ICCA
DEI put in the ICCA spotlight for 2024 and beyond
ICCA CEO SENTHIL GOPINATH SAYS DEI IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF ALL TO GET MEMBERS ENGAGED
A t ICCA we talk continuously about Sustainability , DEI , Legacy , and Innovation . These pillars inspire our interaction with our members and form the basis of much of the discussions we have with our associations . They provide the bedrock of work undertaken with external agencies and crossorganisational bodies , including The GDS-Movement , the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative , and the Response Room Innovation Challenge .
Legacy is changing the narrative around how destinations and convention bureaus win new business . Legacy is also what associations want to leave behind when they exit the meeting space , as demonstrated in the annual Incredible Impacts Awards Programme run in conjunction with the BestCities Global Alliance . To me however – and on behalf of ICCA – it is Diversity , Equity , and Inclusion ( DEI ) which presents the greatest challenge , need , and opportunity to make a lasting difference . DEI has not been overlooked per se , but it is the most difficult of our pillars to define and quantify .
DEI is integral to the fabric of a progressive and forward-thinking organisation . DEI is an ongoing programme of engagement , education , and explanation . We are a members ’ organisation and , as with Sustainability , some members we work closely with are more engaged in DEI than others . To those who are not , we have an opportunity to start a conversation and construct a new narrative because I believe our industry should embrace and deliver change . We can champion more visible and more real opportunities for the
Above : Senthil Gopinath
“ DEI has not been overlooked per se , but it is the most difficult of our pillars to define and quantify .”
under-represented irrespective of place , age , circumstance , or persuasion .
At the recent 62nd ICCA Congress we gave visibility to our younger professionals , those already making strides in our community and those invited as Class of 23 student guests . This is the generation who question what has come before and challenge what is evident now . They are the drivers of change . People like me are merely custodians of our own time . It is our responsibility and our privilege to be sentinels for what comes next ; to be more diverse , to give greater equity to all , to open our hearts , minds , and best practices to inclusion . This must happen on our watch . DEI is a powerful tool for new talent attraction , and we should seek , harness , and develop talent across all the businesses and services we interact with and rely upon .
Expect ICCA to increase the volume around DEI in 2024 . After all , ICCA was founded by people from different parts of the world and now encompasses all the different sectors of our industry . We are merely living up to our core values by elevating the importance of DEI in the global meetings arena and advocating for a more welcoming and inclusive environment . Our plans will provide thought leadership and strategy to create a real and achievable DEI track that we will actively promote to our expanding global community . We will do this through proactive networking , we will create dedicated resources , we will advocate at all levels , sharing stories of successful implementation so all belong of this collective journey . We will achieve much of this through collaboration … the very thing that has guided ICCA for the last 60 + years .
We are our members . Our members are us . DEI is firmly in the spotlight and the message is simple : we must capture and celebrate the strength we find in our many differences . And we are starting with a renewed focus now , because what we do today matters in 2024 … 2025 … 2026 … n
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