Conference & Meetings World Issue 99 | Page 8

News FOR ALL THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS & DAILY UPDATES, VISIT: www.c-mw.net Ten new congress wins for Dubai Business events stand against harassment AUSTRALASIA – The business events sector has taken a stand against harassment in the workplace, with a new initiative titled ‘Not In My Workplace’. On 21 February, an inaugural NIMW summit took place in the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event brought together a collection of influential government figures, senior executives and thinkers to address the issue of workplace harassment and abuse across all industries. Melbourne Convention Bureau CEO Karen Bolinger commented: “The Summit provided a valuable opportunity to address how we answer the question ‘what can I do’, helping all of us find the actions we can take to stamp out sexual harassment in the workplace.” MIDDLE EAST – Dubai World Trade Centre has announced that it has won bids to host 10 new international congresses at the venue from 2019-2022. The events are expected to bring around 37,000 delegates to the city, and an estimated AED700m (US $190m) for the economy. Events will include the 4th Young Professionals in Space Conference (YPS), the 22nd International Academy of Astronautics Human in Space Symposium, and the 6th Global Symposium on Health Systems Research. London and Paris partner for incentives EUROPE – The official convention bureaux for London and Paris have announced a new partnership, which they claim will see the two cities work- ing together for the first time to deliver a “unique two-in-one incentive trip”. The agreement is aimed at inspiring North American incentive buyers to book a 2-in-1 trip for their clients. The itineraries have been curated to showcase how easy it is to enjoy both cities in one incentive trip, and includes an official partnership with FUTR Group sells large stake to MP International WORLD – MP International, part of the Pico Group, has announced the acquisition of ‘a significant stake’ in FUTR Group (formerly Millennial 20/20), the global trends, innovation and summit business. The move comes after three years of growth for FUTR Group. FUTR will continue to be led by co-founders Rupa Ganatra and Simon Berger. FUTR Group is a global platform covering the future trends markets including retail, marketing and commerce, as well as advertising, AR, data, AI, mobile and robotics. 8 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 99 Eurostar. GL Events completes new €130m bond issue EUROPE – Event industry group GL Events has announced the completion of a new €130m private placement bond issue for private institutional investors. The bond follows private placements of €50m in 2013 and €100m in 2016. The latest issue was oversubscribed by French institutional investors, and the settlement date was 26 February 2019. EMAIL THE CMW EDITORIAL TEAM WITH ALL YOUR INDUSTRY NEWS: [email protected] AUD$187m for events in Australia AUSTRALASIA – Tourism Australia’s Business Events Bid Fund Programme (BFP) has helped to double the value of business events secured by the country over the past three months, to a new milestone of AUD$187m (US$133.7m). The BFP has also helped boost the number of applications received from the Australian business events industry, which have now reached 79 since the fund’s launch. Total expenditure by international business events visitors in the year ending September 2018, the national agency said, was worth AUD$4.92bn. New Chief of Strategy at Comexposium EUROPE – Comexposium has announced that Severine Dubarry-Bardon will become Chief Strategy Officer for the Group. Dubarry-Bardon currently serves as Chief Development Officer. Her colleague Driss Tazi will become Director of Mergers & Acquisitions for the Group, as Dubarry-Bardon steps into her new strategy role. In both new positions, Dubarry-Bardon and Tazi will work closely with Renaud Hamaide, President of Comexposium, and Simon Foster, CEO of Comexposium, to achieve their objectives. Dubarry-Bardon will lead the Group strategy, pursuing the many facets of growth the business is targeting: acquisitions, launches, and organic growth.