NEWS

First Africa-based ICCASkills course successfully completed

ICCA is delighted to announce the first in-person ICCASkills Certified International Convention Specialists (CICS) course in Africa was successfully completed for staff of the Ethiopia Convention Bureau on Friday, 18 November.

Delegates gathered for an intensive, one-stop weeklong course at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, to gain essential industry knowledge skills in community engagement, conference bidding, and industry advocacy.

The study programme was set up with the support of the IFC/WBG which is closely supporting the Ethiopia Convention Bureau in its endeavour to develop competitive Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism.

Regarding the collaboration between ICCA and the Ethiopia Convention Bureau, Bizualem Getu, director, stated: “International industrywide collaboration, cooperation, and consensus is key for future development of business events.” ICCA chief executive officer, Senthil Gopinath, agrees and adds: “The ICCASkills programme with the Ethiopia Convention Bureau shows our shared commitment to developing and improving industry talent in the whole of Africa.”

The ICCASkills programme was conducted on-site by Patrick Delaney, managing partner, SoolNua; and Deanna Varga, founder, and chief executive officer, Mayvin Global and Adjunct Associate Professor (Industry), the University of Technology of Sydney.

Congratulations to all the learners for completing the course and thank you to the host, Ethiopia Convention Bureau, for welcoming the ICCA delegation and for arranging an excellent trip around Addis Ababa, giving everyone a flavour and insight into what the Ethiopian capital can bring to the international events industry.

For more information about ICCASkills CICE and CICS courses, and to remind all that the education programme is available for both non-members and members of ICCA, please contact the ICCA Education Team at education@iccaworld.org.