12 Voices Share One Important Message

12 Voices Share One Important Message
New Communications Campaign Set to Showcase the Power of People

In recognition of the Global Meetings Industry Day, the BestCities Global Alliance has today announced an exciting new communications strategy that will showcase the Power of People. Led by the Greater Bogotá Convention Bureau, who will host the BestCities 2018 Global Forum in December 9-12, the bureau has developed a campaign that aims to celebrate the unique role people play in making significant changes and progressions in the meetings and events industry.

Together alongside the 11 other BestCities destinations, Bogotá will be showcasing the core theme of this year’s Global Forum in a drip-feed digital strategy that will make touch points across the globe. This will be the first time the alliance has communicated the theme from their annual event out to a wider audience via a targeted strategy that will see all cities share a cohesive message.

The movement will give real understanding and meaning to the power people have within an industry that have the ability to make change. Over the past two years, the BestCities Global Forum has looked at the impact of legacy and the importance of building cultural bridges. This year, the alliance wants to ensure the people are at the core of everything.

Phase one of the campaign will see all 12 of the BestCities partner cities, which includes Berlin, Tokyo, Vancouver, Madrid, Houston, Singapore, Melbourne, Dubai, Bogotá, Copenhagen, Edinburgh and Cape Town, share impactful images that illustrate what the Power of People means to them.

Linda Garzón Rocha of Greater Bogotá Convention Bureau said: “We strongly believe that each person has the power to make a fundamental difference that can shape the future and make a positive change. People are the essence of this industry, and this industry is a vessel to achieve wider and bigger impacts. As an alliance we want to highlight the true power of the people within it and believe this campaign will help us achieve this.”

Paul Vallee, Managing Director of BestCities Global Alliance said: “We always do our utmost to ensure the theme of our Global Forum focuses on a significant topic so we’re excited to have this year’s event focus on the Power of People. The message we want to communicate is that people live at the heart of this industry and through this campaign we hope to shine a spotlight on the many inspiring individuals who are working to better the industry, events and legacies we’re creating. The Power of People is a broad theme with multiple meanings and we’re thrilled to have a strategy in place to share our view on what this means to 12 of the best cities across the globe”.

Phase one of the campaign will run from 12 April until 14 May with phase two to be announced shortly.

The BestCities team and partner cities will be in attendance at this year’s IMEX Frankfurt. Further information on what is to be expected from this year’s Global Forum taking place in Bogotá in December will be unveiled at a media breakfast on Tuesday 15th May at Maritim Hotel Frankfurt, located next to the Messe Frankfurt.

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#MICENews #BestCities #IMEXFrankfurt #IMEX18 #MesseFrankfurt #MaritimHotelFrankfurt

Kenes Group and BestCities Global Alliance ready to open doors with their first original event

Kenes Group and BestCities Global Alliance ready to open doors with their first original event

Final preparations are underway as BestCities Global Alliance, visitBerlin – one of the Alliance’s partner destinations – and leading Professional Conference Organiser, Kenes Group, get ready to welcome delegates to their inaugural original event in Berlin.

Senior level attendees from leading international pharma and biotech companies, academia and government institutions are expected at the Summit on Controversies in Precision Medicine (CPMed), due to take place at the Ameron Hotel Abion Spreebogen Waterside, 13-15 November 2017.

The Summit is the first event following a landmark agreement signed by Kenes and BestCities, to initiate and manage original events in the 12 BestCities global locations. With a shared ambition to deliver high-level meetings for doctors, researchers, and specialists, not formally structured through existing associations, the events are a unique opportunity to study a specialised area of expertise, providing a valuable knowledge sharing and networking platform.

Under the leadership of Prof. Dan Peer, Director of Tel Aviv University Cancer Biology Research Centre and Translational Medicine, CPMed will address the challenges in precision medicine head-on. Titled, “Where do we stand in drug development?”, the Summit will create a focused environment for quality and open scientific debate on the value and direction of the industry. With an interactive architecture, the event is designed to provide the participants with exciting opportunities to ignite solutions, network and innovate.

Work is already underway to initiate a number of future original events through the collaboration of BestCities, Kenes Group and high-profile opinion leaders from around the world, in key fields where there is a potential to create an original event.

Ravit Shani Levi, Director of Global Market Development at Kenes Group, said “CPMed is an important first step into initiating a series of original events that leave a legacy. Under Prof. Dan Peer’s leadership and the outstanding support from our partners at BestCities and visitBerlin, we are looking forward to this new original event becoming an innovative platform for knowledge exchange, education, and networking in the field of precision medicine.”

