Preview
Convene’s fresh moves for 2020
CMW PREVIEWS JANUARY’S 2020 EDITION OF BALTIC REGION TRADESHOW CONVENE
fter seven years in the main
halls of the biggest
exhibition and congress
centre in the Baltics,
tradeshow Convene moves to the newly
reconstructed part of LITEXPO in the
Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. For the 2020
show, which runs 12-13 February,
organisers will take over the whole new
complex of 5,000sqm.
The new area marks a significant
upgrade in terms of infrastructure and
delegates are promised more opportunities
and space to recharge during the event.
Organisers are also promising new and
improved stand design in the shell scheme
deal. While all stands will remain made of
two side walls, carpet and two tables, the
walls will be better soundproofed than
before and all stands will be configured
into small islands of four. Organisers say
the new layout should save time and
improve flow for both exhibitors and
visitors.
Lunch will take place in a separate
and more spacious area, next to the
main exhibition.
The Convene 2020 Professional
Academy will focus this year on regional
rather than international markets, and
will offer a platform for case studies and
panels, all driven by local destination
professionals. The idea is to bring
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
attention to the characteristics that
differentiate the Baltic Sea Region from
other parts of Europe.
Promoting the region’s tech-savvy
reputation is part of the strategy.
“Our region’s meetings industry benefits
from thriving start-up hubs, a collaborative
spirit between business and scientific
institutions, and associations active in
global networks, which is especially
important for association events,” says Inga
Romanovskiené, Director of Vilnius
business development agency Go Vilnius.
“Vilnius is experiencing a rapid
development of knowledge-based
sectors like FinTech, biotech, ICT,
medtech, and others. Moreover, Vilnius
was recently named by FDI Intelligence
as the number one city globally for
attracting tech start-ups,” she adds.
According to ICCA, the number of
technology-based events hosted in the
Baltics practically doubled over the
2016-2018 period.
Post-Convene tours
Post-show tours this year will shift their
focus from ‘seeing’ to ‘experiencing’. Host
city Vilnius will navigate delegates
through a series of authentic experiences,
starting from an interactive city game and
ending up with dinners in some
unexpected places.
The Baltic region is winning a
reputation for hosting cutting edge
medical events and has many
professionals active in international
associations in the region.
The Baltic region is strong in MedTech,
Life Sciences and Biotechnology, R&D,
Medical Devices and eHealth. The
Lithuanian Life Sciences sector, alone, has
been growing by 20% annually.
A healthy meetings return seems
promising in this region and more reason
to check out: www.convene.lt
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ISSUE 104
Baltic meetings medicine
The following events illustrate the MedTech sectoral
attraction for international PCOs:
1. Vitalis: The largest eHealth event in Scandinavia, attracts
6,000 attendees each year. The 2020 edition of the event will
be hosted in Gothenburg, 5-7 May, at the Swedish Exhibition
and Congress Centre.
2. Life Sciences Baltics 2020: Taking place from 30
September to 1 October 2020 in Vilnius, this event will bring
start-ups to pitch their ideas with potential investors.
3. VLP Riga: This conference, taking place in Latvia’s capital
of Riga on 15-17 June 2020, will focus on the essential role
of Virus-like Particle (VLP) technology in new-generation
vaccines. The event is expected to draw 500 delegates.
4. PreHT 2020: The 7th International Conference on
Prehypertension, Hypertension, Metabolic Disorders and
Cardiovascular Disease comes to Vilnius, 3-6 April 2020 and
is expected to draw 500 delegates.
5. International Baltic Congress of Anaesthesiology,
Intensive Care and Pain Management: Taking place in
Jurmala, Latvia on 15-17 October 2020, and will gather 100+
delegates.
6. ICMHS 2020: The International Conference on Medical
& Health Science takes place 5-6 May 2020 in Stockholm,
Sweden.
7. European Healthtech Investment Forum 2020: The
fourth edition of this event takes place, 10-11 March 2020 in
Helsinki, Finland.
8. 15th ESCP Scientific & Annual Meeting: The
European Society for Coloproctology’s 15th annual meeting
will gather professionals from across Europe to Vilnius, 23-
25 September 2020 at LITEXPO.
9. EAPCCT 2020: The 40th International Congress of
the European Association of Poison Centres and Clinical
Toxicologists will take place in Tallinn, 19-22 May 2020.