13th Congress Ambassador Awards Ceremony Introduces Winners
On Tuesday, April 16, six congress ambassadors received awards at the Residence of the Mayor of Prague as part of the 13th annual Ambassador Awards Evening. Representatives of the Prague Convention Bureau, the umbrella organization of the Prague meetings industry, the City of Prague and the Ministry of Regional Development once again awarded prizes to prominent Czech scientists, professors, doctors, and other top experts for their contribution to the meetings industry in the Czech capital.
The Ambassador Awards Evening was held under the auspices of the Mayor of Prague, Bohuslav Svoboda, who also attended the award ceremony in person. The winners in each category were traditionally selected by an independent 16-member committee composed of representatives of the tourism industry, the meetings industry, academics, and other representatives of the private and public spheres.
"Last year brought very positive news for the meetings industry. As a part of the announcement of the results of the 2022 International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) global ranking of the most popular meeting destinations, the capital city of Prague occupied 5th place. This historically best position was also a long-term goal, which we managed to achieve after years of effort. It should be noted that this goal was achieved mainly thanks to many successful candidacies for international congresses, which took place mainly between 2017 and 2019. This period also includes the successful candidacy for this year's twice-awarded World Road Congress," says Roman Muška, Director of the Prague Convention Bureau.
For the past year of 2023, the following ambassadors and events were awarded in the following six categories:
Congress of the Year 2023 & Inspiration of the Year 2023:
- Ing. Petr Mondschein, Ph.D. and Ing. Václav Neuvirt, CSc. for the 27th World Road Congress
The congress welcomed more than 6,000 delegates from 121 countries to Prague, who discussed a wide range of topics related to transportation infrastructure and road management. The Czech Republic was only the fourth country where the congress took place for the second time. At the same time, for the first time in history, the congress, whose partners included the United Nations, successfully engaged science, research, and innovation. For the first time, the recycling of used materials and the elimination of paper usage were consistently applied in the implementation of the congress. Through the congress, a network of more than 1,200 secondary schools was created, and 10 universities also participated in the event, thus reaching out to the young generation and investing in their future development. For students, of whom more than 2,000 participated in the congress, registration was free of charge.
Congress of the Year 2023 for up to 500 Participants:
- Ing. Markéta Pekarová Adamová on behalf of the Second Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform
The summit in Prague was attended by more than 40 national delegations not only from the European Union, but also from Great Britain and Canada. The main topic were anti-Russian sanctions and the de-occupation of Ukraine. Thanks to this event, the position of the Czech Republic as one of the main supporters of Ukraine in the fight for national freedom was confirmed.
Candidacy of the Year 2023:
- Prof. RNDr. Jiří Vohlídal, CSc. for his candidacy for the 52nd World Chemical Congress of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
For the first time in the history of the event, two national chemical societies – the Czech and the Slovak – submitted their candidacy for the world's most important congress in the field of chemical sciences together. This is one of the reasons why Prague has won in the competition of cities such as Chengdu, Taipei and Düsseldorf and the city will welcome 4,000 experts from the field of chemical industry in 2029. The congress should also include a special symposium on electrochemistry to symbolically celebrate the 70th anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Prof. Jaroslav Heyrovský.
Corporate Events of 2023:
- Mrs. Martina Slavíková on behalf of the E.ON Energy Show
With its scope, application of audiovisual technologies and program, it was the largest corporate event held at the O2 universum in the past year. In addition to the professional program focusing on new technologies in the field of energy and e-mobility, the event also included a teambuilding part. About 2,500 delegates took part in the all-day program.
Long-Term Contribution to Meetings Industry:
- Prof. Petra Tesařová, M.D., Ph.D., Head of the Department of Oncology, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and the General University Hospital
Professor Tesařová lectures at domestic and foreign congresses, advocates for the organization of international conferences in Prague (e.g. Gastric Cancer Congress IGCC 2019) and actively promotes the Czech Republic. In addition to being proactive in the meetings industry, she is the chairwoman of Project 35" focused on a group of young women under 35 years of age who have fallen ill with breast cancer. She is also the founder of the non-profit organization Dialog Jessenius, which was established with the aim of raising awareness about serious diseases in the general public. She has been actively involved in the field of oncology for 40 years with tireless enthusiasm and dedication.
"All my professional life, I have been trying to move Czech oncology to the world level, and this includes organizing international conferences. Anyone who has organized a large professional congress knows how big a job it is. The advantage is that a considerable part of it is carried out by Prague itself, where European and overseas colleagues come willingly and gladly. The purpose of my efforts is to establish professional relationships, to raise the profile of Czech oncology and to show how we fight cancer bravely and successfully in our country. Although I had never expected any expressions of gratitude, I was very delighted with this award," says professor Tesařová, adding: "Winning this award is not the ending point. I definitely have more congress plans for Prague."
The main partners of the event were: the City of Prague, Ministry of the Regional Development of the Czech Republic and Czech Convention Bureau.
