ASSOCIATION NEWS

UFI MEA Regional Conference to take place in Qatar in 2023

UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, will hold its next UFI MEA Regional Conference in Doha, from 9-11 May 2023. The event will be hosted by Visit Qatar, and take place in a 5-Star Hotel.

Open to all exhibition industry professionals, the conference will be attended by senior representatives from government entities, convention bureaus, tourism boards, venues, events organizers, in addition to economists, media and industry experts, from across the world. The business-packed conference includes keynotes, one-onone interviews, panel discussions, technology presentations and a series of networking social activations. Running under the theme: “Towards a Sustainable Growth”, the MEA Conference in Doha will present actionable solutions and strategies that will empower events leaders and professionals as well as offering commercial business opportunities in one of the fastest growing markets.

“We look forward to hosting the UFI’s 2023 MEA Regional Conference for the first time in Doha”, said Philip Dickinson, VP International Markets and MICE at Visit Qatar. “Qatar has emerged as a leading international business hub and a destination with an active, year-round calendar of worldclass events that leverage its state-of-theart facilities. Thanks to our strategic location, high-quality infrastructure, and continued Service Excellence, Qatar continues to organise and host premium events, where professionals, entrepreneurs, investors and innovators can meet and create.”

UFI has a long track record serving the exhibition and business events industry in the Middle East/Africa region, running events in the region regularly for around 20 years, tracking the region’s development in research projects and providing education for industry professionals – all out of a designated regional office in place and with an active regional chapter.

UFI’s regional director in the MEA region, Naji El Haddad commented: “Qatar is an ideal place to host the 2023 UFI Regional Conference, as the city enjoys a vibrant, safe and promising business environment for everyone in the exhibition industry ecosystem. The conference is an important meeting place for strategists, executives and professionals from across the industry’s value chain, to discuss the latest trends and opportunities that help build a resilient, sustainable business growth. I would like to express our deepest feelings of thankfulness to Visit Qatar, UFI’s Diamond Sponsors, for hosting this event in Doha and I believe that together, we will offer an unparalleled event and experience to all attendees”.

As the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, UFI organises annual regional conferences in AsiaPacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, as well as the UFI Global Congress. The 2021 MEA Conference in Dubai was the first UFI conference to be held in-person after the COVID19 outbreak. It attracted a record 150 attendees from across the region and beyond, at a time when many markets were still closed due to COVID related constrictions. That shows that the UFI MEA Conference is a key platform for the business events community to meet and network.

PCMA blazes a trail forward for the global business events industry

New Acquisions, Alliances and Partnerships to ignite PCMA as the Plaorm for the Global Business Events Industry

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CMA has announced several acquisitions, alliances, and partnerships during the Convening Leaders 2023 in Columbus, OH. PCMA and CEMA President and CEO, Sherrif Karamat, CAE revealed the Association's strategic plan is based on four foundational pillars supported by various key initiatives.

“As of today, we are only moving forward – blazing a trail forward with and for the global business events community. We will innovate. We will take risks. We will get outside our comfort zone. And we will always do it for our audiences,” said Sherrif Karamat, CAE, President and CEO of PCMA and CEMA. PCMA believes innovative education and new learning products are critical to the business event industry's business performance and career success–particularly for the NextGen talent.

To demonstrate its commitment to industry education, PCMA has acquired the Event Leadership Institute (ELI) to offer the most compelling portfolio of learning solutions and content. ELI's Founder, Howard Givner, and the ELI team will immediately join the PCMA family to establish the industry's most powerful educational resource and product development design lab. As PCMA's new Senior Vice President of Knowledge and Innovation, Givner's contributions will assist PCMA with leading educational innovation for the global business events industry. Partners and 2024 Location March 2022 delivered the inaugural Business Events Industry Week (BEIW) with more than 2,000 business event professionals in attendance. Don Welsh, Destinations International President and CEO stated “The vision for the future of BEIW is clear — to become the SXSW of the global business events industry. We are thrilled to welcome back our co-locating partners from 2022, and to welcome those for 2023, including a collaboration with ASAE, the AMC Institute, EIC and the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals.” Karamat shared the 2024 BEIW will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center April 9 – 11. in partnership with Events DC and Destination DC.

Commitment to Climate Crisis

PCMA believes the climate crisis represents the biggest threat to livelihoods, the planet, and the global business events industry, In line with its values, PCMA is taking action. Its new partnership with the American Geophysical Union (AGU), a worldwide thought-leader on climate change impact and innovation, will help elevate the industry and its events when it comes to taking sustainability beyond talk and into action. The global business events industry is committed to bringing people together – all people. PCMA has implemented a strategic alliance with theNational Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP). Both organizations are committed to key elements to build value for their respective communities and for business event stakeholders everywhere. NCBMP is a co-locating partner of the 2023 Business Events Industry Week.

PCMA Acquires Event Marketing Association – UK

In 2020 over 700 event marketing professionals and their business partners became part of PCMA's global community when PCMA acquired CEMA – the corporate event marketing association. PCMA is building upon this audience with the acquisition of the – Event Marketing Association UK (EMA-UK).

EMA-UK is comprised of 800+ corporate event marketing professionals representing a cross-section of EMEA industry segments and global brands. EMA-UK will immediately become part of the PCMA global community.