2 minute read
Word from the President & the CEO
by IAPCO
Our meeting industry and our PCO role is ever-changing. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated not only technology adaptation but also the services we provide, the skills needed and pretty much our everyday way of working.
IAPCO Council and HQ Team are fully dedicated to ensuring that every activity we produce is for the benefit of our members and our industry ecosystem.
At the end of 2019 we created a 5-year strategic plan for IAPCO and although our world has changed quite significantly since then, this plan is still extremely relevant and being reviewed and optimized every quarter.
As part of that plan, we addressed how best to shape IAPCO for future years while addressing the needs of the next generation and early career personnel of our PCO members. IAPCO is now introducing the “Next Generation Council Member” - A new co-opted position on IAPCO Council.
This person, once nominated and elected, will join Council to represent the next generation of PCO leadership and and will be involved with many others to ensure that IAPCO Council is on the right track to provide relevant, timely and appropriate programmes to meet the long-term needs of this important group.
We are looking for an IAPCO Member who is a team player, passionate about our industry, passionate about IAPCO, innovative and creative, and willing to invest back into our community.
I am confident there are many young leaders that are already impacting positively in our future through their everyday work and I invite them to consider taking a more active role in IAPCO.
Yours, Ori Ori Lahav, President 2020-2023
As our IAPCO President, Ori, has intimated in his Presidents’ Message, the role of the PCO is ever-changing. It is important to IAPCO and the community we serve that we continue to drive professionalism in our industry at all levels and that this starts with quality training.
Education and continued professional development (CPD) of not only PCO’s, but of the entire meetings industry is continuing to prove vital in ensuring meeting professionals have the right knowledge and expertise to recommend what is best for their clients and clients’ event participants.
IAPCO continues to be recognized as a leader of quality education around the globe and the past few months is a clear demonstration of this with EDGE Seminars being delivered in China, Thailand, Malaysia and Mexico. Our calendar for the remainder of 2021 through 2022 is already packed full of EDGE seminars, industry presentations and webinars that call on IAPCO Faculty to deliver.
In addition, with the success of WebEDGE and as many have become accustomed to learning whilst in their home offices or ‘on to go’, IAPCO will be publishing new content on WebEDGE 2.0 this month. The Congress Project Management course, released in April of last year, delivered 14 modules of in-depth content. WebEDGE 2.0 will see updated content relevant to meet the ever-changing needs of delivering virtual and hybrid events solutions.
Young and veteran leaders alike, need to stay on top of the latest technologies, trends and business models in order to deliver quality products and services that go above and beyond what is expected every day.
We trust you will find this edition of The PCO which focusses on education and CPD interesting and useful as you continue to drive your own professionalism and knowledge.
Sincerely, Martin Martin Boyle, CEO
