There is a well-worn truism that if one goes to a plumber’s home, most of the pipes are leaking. Similarly, at an electrician’s abode, the wires are likely to be protruding.
The Council of Event Professionals appeared to need a professional event organiser as the majority of the delegation anticipated learning of more meaningful progress since the major media announcement – one year on from the 2014 Meetings Africa.
Besides discovering that the CEP is a Section 21 company and would soon be a professional body – the remaining bevy of supplier presenters concentrated on their particular special interest group while the theme of ‘advancing into Africa’ held limited updated information for the well-informed delegation.
The major role players in the Council of Event Professionals are SAACI, EXSA, SITE and IFEA with Port Elizabeth-based Magnetic Storm’s MD Glenn van Eyck in the driving seat. Van Eyck kicked-off the proceedings by advising that CEP were being assisted by international bodies and three designations that is Event Director, Event Manager and Event Co-ordinator were on the cards.
With most of the delegation well-versed on the international conventions market – Australian consultant Gary Glimmer as lead speaker told the CEP delegation that global conventions were transforming by seeking new destinations other than the more well-trodden paths of Europe and the USA and of course Africa was a prime possibility. Thereafter, a blur of unrelated information by a wide-variety of supplier industry representatives followed.
Clearly there is much to be achieved by the 2016 Meetings Africa with a number of the audience’s expectations being somewhat less than satisfied.
