Shaping the future
AIPC CEO SVEN BOSSU PRESENTS A NEW PROGRAMME AND AN ENERGETIC APPROACH TO HELPING FUTURE LEADERS IN THE INDUSTRY
t is now a little more than a year since I took the helm at AIPC and , as for many of you , the last 12 months have been a professional rollercoaster . At this moment , the sentiment is turning more positive and that is not only due to springtime weather in Europe .
The high-speed US vaccination programme is resulting in a high number of national events taking place in the US from June . Test events are taking place throughout Europe , providing the data needed to create a much-needed framework for organised events . The low number of cases in Australia also allows that country to re-open for national events and the same goes for China and Japan . And then there is Dubai , which has been open for international events for many months now .
At the same time , this is not simply ‘ Back to 2019 ’. Convention centres – in collaboration with the other stakeholders in the event value chain – need to re-think the delegate experience to create maximum value for both the organisers and participants . Low touch technology , in combination with data collection and mining , is likely to be part of the road ahead .
In addition , the last year has also provided us insights into different ways of bringing communities together . Although many of us are ‘ zoomed out ’ by now , digital has structurally enriched the product and service offering of convention centres and will continue to do so going forward , allowing them to reach new audiences unserved till now .
Future Shapers As a result of all this , the outlook for convention centres is both challenging and inspiring . It will take hard work from our best talents to make it happen . That is why it is important to offer these future leaders the opportunity to connect with their peers , to learn and – together – shape the future of convention centres .
Therefore , AIPC is launching its Future Shapers programme : a 12-month , free-of-charge , elevated management programme , with a maximum of 20 participants .
The Future Shapers programme supports the development of the high performers within the AIPC community to think and act like leaders . Participants will be senior managers on a path to the highest leadership roles within their organisations . Through education , a community of peers and mentors , and a platform to perform , the programme will support these future leaders to become future shapers of our industry .
To be perfectly clear : this is not a management course . This is an
The joint effort is a reminder of what our industry is about ... The creation of programmes like the Future Shapers , by a small team of great people , provides energy .”
interactive roadmap towards excellence in convention centre management , requiring the commitment and engagement of the participants . In exchange , we offer the candidates the opportunity to help shape the future of the AIPC community .
The ambitions are high and the result of a very focused team effort . The Task Force which pulled all this together in record time is composed of four members and I do take the liberty of mentioning them here : Kathleen Warden of the Scottish Event Campus , Elaine Wan from the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center , Samantha Glass from ICC Sydney and Kareem Salvant from the Javits Center in New York . It is a truly diverse and global team ( finding the right time to meet can be a bit of a challenge ) and all the members are on a shared mission . They want to shape the future of convention centres by embracing Peter Drucker ’ s motto : “ The best way to predict the future is to create it ”.
The joint effort and output are a great reminder of what our industry is about : bringing people together around shared objectives , enabling trade , innovation , and collaboration . The careful re-opening for organised events and the transformation of convention centres into multi-channel platforms , allow for optimism . The creation of programmes like the Future Shapers , by a small team of great people , provides energy . The combination of both is the key to a bright future .
10 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 112