There has never been a more vital time for the services and value that associations provide, at precisely the moment traditional business models are falling apart. With a strong focus on societal mission, and by making urgent challenges the top priority, associations now have a unique opportunity to make difference. From Martin Sirk via Boardroom…
As more events pivot to virtual, it’s crucial to be giving staff, attendees, speakers and exhibitors the help and training they need to be confident in the space. Here are some pointers to assist all four groups in getting comfortable with new technology and learning to engage effectively within a virtual environment. From Associations Now…
The associations sector is vast and diverse, but one community dealing with particular challenges is that of the medical associations. Significant demographic changes are changing how healthcare professionals work and meet together. Ben Hainsworth, Managing Director at EASL (home of hepatology) explains what these are. From Boardroom…
Iceberg partners AIPC (International Association of Convention Centres), ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) and UFI (Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) are jointly now backing a campaign “This show is open for business” first launched by UFI and SISO (Society of Independent Show Organizers). From Association Meetings International…
The decision to cancel a conference in Denver over COVID-19 fears has left some of its more than 10,000 delegates perplexed and angry. The 55,000-member American Physical Society, a professional association for physicists, cancelled its largest meeting of the year less than 48 hours before it was due to open. From Association Meetings International…
What’s the number one challenge facing business events? When this question was posed in November 2019 by Convene as part of its 29th Annual Meetings Market Survey, just a few answers talked about dealing with the unknown. One respondent alone cited the management of risk, and specifically of epidemic risk, as a challenge. From PCMA…
The meetings industry, very used to things “going viral”, is now dealing with a real virus crisis. One of this site’s favourite bloggers has distilled down five suggestions for survival. Stick with the facts. Postpone, don’t cancel. Make use of this “period of reflection”. Be kind. Remember, this too shall pass. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
While some organisers are taking the nuclear option and cancelling their events altogether, others postpone or try pivoting to online solutions to make sure delegates don’t miss out completely. William Thomas, CEO of Gallus Events, recalls the first online event he ran and the lessons learned from it. From Association Meetings International…
GESS Dubai is a global exhibition showcasing educational products, plus a CPD accredited conference. Held at the end of February, the 13th edition of the show was to feature a Chinese pavilion with 30 companies confirmed as exhibiting. Ten, plus one more international exhibitor, cancelled participation because of the COVID-19 crisis. From UFI…
Wellington in New Zealand punches above its weight in meetings. Last year the Business Events team at WellingtonNZ won 34 conference bids across a range of industries like computational engineering, medical science, environmental studies and public law. A new convention centre is due to open by the end of 2022. From Association Meetings International…
The ambassador programme Club Liverpool has marked five years with an event held at Liverpool Town Hall attended by some of the members who have helped attract £70 million of meetings to the city. The network of influential figures from academia, medicine and business now boasts 230 ambassadors. From Association Meetings International…
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…
Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the world’s largest exhibition for AV and systems integration, has just taken place at the RAI in Amsterdam. With growing concern over coronavirus, and after the cancellation of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, ISE’s MD Mike Blackman explains which steps the meeting chose to take. From UFI…
Just in advance of Iceberg partner AIME, the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event, opening its doors in Melbourne, its Event Director Jay Martens discussed the way both the meeting itself and the wider industry sector have been coping with the twin crises of Australia’s bushfires and the subsequent coronavirus outbreak. From PCMA…
Who helps an association to decide which destination should host its next conference? Who better to provide the personal element than the city’s own thought leaders? Prague’s Ambassador Program started back in 2008, shortly after the establishment of the Prague Convention Bureau. A collection of academics was assembled with immediate results. From Boardroom…
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…
Almost half of delegates at business events think face-to-face meetings are “critical”, says a new trade show study. The report out from AIME, the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event set to open in Melbourne, also shows 93 percent of delegates find human interaction and connections “important” during business events. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
An engineer has helped to secure yet another major conference for Auckland, New Zealand. The win is his third in five years. Dr Nirmal Nair of the University of Auckland led a successful bid for TENCON 2021, run by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The meeting should attract 600 delegates. From Association Meetings International…
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…
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