GETTING TO KNOW – AN IAPCO MEMBER
GETTING TO KNOW... SYMPORG SA, SWITZERLAND IAPCO chats to Bertrand Joehr, Managing Director
Tell us some background about the company
With COVID as a current challenge, how do you
Symporg was founded in 1983 by Primola Nicole who
see 2021 evolving?
retired in 2011 since when I have been totally involved.
COVID has of course had a very negative impact on our day-to-day business but, projecting into the future, it might
We have developed a strong relationship with the Geneva
turn out to be a very good opportunity. We have been pushing
University, the Geneva University Hospital and the CERN. We
our clients for years to implement hybrid solutions to their
are very lucky to have these three strong institutions in our
congresses, but the fear of the technology related to it as
city, helping us not only to attract association congresses to
well as the fear of reducing the number of attendees was too
Switzerland but also to create new projects and conferences
strong in their minds to enable a change of direction. I really
attracting attendees from all around the world.
hope that the past months have shown them that we have the technical capacities to deliver quality content; and thanks to
We have one office in Geneva, Switzerland, where we organise
the statistics we now have from all the digital events recently
most of our events but of course we work all over the country
organised we can prove that a virtual event can attract many
as well as overseas, following our clients or projects.
additional participants who would not otherwise have attended an in-person meeting.
Do you specialise in
Every day we think about the next few months and what will/
particular events
can happen. What the past year has shown us is that uncer-
or services
tainty is the master word. We still have to be very flexible and,
which make
although we are pretty sure that in-person congresses will
Symporg unique?
be possible this autumn, we are now preparing for whatever
We don’t have
outcome might materialise (in-person, hybrid, virtual) for all of
any specialisation
our events, having to set a deadline for the decision about the
per se, although
final format.
we have decided to focus on
Why do you value being an IAPCO member?
congresses and
The accreditation is pretty important, not only for our clients,
conferences only
but also for us: it is like a reward for a job well executed!
and not corporate or public events.
But what I value most is the networking and the shared
What makes
experience between members. Being a congress organiser
Symporg unique is the fact that our core employees have
is tough… meeting with other people in the same position
been with us for more than five years, and that we have
always reminds you that you are not alone; and that you have
really close relationships with our clients. Their project is
colleagues who can help you to find solutions to problems
our project and we make anything possible to make
that other companies might have encountered.
it a success! | April 2021 19
