DURBAN ICC The centre of virtually everything

In the ever-changing world we live in, there are many ways we could define the innovations taking place inconference and congress centres around the world. One thing is certain, however – venues are adapting,and many of them are now integrating technology as diverse and as intelligent as the delegates that walktheir hallways. One such venue is the Durban International Convention Centre (Durban ICC).

“ The Durban ICC has always aimed to position itself as “Africa’s Leading Convention Centre,” but having invested in the latest, cuttingedge meeting technology, the centre is reinventing itself as the continent’s leading high-tech convention centre. “Without moving away from our existing market positioning, we are adding this competitive edge and aiming to also be recognised as ‘Africa’s Smartest Convention Centre’,” said Lindiwe Rakharebe, chief executive officer of Durban ICC. The centre is a versatile venue of enormous dimensions, flexible enough to meet any need, no matter how extraordinary. International conventions, exhibitions, sporting events, concerts and special occasions of every kind can be accommodated.

Flexibility and versatility are key factors in the design of this state-ofthe-art, technology-driven centre. The complex incorporates the Durban International Convention Centre, the Durban ICC Arena and the Durban Exhibition Centre, offering over 112,000m² of flexile event space, making it the largest flat floor, column-free multipurpose event space in Africa.

Anushka Sarawan, senior sales coordinator of Durban ICC, said: “At this time when face-to-face meetings are restricted, it is the ideal time for clients to convert their existing traditional events into virtual events. Some clients are even able to reach much larger audiences by taking their events online than they would have with a traditional live event and monetise them accordingly.” “However, the Durban ICC is more than simply a venue. It is a platform for meetings, a facilitator of dialogue and a place for people to connect, debate and ultimately find common ground,” Ms Rakharebe added. She added the five-star graded centre prides itself on being the leading venue for meetings, business events, conferences and exhibitions on the African continent.

Preshan Haripershadh, IT manager, Durban ICC, said: “The Centre has an extensive Wi-Fi network that covers the entire Durban ICC complex with internal and external wireless antennae offering our guests seamless, uninterrupted high-speed internet whilst in the centre, outdoor courtyards and parking areas. The Wi-Fi network is quite a feather in our cap as this can be easily up-scaled to suit any event requirement, boasting over 10 000 concurrent connections. “In addition, tailor-made technical requirements are easily executed with the Durban ICC, having a grid-based service utility access hatch system that can offer cabling services to suit our clients’ dynamic needs. This allows for easily built networks for registration and speaker areas with minimal visible cabling.

“Digital signage is available throughout the Centre with our main foyer being complemented with a 16 m² digital screen and digital touch information kiosks available throughout the foyers and main entrances, allowing for our guests to easily view event information at the tap of a screen.”

Scott Langley, marketing, sales and events director of Durban ICC, said: “Durban ICC is repositioning itself to be ‘Africa’s Smartest Convention Centre’. The outbreak of Covid-19 is having a catastrophic impact on the business events industry with traditional face-to-face events being impossible for the foreseeable future. “We have taken this opportunity to invest in the meeting technology which repositions us as the high-tech, innovative convention centre and will give us the edge over our competitors,” he added.

Hybrid events

We need innovative solutions which can generate revenue both now in the interim and when normal events resume, such as hybrid events, video-conferencing, web-streaming and remote-presentation technology.

One of the Durban International Convention Centre’s biggest triumph is being a catalyst for economic growth. The majority of the Centre’s economic contribution has benefitted the people of Durban and KwaZulu-Natal.

What are the benefits for the digital delegate?

The digital delegate can:

• Get the benefit of the live event content without physically being there.

• Watch the speakers and view any presentation slides via the video feed.

• Engage remotely with the event in real time via the event’s social media channels.

• Share the content with others in their organisation directly without having to repeat it second-hand to colleagues.

• Choose to consume the event content at a later time if that suits their schedule

• View selected elements from the events which pertain to their area of interest.

Other features include:

• Picture-in-picture streaming allows delegates to watch the speakers and view any presentation slides via the video feed.

• Multiple simultaneous streams from various venues in the Centre.

• Access to the content can be controlled to registered delegates only.

• Private video on-demand gallery.

• Geo blocking and IP Restrictions possible for select audiences.

• Unlimited storage of video footage.

• Archiving and hosting of event footage for a year after the live event.

• Live video playback from a selection of platforms including the Durban ICC Website, Facebook Live, YouTube, Periscope and Twitch.

The Durban ICC operates its hybrid events using the “Rolls Royce” of online video streaming systems, trusted by organisations such as the World Economic Forum, TED, and Sony to stream their events online. The system allows for live content to be filmed, encoded, and uploaded to Durban ICC’s secure, designated digital channel. From this channel it can then be securely distributed to a select audience of the client’s choice on a variety of digital platforms.

