To celebrate Global Meetings Industry Day, BestCities and the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) have collaborated to release a free white paper on hybrid congress guidelines.
One of the outcomes of Covid-19 has been a shift to hybrid events, to bring together international delegates safely and without travel if necessary. Professional Congress Organisers (PCOs) and Convention Bureaus (CVBs) have had to adapt to deliver hybrid event formats. This document provides them with support towards this goal, including: selecting a destination; choosing appropriate software choices for streaming, capturing content and security; facilitating networking; costing; and promoting the event.
In addition, accessibility, diversity and impact through legacy ambitions are also addressed in the guidelines.
“It’s clear that virtual events or hybrid event formats are here to stay for some time to come.”
Corne Koch, Board Chair of BestCities Global Alliance, says, “The past year has been incredibly challenging for our industry, but through knowledge sharing and a passion for delivering impactful work has seen innovation blossom through resilience and adapting to our new normal.
“It’s clear that virtual events or hybrid event formats are here to stay for some time to come, so in order to help associations receive proposals from PCOs and host destinations which take this into account, this new template will provide the first building block in designing a hybrid event.”
“This free resource is the product of effective collaboration and will now facilitate further fruitful collaboration between associations, PCOs and host destinations in the delivery of COVID Secure business and professional events.”
Ori Lahav, IAPCO President, comments, “Both BestCities and IAPCO have a passion for sharing knowledge and expertise – it’s at the heart of what both organisations do. This free resource is the product of effective collaboration and will now facilitate further fruitful collaboration between associations, PCOs and host destinations in the delivery of COVID Secure business and professional events.
“Thank you to the IAPCO Ambassadors, the CVB representatives and the associations who were involved in bringing this project to life. We’re hopeful this will help to drive innovation and keep our industry moving, even in these uncertain times.”
The template is available for download here.
IAPCO is also hosting an educational event on 15 April, called ‘Pain or Gain – The Rationale of Hybrid”. To find our more, click here.
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