Founded in 2014, the European Academy of Neurology which represents the continent’s neurologists, hosts its annual congress in a different city in Europe each year. The Vienna application committee led by Professors Elisabeth Fertl, Wolfgang Grisold and Eduard Auff from the Austrian Neurological Society clearly saw off competition from Helsinki, Gothenburg, Prague and Geneva with the support of the Austria Center Vienna and the Vienna Convention Bureau. “With 34 percent of the votes, Vienna picked up almost twice as many as the runner up Helsinki with 18 percent,” confirmed Christian Mutschlechner, Head of the Vienna Convention Bureau. This means that the organization’s 2021 annual congress is taking place in the same city as the offices of the European Academy of Neurology: Vienna.

The packed four-day congress program includes everything from scientific symposiums to practical courses covering all areas of neurology. The organizers expect to receive more than 1,500 abstracts, with the focus for the year to be finalized in cooperation with the European Academy of Neurology in 2020. The Austrian Neurological Society not only has a strong reputation based on its research findings, it is also an experienced organizer of large-scale scientific events, having successfully hosted the 2013 World Congress of Neurology (WCN) in Vienna.

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2017 has been a successful year for Lebanon. Not only is the country nearing 2 million of visitors by the end of the year (11% increase from last year), the country is amongst the top 10 trending destinations for 2018. With a constant need to diversify and revitalize their offer, tourism professionals are taking a keen interest in Lebanon and rightly so.

Many professionals have already placed their trust in Lebanon with an average of 2000 incoming MICE and 1200 local events organized this year. And the interest keeps on growing…

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Portugal is the great winner of the World Travel Awards 2017 final, having won World’s Leading Destination award. 

After winning the Europe’s Leading Destination award earlier in September, Portugal joined the list of 17 nominees at the grand final, which took place on December 10 in Phu Quoc, Vietnam. Among the nominees, there were destinations such as Brazil, Greece, Maldives, United States of America, Morocco, Vietnam or Spain, and others. 

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Headquarters & Headquarters Asia Pacific Magazines go more global than ever and our team would like to thank everyone that made it possible. 

In this December Edition 2017, we tell you more about Competition and coopetition among associations, cultural differences in international associations, culture collision or culture cohesion, the Solvay Executive Master in International Association Management, the PCMA’s development in the European Market, the 2nd edition of our new recurrent section Think about it (by Anna Koj from European Affairs Recruitment Specialists & Jeffer London from the Center for Creative Leadership), the building of the Association Community in China, the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux, the 56th ICCA Congress… From South to North, from West to East, let us take you to a world full of meetings.

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The 21st IFDH International Symposium on Dental Hygiene is set to take place at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) in August 2019, shining the spotlight on the link between oral health and overall health and wellbeing to a global audience.

Hosted by the Dental Hygienists Association of Australia (DHAA) under the auspices of the International Federation of Dental Hygienists (IFDH), the three day symposium, originally set for Seoul, was relocated to Australia following concern around increased political tension.  The event is set to return to Seoul in 2024.

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2017 has certainly been a big year for Adelaide, South Australia with the destination having just hosted its biggest ever incentive visit, its biggest conference and to top off the year, the Adelaide Convention Bureau has just announced it has just had its biggest year ever with respect to the value of business won.

In June, almost 3000 delegates from Perfect China visited Adelaide in waves of 500 and each for 3 days at a time.   For a destination famous for its wine regions, and visits to these sites being requested not be included as part of the event itinerary, it was exceptionally pleasing to have received high post event praise from the visitors and organisers.  Adelaide rated an average 91.8% ‘Very Satisfied’ score for its overall itinerary, transport, food and accommodation.

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“Everything

Has changed

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How can organisers successfully translate a carefully arranged event from the drawing board into reality and create the best possible event for visitors? And how can they increase the success of their event? RAI Amsterdam examined these issues based upon customer journeys before, during and after an event. Its findings have now been published in the report ‘RAI Insights: how to increase the impact of your business event’. 

 

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As a direct result of Oman’s new convention centre facilities, part of the new Madinat Al Irfan urban development, the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre (OCEC) and the Oman Convention Bureau are celebrating a double-win  having successfully won two major congresses; the World Hospital Congress in 2019 and the Royal Congress of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists in 2020.

The World Hospital Congress of the International Hospital Federation (IHF) will bring its annual convention to Oman in 2019. The announcement was made official following a bid presentation in Taipei, Taiwan where the delegation from the Ministry of Health led by Dr. Qasem Al Salmi, Director General, visited the Taiwanese capital to present to the International Hospital Federation. The congress is expected to bring approximately 1,000 delegates to the Sultanate and is expected to generate over OMR 800,000 (USD $2 million) for the country.

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Thanks to a series of government initiatives, Medellin has attracted prominent events from around the world over the past years, showcasing the city’s impressive MICE capabilities and strengths for hosting world-class events from a variety of industry sectors, including the following:

2014: World Urban Forum, April 5 - 11
Attended by over 22,000 guests including Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz and John Dramani Mahama, president of the Republic of Ghana, the Forum examined the challenges faced by the world regarding human settlements such as rapid urbanisation and its impact on cities, communities, economies, climatic change and politics.

