Engagement

Dear IAPCO Members and Friends,

Welcome to our latest edition of “The PCO”!

Engagement is the cornerstone that underpins the success of any group. It drives open conversation, enhances understanding, and fosters collaboration, enabling us to thrive collectively.

Engagement within our community isn’t merely about participation; it’s about a meaningful connection. It’s about actively listening to diverse perspectives, sharing ideas, and working together towards common goals. It’s about making sure every member feels heard, valued, and involved.

The past month or so we have had many opportunities to be engaged with our Business Events community. I don’t think we will take for granted the opportunity to be with our community in person again!

The power of engagement cannot be understated. Recently, the gym I was a member of closed unexpectedly. Our gym community was devastated as this is a group that stuck together during the lockdowns doing zoom workouts most days! The power of the partnerships created in this environment is so great that a few of the members have grouped together and have resurrected the business. This has brought joy to the members of our community and the support the community will show is a testament to the power of these partnerships created.

We have some exciting engagement opportunities on the horizon for our community and I encourage you to become involved where you can.

Enjoy!

Sarah Markey-Hamm

President, IAPCO

‘Engagement’ - quite an open concept when you consider the impact such a word can have on communities and audiences. Creating immersive and captivating experiences that leave lasting impressions with all parties involved is, I believe, at the core of engagement.

Our recent engagement with our Members and community at the IMEX Frankfurt trade show was clear to see. Over 11,500 global participants met, conducted business and learned from peers and experts. IAPCO hosted 29 Members across the 3 days including 3 dinners, 5 seminars, 4 partner receptions, 3 new public announcements and conducted well over 60 inperson meetings.

Our global engagement focus continues as our President joins strategic partners, IFES, at their Singapore conference and I look forward to advocating for our IAPCO Members at FIEXPO, Panama and at COCAL’s conference in Cuba in the coming weeks.

Yes, in-person engagement is vitally important but so too is that with our remote audiences.

Engagement is high with university students at Leeds Becket University in the UK where the webEDGE Congress Management course is now part of their curriculum and due to its success, we plan to replicate this across other universities and colleges globally. Our online APAC Next Generation Leadership Programme, in partnership with NZICC, is about to kick off as is the 3rd programme in our very popular CEO Meetup online series.

It is with pride that I read of others across our community with as strong a sense of the value of engagement as we do here at IAPCO and I hope you enjoy some of their stories in this edition.

Martin Boyle

CEO, IAPCO