving transformative change through business events at the Borneo Inspires Legacy Awards 2025 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching…
Vienna has a decades-long track-record of proactively harnessing its intellectual capital both to attract international meetings, and to ensure those meetings generate long-term legacies at both the local and global level. Here are some of the latest examples. From Boardroom…
A planner’s guide to making a lasting mark on attendees, companies, communities, and the environment: In this report, Skift Meetings set out to provide insights, strategies, and real-world examples to empower planners to create events that not only meet objectives but also leave a lasting positive impact on their attendees, communities, and the planet.
ICCA and BestCities Global Alliance have announced the recipients and finalists of the 2025 Incredible Impacts Programme, which recognises associations delivering transformational impact through their events. One of the three finalists for the $20,000 USD Main Grant is the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) – World Rural Health Conference (Limerick, 2022). Conference Chair, and…
Sarawak is redefining academic conferences through BESarawak’s Academia Malaysia Advocacy Programme. With universities embracing legacy-driven events aligned to PCDS 2030 and UNSDGs, and innovations like AI.LEGACY plus major infrastructure growth, Sarawak is set to become the hub where research sparks lasting societal, environmental, and economic impact. From Sarawak Tribune…
Business events have long been celebrated for their economic footprint, such as hotel bookings, venue rentals, and restaurant traffic. But what if the true power of a conference lies not in the delegate spend, but in what happens long after the lanyards are packed away? That question is at the heart of Destination Canada’s three-year…
Sarawak has once again made waves in Malaysia’s business events scene by returning to EventXpo 2025 with bigger goals and a stronger presence – reaffirming its role as Malaysia’s capital of legacy-driven business events. BESarawak unveiled LEGACY360, a legacy forum with five pillars (Advocate, Educate, Advance, Recognise, Support), and other initiatives. From BESarawak…
From Centre for Events & Festivals (CEF): Flanders outlines key steps within their strategic approach to the delivery and measurement of event-driven positive impacts on the local community and wider society. Most events still rely on economic metrics, ignoring the harder-to-measure but vital social outcomes. Flanders’ approach embeds social impact into event planning through co-creation…
The recent International Social Housing Festival (ISHF) in Dublin brought together over 2,000 delegates from across Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and Asia. The festival provided a unique platform to discuss critical housing issues like affordability, retrofitting, climate challenges, and accessibility, incorporating a powerful “tenant’s voice” project that not only created a legacy for Ireland, but…
From Wonderful Copenhagen: Comprehensive guidelines on how to design a strategic legacy programme, and how to apply the principles and practices to individual events, from identification of challenges and desired impact, designing the process, measuring the impact, with the active involvement of local policymakers. View / download Copenhagen Legacy Lab’s publications and find inspirational tools…
BestCities Global Alliance and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) have renewed their partnership through a three-year agreement to continue the annual Incredible Impacts Programme. The initiative recognises international meetings that create meaningful, enduring legacies within their host destinations and global communities. Each year, the Incredible Impacts Programme distributes two financial grants – a…
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