MARTA GOMES

Icca President

In an informal interview with the recently elected President of ICCA, Marta Gomes, we talk about hers objectives and plans for this important association con nuestra representante de la Junta para América Latina, Diana Rodríguez, nuestra presidenta del capítulo, Tatiana Orozco, y la vicepresidenta, Cintia Hayashi, existe una fuerte motivación para construir un capítulo y una región latinoamericana más fuertes, con una serie de cumbres organizadas el año pasado en cada uno de los países de la región para reconectarse con los miembros y presentar ICCA a las comunidades locales.

What will be the next steps of the new strategy to create business opportunities and growth for the members?

Our first step will be to carry out a member needs assessment survey, which will be launched this week to all the members worldwide. We have composed a series of in-depth questions to really deep dive into what is important to our members, what they value most in the services and initiatives we propose at the moment, and asking open questions about what we could do better and about new ideas we could implement. The objective is to give our members a voice in shaping the future of our association, and gathering wide input from a diversity of professionals from every sector and region.

¿Tiene alguna visita programada en el corto plazo a la región ??

Fue interesante para mí participar en Fiexpo el pasado mes de junio y específicamente en el Foro Político Latinoamericano. Estoy trabajando con el equipo de ICCA en mi agenda en los próximos meses para tratar de asistir nuevamente este año.

¿Hay alguna actividad programada para los próximos meses de febrero a abril?

¡Sí, siempre hay actividad! Tenemos una importante reunión de la Junta este trimestre, por lo que hay mucha actividad en torno a eso. Tenemos un calendario de eventos saludable para 2023 y, por supuesto, ya se está trabajando para el 62º Congreso en Bangkok. Si las primeras semanas del año ofrecen alguna indicación de cómo se desarrollará este año, será extremadamente ocupado... y muy emocionante.

En cuanto a América Latina y el Caribe, llevaremos nuestra Reunión Anual de Directores Regionales por primera vez a la región este año gracias al apoyo de Panamá, la nueva Regional Association Partner de ICCA. Además, nuestra CLA LATAM 2023 se llevará a cabo en septiembre en un destino muy hermoso, que todavía no puedo revelar. Finalmente, también tendremos otros eventos de alto ROI en Colombia, Argentina, Brasil, Costa Rica y Chile.

You said during your campaign: “We need to strengthen our regions and chapters around the world. We must dedicate more resources to serving our members in their regions and take a closer look at chapter governance and budgeting. What can we expect in our chapter in the coming months? Data and insights from this member needs analysis will be crucial in understanding what type of programs we need in each region and will influence the annual business plan and programming of our Regional Directors and local teams. Under Andres’s leadership in the region, and in close collaboration with our Board representative for Latin America Diana Rodriguez, and our Chapter Chair Tatiana Orozco and Deputy chair Cintia Hayashi, there’s a strong motivation to build a stronger Latam chapter and region, with a series of summits organised last year in each of the countries in the region to reconnect with members and present ICCA to the local communities.

Are you going to visit the region soon?

It was interesting for me to participate in Fiexpo last June at the annual Latin American Politician Forum. I’m working with the ICCA team on my schedule in the coming months to try to attend again this year.

Is there any activity scheduled for the next few months from February to April?

Yes, there’s always activity! We have an important Board meeting this quarter so there is a lot of activity around that. We have a healthy Events calendar for 2023 and of course work is already underway for the 62nd Congress in Bangkok. If the first few weeks of the year offer any indication to how this year will unfold, it’s going to be extremely busy… and very exciting.

As per Latin America and the Caribbean, we will be taking our Annual Regional Directors Meeting for the first time to the region this year thanks to the support of Panamá, ICCA’s new regional Association Partner. Also, our 2023 Latin American and Caribbean Summit will be held in September in a very beautiful destination, which I cannot reveal just yet. Finally, we will also have other high-ROI events in Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica and Chile.