Postponed a few times for obvious reasons after having been staged online in 2020, the GIAF (Geneva International Association Forum) was the first physical association event of the kind post-lockdown. Delegates were certainly happy to be together again seeing old friends and making new ones. But the event programme also did not disappoint. From Boardroom…
Michelle Mason heads up Iceberg partner ASAE as President and CEO. After she “stumbled into association management”, as a temporary staff assistant at what is now called the American Chemistry Council, Mason has climbed the ranks, transforming any barriers into opportunities and using her platform to raise others who are underrepresented. From PCMA…
Business and Events Academy Creator Nadia Rubtsova once worked for the European Health Management Association. Back in 2019, the scientific conference of EHMA was taking place in Espoo, Finland. After a year of hard work, the organiser’s guiding Northern stars for the meeting’s three days and 350 delegates were legacy, community and impact. From Boardroom…
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society held its 2021 Global Health Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas with a vaccine mandate. The event drew over 700 exhibitors and close to 19,000 in person delegates by the end, with almost as many attending online. Here’s more on how HIMSS managed the vaccine policy. From PCMA…
An exploration of how the COVID crisis has impacted the meetings industry, Iceberg partner Maritz Global Events’ five-part podcast “Events UnPaused”, presented by President David Peckinpaugh, is chock-full of insights. The final episode is called “The Future of Events and Where the Industry Is Going”. From PCMA…
The 60th Annual ICCA Congress will take the global association meetings industry to Cartagena in Colombia under the banner “Forward to our Future”. The Iceberg partner event established the Kaohsiung Protocol (pictured), a framework document for the industry, in 2020, and 2021 maintains a collaborative approach to reinventing business operations. From the Event…
The intersecting crises of the pandemic, climate change and increasing inequality are compelling associations to repurpose and serve not just their members but society itself as well. This includes making commitments about sustainability, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). From Boardroom…
Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory will host from 800 to 1,200 international delegates for the World Conference on Ecological Restoration in 2023. The meeeting, secured by NT Business Events, the Darwin Convention Centre and the Society of Ecological Restoration Australia, will leave an important legacy across the world’s damaged ecosystems. From AMI Intellectual Capitals..
The pandemic offers an opportunity for the business events industry to reinvent itself, according to a recently published white paper jointly presented by PCMA, Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, Singapore Tourism Board, and Iceberg partner UFI, global association of the exhibition industry. But the paper, Reimagining Business Events Through COVID-19 and Beyond doesn’t make light of…
Hopin has raised $450 million in Series D investment. Since February 2020, the virtual meetings platform has raised over $1 billion in all. The new round values Hopin, formed in 2019, at $7.75 billion. It has scaled from six to over 800 employees in over 47 countries since the start of 2020. From Conference News…
Many association event workers accept the benefits of holding hybrid meetings but believe barriers are too high to run them well. A report from Eventsforce, which looks at hybrid association events plus challenges and opportunities they bring, reveals that 49 percent are unsure if hybrid has much of a future for them. From Association Meetings International…
Delegates hoping to attend an association conference in Europe may be asked to produce a “COVID pass” as more governments impose restrictions on unvaccinated people meeting indoors. The rapid spread of the Delta variant has spooked leaders kickstarting their battered economies while protecting the gains made by the vaccines. From Association Meetings International…
The pandemic offers a chance for the global business events sector to reinvent itself. So says a white paper and recovery roadmap just jointly released by PCMA, the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, Singapore Tourism Board, as well as Iceberg partner UFI. But the paper also details havoc already wreaked upon the industry. From PCMA…
Event sustainability group isla has launched proseed, billed as the first universal framework for delivering sustainable meetings. Launched in September 2020 in response to the climate crisis, isla’s twelve founding members have since grown to over 75, with a mix of brands, agencies, venues and event suppliers. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The UK government’s full Events Research Programme report was finally published following mounting pressure from the industry and MPs. Phase I recorded only 28 COVID-19 cases across nine pilot events with 58,000 participants. The Liverpool business event pilot chosen, Change Business for Good (pictured), saw no transmission cases. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Meetings industry leaders have just convened at a roundtable to thrash out their strategy for the future of business events in Australia. The event was hosted by both Tourism Australia and the Business Events Council of Australia, whose Deputy Chair Geoff Donaghy (pictured) is also CEO of meeting venue ICC Sydney. From Conference & Meetings World…
The new Society for Incentive Travel Excellence in Great Britain President, Chris Parnham, has urged UK event professionals to get fully COVID-19 vaccinated and to see the act as an extension of their passport. In a call to echo globally, Parnham suggests they choose to help or hinder sector recovery. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Boardroom Chief Editor Remi Deve just returned from Lausanne where he attended the Annual Conference of Iceberg partner AIPC. He shares here a few things he learned about the future of the sector from both the meeting’s programme and from reconnecting with colleagues at the SwissTech Convention Center. From Boardroom…
BestCities Global Alliance has just celebrated twenty-one years since its founding. Managing Director Lesley Williams reflects upon the Iceberg partner’s past and future, and upon the role collaboration has played in the journey. She also pays tribute to the BestCities’ member destinations and to more recently formed alliances. From BestCities Global Alliance…
Sherrif Karamat is the President and CEO of the Professional Convention Management Association. He claims here that the pandemic is raising the need to focus now on why we meet and why events like congresses are held. He also has some interesting ideas about The Iceberg’s favourite subject of legacy. From Meetings International…
The Iceberg always enjoys meetings described with an iiceberg metaphor. But this time it is not the broader legacy benefits that are harder to see below the surface, but the tacit versus explicit knowledge imparted. German Convention Bureau MD Matthias Schultze discusses face-to-face and his hybrid BOCOM event. From Matthias Schultze via LinkedIn…
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