Prague Hosted IAPCO Council Meeting
From 17 to 20 May 2023, the IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organisers) Council Meeting was held in Prague with participation of ten council members. Prague Convention Bureau had the honour to organize the Meeting.
IAPCO is the international accreditation member-driven association of professional congress organisers around the world. Its administering body - the Council - holds 3 meetings throughout the year, one of them in Europe. To bring the May 2023 IAPCO Council Meeting to Prague, the Prague Convention Bureau initiated communication regarding this event with IAPCO in 2018 already.
Apart from the close Council sessions, „The Art of Attracting Business Events: Global Best Practices for Success“ workshop with the participation of around 50 Prague Convention Bureau members and partners took place at the Prague Congress Centre on 18 May. The workshop programme consisted of a presentation by of the IAPCO global perspective by Sarah Markey-Hamm, IAPCO President, CEO, ICMS Pty Ltd, and presentations by Barbara Calderwood, MCI UK, Ori Lahav, CEO Kenes Group, and Sissi Lygnou,CEO, AFEA S.A. Travel & Congress Services. These were followed by group discussions reflecting on the topics of convention bureau, PCO and client collaboration case study, emerging technologies, trends and perspective of their application in congress design and marketing, and social and economic impact of an international conference. After the workshop, the Prague Congress Centre offered all participants a guided site visit with a presentation of their new projects.
The Prague IAPCO Council Meeting also included social events and sightseeing hosted and provided by the Prague Convention Bureau members and partners. We would like to thank the main partners: CzechTourism – Czech Convention Bureau, Prague Congress Centre, Zátiší Catering Group, Almanac X Prague; and Červený Jelen, ADO Services and Prague City Tourism for their collaboration in organising the programme.