WHAT IS A HYBRID EVENT?

Simply the combination of a traditional face-to-face event with a digital component, such as live-streaming, which extends the reach of the conference to a wider audience using technology and increases the number of registrations an organisers can attract to their event. The content can also be edited for viewing-on-demand at a later date.

Durban ICC aims to connect potential customers and delegates to the venue remotely, with a couple of smart technology initiatives.

The Centre has been a trailblazer and Africa’s leading Convention Centre for over two decades. This indeed, is a reputation the Durban ICC works hard to maintain through the commitment of its employees and support from stakeholders.

This system allows Durban ICC to offer the following types of events to the market, even with a 100 person maximum restriction in place.

Live-streaming event

This is a one-way broadcast which allows the content to be filmed at the Durban ICC and streamed in real-time to an audience regardless of geographical location.

Video-on-demand event

This is a one-way broadcast which allows the content to be filmed at the Durban ICC and streamed at a later time to a global audience. The content can be a single session or serialised and delegates can select elements from the event’s videoon-demand (VOD) gallery after the event.

Remote presentation streaming event

We can incorporate video feeds from other locations or events from around the world into the channel and combine them with feeds filmed from the Durban ICC. The combined content can then be distributed to the wider audience.

Video conferencing

This service is a two-way form of communication, providing connectivity from a boardroom at the Durban ICC to the clients’ single or multiple destinations, anywhere in the world. This reliable video platform allows you to maximise audience participation and engagement.

Smart venue technology

Event app provided to clients with venue hire booking

The company can offer a mobile Event App to its clients included in the cost of the Venue Hire when booking their event at the Durban ICC.

Durban ICC uses cutting-edge technology to enhance guests’ experience

The Durban International Convention Centre (Durban ICC) launched an online app that will make the lives of delegates, stakeholders, exhibitors and contractors easier.

The Durban ICC is the first convention centre in South Africa to integrate the what3words addressing system to assist its visitors to navigate their way around the complex. The what3words technology uses its unique approach to help visitors find the exact location of points of interest within the Centre’s complex.

Durban ICC chief executive officer, Lindiwe Rakharebe said what3words is a simple and accurate way to help people find a precise location, making it much easier to discover and tell others about various places and explore the world without getting lost. “what3words will help our delegates and visitors easily find the correct entrances to our venues for their specific events. Deliveries will also be sent to the intended entrance and contractors will not struggle to find their way to our loading dock entrance to offload goods,” Ms Rakharebe said. According to the what3words website, the what3words API is a fast, simple interface which allowsyou to convert three word addresses to coordinates and vice versa. It features apowerful autosuggest function, which can validate and autocorrect user input and limit it to certain geographic areas.

The unique addressing system is also already available in over 35 languages, including isiZulu, isiXhosa and Afrikaans making it accessible to a growing international audience.

To find the precise Durban ICC entrance using the what3words app visit https://icc.co.za/contact/map

This is a good differentiator as the “Smartest Centre” and shows how we can assist clients in leveraging technology for the benefit of our events.

Interactive digital smart boards

Smaller venues at the Centre are equipped with interactive digital smart boards. These innovative tools connect to the presenter’s laptop and act as both a screen and a whiteboard, boosting productivity and making the paperless boardroom a reality. Using handwriting recognition, one can make notes and sketches directly on spreadsheets, images and presentations and email directly from the smartboard to the event participants.

Office-on-call

Many small and medium-sized businesses may have had to downsize as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. Some may not be in the same business premises as a result and may require a temporary office or boardroom for a limited period of time – a week, a day or a few hours. We have designated a few smaller meeting rooms for this purpose

and provide the basic office necessities in order to meet this gap in the market, post-Covid-19. Our office-on-call facility would offer the benefits of short lead times for booking, and include furniture, Wi-Fi connectivity, air-conditioning, secure parking, coffee station, and catering if required. Additional services such as printing, scanning and copying are available on an utilisation basis.

CLIENT FEEDBACK

“When we hosted our association’s 23rd Annual Conference at the Durban ICC last year, it gave us the opportunity to incorporate the live-streaming element for the first time. This allowed our members who weren’t able to be there in person to experience the event in real-time and not miss out on the excellent content which we had worked hard on arranging.

Another great feature was that the individual conference sessions were then available for view from the Durban ICC’s website after the event. The members who attended the sessions found them to be very useful and informative and we were delighted to be able to offer this benefit to our members, and also as an extra revenue stream for SASLAW.”

- Clare Fincham, general manager, South African Society for Labour Law

Contact sales@icc.co.za | www.icc.co.za