Conference & Meetings World Issue 105 | Page 3

Leader May your events be safe and secure and, if it comes to postponement or cancellation, get the best advice Testing times Managing editor, Paul Colston o man is an island, not least in the world of meetings and events. The conference and meetings world is facing arguably it’s toughest challenge for a generation with the global spread of Covid-19 coronavirus. It is a time to pool efforts and information to find a way through the pandemic, so we can secure our collective health and businesses. Those colleagues in mainland China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Macau have been in the front line for longer than those of us in Europe, America or Africa, but now, at time of writing, we have the first European country (Switzerland) banning events of 1,000 people or more as a threat to public health. Italy is also entering worrying territory with an alarming MANAGING EDITOR PAUL COLSTON [email protected] GLOBAL ACCOUNT DIRECTOR IAIN STIRLING [email protected] JOURNALIST STUART WOOD [email protected] CONTRIBUTING WRITERS SIMON GEORGE RAMY SALAMEH PRODUCTION MANAGER ELIZABETH NIXON GRAPHIC DESIGNER KATERYNA SMIRNOVA [email protected] increase in Covid-19 cases confirmed. For those meeting planners feeling isolated or anxious, remember you are part of a global profession and our professional associations, such as ICCA, SITE and UFI, to name just three, have reacted fast to set up live blogs and advisory links, turning themselves into repositories of useful information and experience so that we can share our problems and, hopefully, solutions. The worst of behaviours, in my view, is the kind of corporate cut-and-run displayed by organisers based far from the action but taking fright and acting in the face of World Health Organisation guidance. In Barcelona, Mobile World Congress exhibitors and visitors unwilling to walk away, as organisers Stateside pulled the CIRCULATION MATTHEW WILLIAMS PRINTED BY PENSORD MASH MEDIA GROUP LTD 2ND FLOOR APPLEMARKET HOUSE, 17 UNION STREET, KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES KT1 1RP TEL: [phone] FAX: [phone] EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: WWW.C-MW.NET @CM_WORLD plug, went ahead with pop-up style meetings and created an ‘Opportunity Week’ where at least some deals and networking were salvaged. A great example of the ingenuity and entrepreneurial flair that is alive and kicking in our industry. Wherever you may be, may your events be safe and secure and, if it comes to postponement or cancellation, try to get the best advice and plan for a reschedule, use your time to build other aspects of your business and maybe explore the new breakthroughs in conferencing remote technology! © COPYRIGHT CONFERENCE + MEETINGS WORLD ALL MATERIAL PUBLISHED IN CONFERENCE + MEETINGS WORLD IS COPYRIGHT AND REMAINS THE PROPERTY OF THE PUBLISHERS. NO MATERIAL MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHERS. THE PUBLISHERS DO NOT NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS, NOR DO THEY ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR INTERPRETATION IN THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS PUBLICATION. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE COPIED OR REPRODUCED, STORED IN A RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, OR BE TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM BY ANY MEANS ELECTRONIC, MECHANICAL, PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING OR OTHERWISE WITHOUT THE PRIOR PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHERS. ISSUE 105 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 3