Paul Vallee, Managing Director of BestCities, said: “Working together with Kenes, BestCities is committed to delivering impactful meetings that offer genuine value, insight and innovation to the global medical community. With its focus on a niche but crucial topic, CPMed is the ideal first event to showcase BestCities and Kenes shared long-term ambition for initiated conferences and our commitment to help build lasting legacies between associations and destinations.”

Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin, said: “Berlin is known around the world as a centre for innovation and has a first-class network of universities and research centres. This is particularly beneficial for meetings related to science and medicine. In addition, the city offers affordable accommodation compared to other cities and a wide range of cultural offerings. This unique blend is convincing an increasing number of convention and event organisers. Berlin is proud to be a strong partner in the new BestCities initiative with Kenes Group.”

For more information on CPMed visit: www.precisionmedicine.kenes.com
For more information on BestCities visit: www.bestcities.net

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#CPMed #visitBerlin #bestcities #MICEmedia #MICEnews #TourismNews #CityMarketing #DestinationMarketing

BESTCITIES UNVEIL AMBITIOUS PLANS FOR 2017 TOKYO GLOBAL FORUM

BESTCITIES UNVEIL AMBITIOUS PLANS FOR 2017 TOKYO GLOBAL FORUM

BestCities Global Alliance is set to champion inclusivity and multi-culturalism within the business tourism industry in 2017 and beyond, following the announcement Building Global Connections Across Cultures will be the core theme underlying this year’s BestCities Global Forum, taking place in Tokyo 4-7 December 2017.

Building on the 100% delegate success ratings in Dubai 2016, the second BestCities Global Forum will be hosted in partnership with the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (TCVB). The impressive programme of education, insight and networking, is already shaping up to be this year’s must-attend event for senior international association meeting planners, looking to increase the positive impact of their meetings.

The Global Forum offers an intimate, yet stimulating learning environment for international association event organisers, to gain a deeper understanding, not only of ways to collaborate more effectively, but how to build professional relationships across cultures and develop effective leadership skills in a global context.

With over 25 years of experience, Sean Blair, owner of ProMeet will facilitate the diverse Forum programme, which includes thought-provoking education sessions, engaging practical workshops, relevant case studies and interactive breakouts challenges, designed to unlock the collective knowledge within the room. Influential speakers will include “accidental executive” and former CEO of Tourism Vancouver Rick Antonson and global leadership and cultural intelligence expert, Miriam van der Horst, owner of Learning 360.

While the majority of the sessions take place in the luxurious Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo, nestled within a vast 19th Century Japanese Garden, host TCVB is also planning a rich and diverse programme to immerse participants in Japan’s heritage and culture, while revealing powerful insights into the city and its institutions. With preparations quickly progressing towards 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Prof. Hiroo Ichikawa Executive Director of The Mori Memorial Foundation, will also be discussing the strengths and opportunities of Tokyo in the next decade.

Delegates will also have the opportunity to establish relationships with peers and grow global networks, with events such as the Ambassador Dinner, bringing delegates together with influential local ambassadors and key contacts.

A perfect example of collaboration across cultures, the Global Forum also allows delegates to gain an in-depth knowledge of 12 top class meeting destinations under one roof, with City Café meetings and social networking with all 12 of BestCities’ partners: Berlin, Bogotá, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, Houston, Madrid, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo and Vancouver.

BestCities Board Chair, Jonas Wilstrup from Wonderful Copenhagen said:
“Building global connections across cultures is at the very heart of BestCities ethos and long-term success. We are 12 partners that recognise the collective strength of working together, adding value not only for our individual cities, but our clients too. This year’s Global Forum will be addressing both the challenges and opportunities when dealing with international stakeholders, providing informed practical advice and peer-to-peer learning in a way, that will genuinely help and support senior association executives to take their future meetings to the next level.”

Kazuko Toda, Director from Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau said:
“Tokyo is delighted to host the BestCities Global Forum in Tokyo this December. Through hosting the Forum, we would like our clients to find out what Tokyo has to offer as a meetings destination, and not only a tourism destination. Also, through the learnings of the Forum, we hope to motivate and give confidence to clients who have not had the opportunity to hold their event in Tokyo or any of the new BestCities destinations to consider us for their next meeting. “

The inaugural BestCities Global Forum in Dubai, December 2016, was celebrated as an overwhelming success, with 100% of delegates surveyed reporting the Forum fulfilled their main objectives for attending and would recommend it to their international association meeting planners.