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The Scottish Event Campus (SEC) has retained its Gold Award for the Green Tourism Business Scheme, having continued to excel in sustainability practices across the venue.

The Green Tourism Business Scheme began in 1997 and aims to encourage and enable people to make sustainable choices that reduce their impact on the planet. The organisation has 2000 members across the UK, Ireland, Italy, Canada and Zimbabwe, making it the world’s largest sustainable certification programme of its kind.

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On 21 and 22 November, the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre (OCEC) in association with the Oman Convention Bureau (Ministry of Tourism) and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) celebrated a successful  first ICCA Oman Meetings Association Expert Forum.

The two-day forum welcomed associations and industry experts from around the world who arrived in Oman to share both their expertise as well as build new relationships with local associations in Oman in the hope of hosting upcoming conferences and events. The informative event also provided a platform for knowledge exchange and professional development for local businesses and professional communities, encouraging them to be more active in order to achieve business growth. By hosting the forum, Oman also had the opportunity to showcase the destination to the ICCA global community and build momentum for future conferences and events.

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Global DMC Partners, the largest global network of Destination Management Companies (DMCs), welcomes their newest Middle Eastern member, Pure Arabia, to their exclusive partnership of over 65 independently-owned destination management companies (DMCs).

Pure Arabia specializes in planning and implementing incentives, meetings and events in Dubai, UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Oman. With over 20 years of experience in the meeting industry, Managing Partners, Zaki and Eslam Badawi, are well-established names within the UAE and Oman events industry. The dynamic duo share the same passion for creating and delivering a superior level of service and have earned respect within the industry over the last two decades.

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Hall 3C has only reached its topping-out ceremony, but one thing is already clear: it will be a jewel, and a new attention-getter in the southwest corner of the exhibition centre. And as Hall 3A did before, it combines the highest standards of both quality and energy efficiency, regionality and internationality. As NürnbergMesse CEO Peter Ottmann points out, Hall 3C once again manifests the fairgrounds’ magic spell: “An idea has given rise to a successful new product. I’m impressed by the terrific work from our trades people and the team at Zaha Hadid Architects.” And Ottmann’s co-CEO Dr Roland Fleck points up another connection: “Our current investment campaign is earning us a leading position as an attractive location for trade shows and conferences. And the construction of Hall 3C is a brilliant embodiment of innovation and investment at our Nuremberg exhibition centre.”

www.nuernbergmesse.de

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The inaugural BE @ Penang 2016 conference organised by the Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) led by CEO Ashwin Gunasekaran, attracted over 120 local and regional delegates from the Business Events industry. The second edition, themed BE EMPOWERED, was held at the RM350 million SPICE project, in the world’s first hybrid solar powered convention centre on 7 & 8 December.

Ken Tan reports

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Many of us are familiar with ICCA as an industry organisation and with the events, they organise. Last month they hosted their 56th annual congress with a record attendance of almost 1300 participants. Several council members were able to attend – and we were curious to see how many YPs get the chance to do so, in what ways they are present at the event, and what their experience is like. On top of YP attendants and speakers, this year ICCA tried something new to attract and showcase young potential within our sector, which we were very happy to see!

‘The future belongs to us’ was a competition with a jury of YP-peers, allowing young professionals to envision a congress session that they think is worth attending, that is well set-up and treats a relevant topic. Thanks to the 6 brave souls who took charge of the young professionals’ meeting industry future by jumping on stage at the ICCA congress, by showcasing their potential and their vision for next congresses!

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Marco Quagliarella is appointed as the new Director of International Operations at AIM Group International, reporting to Gianluca Scavo, CEO and Managing Director.  Quagliarella will be responsible for enhancing AIM Group’s presence in international markets, a strategy underway in the 2018-2020 business plan, as well as achieving profitable growth in the offices located in the Group’s individual countries.

AIM Group International is in 11 countries in Europe and in the United States. A strategic expansion and the subsequent presence of the Group in new markets are expected. The goal is also to further develop the existing Affiliate Partnership project.

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Investigative journalists from around the world are set to meet in Hamburg in 2019. Supported by Hamburg Convention Bureau, Germany’s second largest city has won the bid to host the 2019 Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC) - the biggest international conference for investigative journalism.

Launched in 2001 and held every two years, the GIJC 2019 is set to attract more than 1000 journalists from around 100 countries to Hamburg. The conference will be split across two central locations: Der Spiegel publishing house and the HafenCity University Hamburg. These new riverside venues are located in HafenCity, Europe’s largest inner-city development combining modern architecture with historical UNESCO sites.

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International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) has committed to cultivating a powerful legacy for the events it hosts with the introduction of a unique new multi-streamed Legacy Program, designed to connect the world’s brightest minds, industry leaders and delegates across a diverse cross-section of Sydney’s vibrant community.

Rolling out from January 2018, the program will foster knowledge exchange, collaboration and engagement across four key streams – Innovators, Generation Next, Aboriginal Australia and Sustainability.

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