AIPC
UNSDG’s - a powerful way to tell our story
ALOYSIUS ARLANDO, PRESIDENT OF AIPC, ON A NEW ROLE OPENING UP
FOR OUR INDUSTRY AS PART OF THE BIG GLOBAL STORY ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
or a number of years,
convention centres have
been looking for more
appropriate ways to
illustrate the broader benefits they
generate for both global and community
development. For too long the only
measure applied to this sector was
delegate spending – and this simply
wasn’t good enough when much of the
required investment is public money,
which must be seen to offer publicly
relevant returns.
But faced with such a diverse a range
of outputs, many simply fell back again
on things like hotel room nights and
spending by organisers, for the simple
reason that these were readily
measurable and could be extrapolated
into things like tax revenues, of
particular interest to local and national
governments.
Enter the United Nations Sustainable
Development goals, or UNSDG’s. These
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
The
International
Association
of Convention
Centres
(AIPC)
represents a
global network
of 190
leading centres
in 64 countries
with the active
involvement
of 1,000
management
level
professionals
worldwide.
/
ISSUE 103
broad statements of intent were
developed in order to create a “blueprint
to achieve a better and more sustainable
future for all”, but they are particularly
relevant to telling the story of our
industry – for a number of very
important reasons:
First, they are global – and globally
recognised. That means that instead of
having to promote adoption of an
industry-specific measure, they are
widely recognised and come from a
highly credible source. For an industry
that remains largely a mystery to the
world as a whole, this is a huge benefit.
Secondly, they are as diverse as
our industry – recognising and
addressing many different kinds of social
and commercial development, and the
many forms these take in various parts
of the world.
Third, they are not ‘owned’ by anyone
in particular – which means they cannot
be put to exclusive use by any single
interest to the exclusion of others.
The process of demonstrating how
particular SDG’s are addressed by
certain events or activities is one that
can take many different forms, each as
valid as the others, to show the relevance
of what we do.
Finally, the ability to apply and use
such measures as UNSDG’s needs and
encourages collaboration – and
collaboration is what our industry can
and should be all about; a partnership
where all parties recognise that
everyone has a role to play in shaping
the outcome. For that reason, AIPC
members, along with industry
colleagues, are now engaged in a process
of documenting their
most important
achievements in a
UNSDG context
– and we’re looking
forward to the
results!