Three winning associations were chosen as examples of excellence within the meeting industry by the Incredible Impacts Programme. Supported by ICCA and BestCities Global Alliance, the programme took place for the first time with the hope that the winners’ good practice will be a source of reference and inspiration for other event planners worldwide.
The winners were announced at the ICCA Congress in Prague and will each receive US $7,500 towards future projects, in recognition of their hosted events going “beyond tourism” in areas such as legacy development, sustainability and accessibility. After 20 entries, the three winning associations are the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) – World Thrombosis Day Campaign, the World Parkinson Coalition (WPC) – World Parkinson’s Congress and the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT).
The ISTH’s World Thrombosis Day campaign organised more than 8,200 events across the globe in 2016, while creating a platform for people to talk about the condition, sharing expert advice and insights during their annual Twitter Chat digital event. The WPC impressed the judges with their “Patients Included” element of the programme, through which people with Parkinson’s become part of the discussion and decision-making process. Finally, the WCPT places a large focus on creating knowledge transfer opportunities with its attending and non-attending audiences, via their effective use of social media and by sharing outcomes from the congress proceedings free of charge post event.