Michael Jones
The battle for business moves into a new data-built arena
With hybrid and virtual events making themselves indispensable and evolving fast, the key points of differentiation for organisers will shift into the data management arena, writes Michael Jones. Following the industry-wide havoc wreaked by the Covid-19 pandemic, virtual events have become vital to the industry’s survival. Yet, with the signs of a vaccine-driven fightback against the pandemic, the...
Upskilling: a never-ending story
Michael Jones breaks down the differing and fast-changing approaches to professional training and advancement in the events industry: Event management education whether through university courses, on-the-job apprenticeship-style training, or upskilling, offers an avenue for individuals to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to flourish in the meetings industry. Many professionals have tried t...
Hubilo and Constellar aim to light up APAC region
Hubilo has entered into a partnership agreement with Constellar Venues, a subsidiary of Constellar Holdings (formerly SingEx-Sphere Holdings), aimed to elevate hybrid event experiences in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The partnership says it intends to leverage Constellar’s partner networks in the APAC region, insight-generation capabilities, and market knowledge. Hubilo’s virtual and hybrid eve...
Tallinn announced as European Green Capital 2023
The Estonia capital Tallinn was announced, 9 September, as the European Green Capital 2023 at an event in Finland. Tallinn follows in the footsteps of previous winners including Stockholm, Hamburg, Oslo, and Lisbon. The Estonian Convention Bureau (Estonian CVB) said Tallinn’s vision to deliver actions that support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, along with its strong climate-neutral roadmap ...
Melbourne’s CEC paying it forward during vaccination drive
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) has been running a ‘pay it forward’ campaign at its Shed Café. While people are lining up for their vaccinations at the venue, the Shed Café is offering a great opportunity to pay it forward. Visitors to the vaccination centre can shout a nurse a coffee and include a heart-warming message of support. Since March, MCEC has been home to o...
EIC opens submissions for annual Global Recognition Awards
The Events Industry Council (EIC) has opened submissions for its annual Global Recognition Awards. The awards celebrate and honour exemplary achievements and focus on leadership at all levels and areas of focus within the global business events industry. This year’s categories are: Hall of Leaders, recognising lifetime achievement for those that have had a legacy impact on the global business even...
ICCA and BestCities honour Incredible Impacts
The Incredible Impacts Programme, a joint initiative by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and BestCities Global Alliance, an international network of convention destinations, has honoured three associations who have left lasting legacies of social change. They are: The European AIDS Clinical Society, a non-profit which promotes excellence in standards of care, research a...
Conventa Week
The last week of August marked by the return of south-east Europe meetings industry trade show Conventa and the Conventa Crossover conference. Organisers had moved Conventa 2021 back from January to August and both events were half the size of the pre-crisis period and shaped up as hybrid events. Nevertheless, organisers report 77 exhibitors, 113 international and 33 Slovenian hosted buyers conduc...
IBTM World reveals first details of its Barcelona plans
Organisers of IBTM World, a global event for the MICE industry, have revealed the first details for the show, due to take place in-person at Fira Barcelona, 30 November-2 December 2021. Under the theme of ‘New Business, New Tech, New World’, IBTM World Barcelona will focus on quality one-to-one business meetings, inspiring educational content and rewarding networking opportunities to help attendee...
International Confex shows a lead back for industry
The UK meetings and events industry came out to International Confex, 1-2 September at ExCeL London, offering a creative display and demonstration of the industry’s resilience. Five theatres on the show floor delivered packed education sessions and friends, old and new, got busy networking and re-acquainting themselves with innovation and new products.
International Confex: Why protect your intangible asset?
During last week’s International Confex 21 in London, the show’s Brand Experience Theatre hosted a discussion under the title ‘Why protect your intangible asset?’. The debate was led by Mark Ford, director of Whitespace XPO and WE Create at Whitespace Group, and explored how for most businesses the most intangible asset is a positive brand identity. Ford suggested that intangible asset...
CWT awarded Platinum EcoVadis status for a second consecutive year
Travel management platform CWT has been awarded Platinum status by EcoVadis, an independent corporate social responsibility (CSR) rating agency. This is the fifth consecutive year CWT has been rated in the top category for its responsible business practices and the agency remains in the top 1% of over 75,000 companies rated worldwide. EcoVadis’ ratings evaluate companies against 21 CSR criteria, g...