Tuesday, April 9, 2024
This month marks the relaunch of a cross-sector collaboration, as three leading organizations join forces to introduce two educational programs aimed at nurturing emerging talent in the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) industry.
The partnership, known as the Global MICE Collaborative, is a combined effort by the International Association of Exhibitions & Events® (IAEE), Meeting Professionals International (MPI), and the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE).
Targeting the advancement of the worldwide MICE sector, the initiative offers a unified approach to education and training. Its goal is to fast-track the development of skilled professionals and enhance the abilities of destinations to host business events on a global scale.
First initiated in 2018, the Collaborative had previously facilitated learning opportunities in Shenzhen, China, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, before the outbreak of the global pandemic necessitated a temporary halt to its operations.
The Collaborative is making its comeback with an opening presentation on Business & Event Trends for MICE Professionals during The Meetings Show at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore from April 17 to 18, 2024. This will be followed by a one-day seminar, MICE Fundamentals: Conference, Exhibition & Incentive Events, scheduled for in-person attendance in Germany on May 13, 2024, the day before IMEX Frankfurt kicks off. Additionally, the seminar will be offered at subsequent industry gatherings, details of which will be shared in future updates.
Commenting on the re-launch, IAEE President and CEO Marsha Flanagan, M.Ed., CEM, said, “The Global MICE Collaborative brings three of the industry’s best-known associations — IAEE, MPI and SITE — together to provide the global community of business event professionals with a ‘best of’ collaboration, initially focused on education. MPI brings networking, thought leadership and education for meetings; SITE for incentives; and IAEE for conventions and exhibitions. We bring indispensable connections to our combined communities of over 110,000 MICE professionals located all over the world.”
Paul Van Deventer, President and CEO of MPI, added, “Over the past three years the business events industry has seen significant change in workforce composition. Some reports show that upwards of 60 percent of industry professionals are new and the average age has declined by nearly 10 years. This brings forth a significant opportunity for new, fresh thinking, yet also demonstrates the need for skill development. Our MICE Fundamentals course provides the perfect pan-industry immersion for those new individuals entering this amazing industry. It also provides the perfect primer for the more specialized certification programs that each of our individual associations offer: IAEE’s Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM) Learning Program; MPI’s Certificate in Meeting Management (CMM); and SITE’s Certified Incentive Specialist (CIS) and Certified Incentive Travel Professional (CITP).”
SITE CEO Annette Gregg, CMM, MBA, concluded, “As more regions, countries and cities around the globe recognize the hard dollar and soft power contribution of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, the demand for professionally trained business events executives is increasing. That’s why the leading associations in the industry have joined forces to develop the best MICE workforce in established and emerging markets worldwide. IAEE, MPI and SITE look forward to expanding the scope of our ‘Collaborative’ and to serving an industry that currently makes a $1.6 trillion USD contribution to global GDP.”
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
