A new conference exploring the ‘ground-breaking climate-friendly technologies’
that can make business events more sustainable will be held in Barcelona, Spain, next
year.
The event will be held alongside PCMA Convening EMEA 2024, September 30 – October
2, and hopes to create 'new business models' for conferences.
The meeting is the
brainchild of the Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of
Europe (SANCBE) who will work alongside PCMA in delivering the event.
While the event will be focused specifically on
reducing the impact of business events, other industries and sectors would be
invited to share their expertise, including aviation.
The shape of the event has yet to be decided, but it is
unlikely to feature keynote speakers or traditional formats, focusing instead
on peer-to-peer problem solving and knowledge sharing.
“Business events are an essential setting for
solving complex issues,” said Sherrif Karamat, PCMA president and CEO. “The
sustainability conference will allow people to come together to ensure knowledge
transfer, create networks, and provide platforms on which answers to the
overarching questions of our time are developed.”
SANCBE co-chairs Matthias
Schultze, managing director, German Convention Bureau and Eric Bakermans, director marketing
meetings & conventions, Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions said
in a statement: “The challenges of sustainability and the digital
transformation are global in nature and can thus only be addressed through
cooperation, common goals and frameworks, and a shared vision. In Europe, 29
countries are already working together within SANCBE to develop solutions for
this twin transformation. Together with PCMA our new conference, initiated and
hosted in Europe, will expand this movement to the global scale.”
Karamat added: “The
consistently sustainable organization of events can only succeed in conjunction
with technological solutions – and both those topics lie at the heart of PCMA’s
work. We are therefore more than happy to join forces with SANCBE to unleash
the full potential of our communities together and combine our strategic
knowledge to co-create a sustainable future for business events.”
Written By
James Lancaster
AMI editor James
Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international
association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation
for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk,
read, listen to music, and drink beer.
