BestCities Global Forum 2020 goes virtual

The BestCities Global Alliance has announced that the 2020 edition of its BestCities Global Forum will be taking place online, 17-19 November. The event will be based around ‘Transforming’ associations and destinations to future-proof models, engaging with your audience and community building, and measuring impact by exploring the latest legacy projects within the industry. The alliance is collaborating with industry leaders including Renata Lerch from Integrated Niche, future strategist Michel Mol, and Madrid Convention Bureau on the three-day online programme. The event will also shine the spotlight on Madrid as the next upcoming (non-digital) Global Forum host. Lesley Williams, managing director at BestCities, said: “While it may not be in the way that we expected, we are very excited for the return of our flagship Global Forum and to see the faces of the many associations, destinations and stakeholders that make up our community – albeit, via webcam. “We’ve been working with our fantastic guest speakers to prepare an insightful, future-thinking programme that we hope will galvanise our delegates as we head into a new year.” In previous years, the annual Global Forum would see each of the BestCities Global Alliance destinations take the baton to showcase their stunning city on a global stage to associations and stakeholders. The Madrid Global Forum event that was originally scheduled for November this year, will now be taking place in 2021. Michel Mol, future strategist and guest speaker at this year’s Global Forum, said: “I look forward to kicking off the discussion about the convention industry’s future in these transformational times. By exploring strategic and operational pivots made in other industries, I aim to inspire and to boost the future-proofing strategies of the participant associations. “With real life cases from my futurist consulting practice, I will demonstrate how organisations have successfully adjusted their business models and services to a rapidly changing world.” Renata Lerch added: “I’m really excited to share with global association leaders the latest thinking on value and innovation creation. “More than ever, members are experiencing value chain fragmentation, opening a world of new opportunities for associations. This will be a fantastic interactive discussion.” More information, click here.