Current Affairs

Diana van Brakel, Senior Manager Continuing Education, Kenes Group wonders how associations can keep innovation as part of their DNA in a post-pandemic world.

International association public affairs and advocacy specialist Tommy Goodwin identifies examples of association collaboration and innovation that have met the moment and delivered new types of value during difficult circumstances.

The pandemic has definitley taken its toll on the event industry but, as we speak to the Scottish Event Campus’ Director of Operations, Mark Laidlaw, we recognize that it is the people of the industry who will drive its recovery.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) was the occasion to look back at a year that brought its lot of challenges and opportunities.

Frederique Jos, of law firm and Boardroom partner Kadrant, writes about GDPR and how trade associations and other representative bodies may draw up Codes of Conduct that identify and address data protection issues that are important to their members.

Boardroom contributor and Boardroom MiniCourses Expert Renata Lerch makes the case for agile organizations, which can create alignment through constant communications, strategy, vision and purpose.

No stranger to innovation, the Palais des congrès de Montréal manages to stay one step ahead of the game with imaginative projects such as the newly acquired OASIS immersion.

Is the world, and our industry in particular, looking in the right direction for these promising changes that everyone is talking about? Have conference destinations decrypted what delegates will be craving for once we are let out of our cages, what it takes to make travelling around the globe worthwhile again?

In an ever-changing environment, how can member organizations adapt, even with limited resources? To what extent should they be agile and in what ways should they guarantee stability? This is what the latest ESAE webinar explored.

The shutting down of business events has caused devastating losses to member organisations. But by strategically focusing on all three legs of the ‘perfect marketing trifecta’, associations can only thrive, argues Rupert Darrington.

International Advisor to the Global Association Hubs Martin Sirk wonders who the guarantors of knowledge and expertise will be in the post-truth era.

As you would expect, the Japan Convention Bureau, under the umbrella of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), went all online for their yearly event targeted at meeting planners, Meet Japan. On this occasion, Boardroom notably learned all about the 18th World Congress on Lung Cancer (WCLC) which took place in October 2017 in Yokohama and took a virtual stroll in Osaka.

As the business events industry prepares for gradual recovery, some destinations move faster than others. Singapore, which has been known for its forward-looking and strategic positioning for some years now, seems to be ahead of the game.

The concept of legacy has been on the lips of the entire meetings industry for quite a few years already. But the pandemic has amplified the necessity to use a systematic model according to which associations are given the right tools to achieve their mission. Copenhagen’s Legacy Lab has managed to cover this need.

England continues to push forward investments to boost technologies like quantum computing, precision medicine, robotics and fusion, which is spurring significant advancements in life sciences across many of England’s leading conferencing cities.

Help us answer some questions about the future of associations by participating in a short (11-question) survey, designed by consultants at Factum Global and StrategicStraits, with which Boardroom has partnered.