Speaking about the outcomes of the 2016 Global Forum in Dubai, Andry Vleeming, Chairman of World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Girdle Pain said:

“I came with an open mind and was rewarded with four days of networking with talented colleagues sharing interests and expertise.  It has helped change the way I think about our future conferences – the need to move into the future more quickly, which is more critical today than it was in the past.”

Registration for the BestCities Global Forum Tokyo is now open. Free to attend, with round-trip flights, accommodation and meals for all attending qualified international association executives covered by BestCities.

For more information on BestCities and its upcoming events including the BestCities Global Forum in Tokyo (4-7 December 2017) visit http://www.bestcities.net  @BestCitiesGA

 

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#BestCities #Tokyo #MICEnews #MICEIndustry #BestCitiesGlobalForum

MADRID ACCEPTED AS THE NEXT OFFICIAL PARTNER OF LEADING GLOBAL ALLIANCE

MADRID ACCEPTED AS THE NEXT OFFICIAL PARTNER OF LEADING GLOBAL ALLIANCE
BestCities welcomes the leading convention bureau on board

Madrid Convention Bureau (MCB) was today (16 MAY) officially confirmed as the twelfth partner of BestCities Global Alliance. The new signing will bring a truly dynamic international congress city and convention bureau to the alliance that now holds 12 members.

With more than three decades of experience, Madrid has played host in the last years to some of the world’s leading events including the World Petroleum Congress, the World Air Traffic Management Congress and The Congress of the International Dental Federation. With more than 14,000 meetings and events per year serving to more than 1 million delegates, MCB is already paving the way for global standards in the sector.

Adding value to MCB’s offering and shaping its future growth, BestCities will work with MCB to support future innovations and refine its legacy development, such as creating impactful city events for its future association meetings.

As the first BestCities destination within the Mediterranean, MCB will help the alliance establish stronger ties and a more pronounced presence within the area.  Very much in line with BestCities practice, MCB is committed to constantly evolving and reviewing its standards and undergoes an annual audit associated with ‘Q de Calidad Turistica’ – a quality certification for tourism services in Spain. Since 2012 MCB has passed the audit with flying colours, cementing its dedication to continually improving standards in its workings.

Madrid has been committed to improving its sustainability with various programmes aimed to target this issue including City Hospitality Desks which help to control the wastage of unused city brochures through a dedicated delegates desk at conventions. This has grown massively with 11 meetings serving over 18,000 delegates supported this way in 2016. Ambassador programmes are also a key investment for the MCB with its own platform that identifies individuals within areas including non-for profit, NGO’s and universities that have helped secure meetings in Madrid.

The BestCities partnership will support the MCB in acquiring knowledge in legacy development and position Madrid as innovative leaders in this field, alongside the other BestCities’ partners: Berlin, Bogotá, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, Houston, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo and Vancouver.

The MCB is the first destination to go through BestCities’ revised quality management system (QMS). With admission into the Alliance a guarantee to clients that the vital commitments to excellence such as venue capacity, international accessibility and infrastructure framework are a given, the new QMS further extends BestCities offering beyond the key convention elements a city must possess to host world class events. With a focus on advancing the purpose of meetings through vital areas including sustainability, accessibility and legacy development, it adds a further dimension and unique strength to its partner cities’ offering.

BestCities Board Chair, Jonas Wilstrup from Wonderful Copenhagen commented on the new signing:

“Madrid is a world class destination for conferences and events and we’re ecstatic to be welcoming them onto the BestCities Global Alliance. Madrid’s successful submission truly cements BestCities dedication to setting industry standards which we hope to help build with them over the next few years.

“Our dedication is to providing customers with seamless, worry-free services across a global network of cities. As our twelfth member, Madrid will enable us to continue to build the long-term loyalty by adding value through contributing to the cause of meetings. We’re excited to be able to offer our expertise particularly within this area.”

David Noack, Director of Madrid Convention Bureau said:

“MCB trust that becoming a member of BestCities will enrich our knowledge as a convention bureau by embracing their ethos for commitment to excellence. In short, our aim is to guarantee that each congress held in Madrid will be a unique and successful experience made possible through the close working of our organisations.”

For more information on BestCities and its upcoming events including the BestCities Global Forum in Tokyo (4-7 December 2017) visit www.bestcities.net  @BestCitiesGA

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#BestCities #GlobalForum #MCB #MICEnews #MICEmedia