Newsletter – September 2024
It's peak meeting-up season!
The days are shortening in the northern hemisphere and the international association conference season is heading into its busiest time of the year. In amongst associations' own events, many leaders and meeting execs will be attending some of the most important platforms for association-to-meetings industry interaction and relationship-building.
Look out for representatives from
the Global Association Hub partner cities - Brussels, Dubai, Singapore and Washington DC - at these top global gatherings:
*PCMA's Convening EMEA, 30 Sept to 2 Oct in Barcelona
*Association Leadership Forum at IMEX America on 7 Oct, before the main show runs 8-10 Oct in Las Vegas
*The 63rd ICCA Congress, 20-23 Oct in Abu Dhabi
*Association Leaders Forum at IBTM World on19 Nov, part of the main schedule from 19-21 Nov in Barcelona
There are still registration slots available for international association representatives at all these events; just click on the links for more information. We look forward to seeing you for some interesting conversations!
Martin Sirk
Global Association Hubs International Advisor
ms@associationhubs.org
Faster, Higher, Stronger......Together
We hope you enjoy our latest article in media partner Boardroom magazine, whose theme this month is "high performance", covering the wide variety of strategies and philosophies through which associations can elevate their results above expected norms. Inspired by the recent Olympics in Paris, we've drawn some surprising, enlightening and hopefully valuable comparisons between the evolution of elite athletic training and the trajectory of our own profession!
Brussels announces: The Association Place plans & new support programme for 2025 association meetings
In the heart of Brussels European Quarter, The Association Place returned early September after the summer break with the Association Welcome Days sessions, that shall end on 23 September with an Open House Day allowing association newcomers to Brussels discover more about the city, the venue and its Association Connect programme, together with other activities and services.
Aiming to organise your event for the first or for a subsequent time in Brussels? This is your opportunity to receive in-kind services for your international conference, congress or fair. Submit your application up until 7 October 2024 to benefit from a support for your 2025 event in Brussels. Priority will be given to events in a bidding process.
Dubai's ambitious intellectual capital journey continues
Dubai has just announced the establishment of the Dubai National University, with an initial investment of AED 4.5 billion. Bringing in world-class teaching and research expertise and students from around the world, as well aiming to swiftly become the premier option for local students, the objective is for DNU to become one of the world's top 200 universities within 20 years, and one of the region's top three research
institutions well before then.
Another key initiative is the launch announced this week of the Dubai Research, Development & Innovation Grants programme, with major funding to support projects proposed in the fields of AI, Robotics, Health & Life Sciences, and Cognitive Cities.
These development are certain to further stimulate the long-term growth of international association meetings in Dubai, and will also create extensive demand for other association services in the fields of science, technology, business innovation and healthcare. And we can expect to see hundreds of similar-scale events to this week's ITS World Congress, the top global event for intelligent transportation systems, that is bringing approximately 20,000 delegates to Dubai - scientists, engineers, architects, city officials and policymakers.
Singapore encourages associations to embrace design-thinking!
As well as being the region's premier association hub, Singapore is also Asia's most dynamic and innovative design hub, as will be evident during the fast-approaching Singapore Design Week, which will be showcasing global and local talent, and discussing ideas for a better designed world.
Design thinking is ultimately about finding collective, creative solutions for every type of human challenge, and in Singapore we believe this applies just as much to associations and their meetings!
DC uses international association expertise to improve its meeting offerings & strategic plans
Washington DC is in a positive mood for 2025 and beyond as meetings and visitor numbers climb back to pre-Pandemic levels, with investment in meetings infrastructure, hotels and attractions on an upward trajectory as well. This success is partly thanks to critical input into strategic thinking and practical advice on association needs by "The Collective", DC's 14-person international advisory board, which naturally includes representatives from the international association community.
Latest edition of the Business Events World
We are a proud partner of The Iceberg, publisher of Business Events World, which always has a lot of interesting things to say about the positive societal value of international association meetings. This edition takes a serious look at the potential impact of a critical season of elections taking place around the world this year, and highlights some of the advocacy activities connecting meetings industry and policymakers, activities that are vital to ensure the continuing support of international association meetings by destinations worldwide.
