GCB NEWS – 40 YEARS OF GCB 31
40 years of GCB – and looking towards the future
n The GCB is celebrating its 40-year jubilee in the year 2013 – and taking advantage of the anniversary for a publication about the German meetings and convention industry over the course of time . But the GCB is not only looking back , it is also looking ahead : an extensive study has examined the future of the industry .
four examines the internationalisation of the industry with its challenges and opportunities . The fifth chapter is devoted to future opportunities and challenges in the meetings and convention industry .
n Quo vadis , meetings and convention industry ? On the occasion of its 40-year anniversary , the GCB commissioned a study to analyse future trends and changes in the industry .
The initial trigger for it occurred at the Meeting Experts Conference ( MEXCON ) in Berlin in June 2012 . The GCB and its partners asked themselves the question : “ How will meetings and conventions develop up until 2030 and what conclusions can be drawn from that for the German event industry ?” The goal of the study is to serve as a “ roadmap ” and give the event industry concrete recommendations for action , enabling the industry and meeting planners to adapt to future developments .
The publication for the 40-year GCB jubilee takes a look at the meetings and convention industry over the course of time . The book contains numerous interviews with renowned experts in addition to informative texts and is divided into five chapters :
The first chapter illuminates the importance of conventions from an economic and historical standpoint , for example , aspects such as the re-integration of Germany into the international community of states or the role of conventions for knowledge exchange and promotion of innovations . The second part focuses on developments and requirements relating to the architecture of convention centres . The third chapter looks at the psychological and sociological significance of events – the catchwords in this context are “ live experience ” and “ face-to-face communication ”. Chapter
With support from the scientific and business sectors as well as the event industry , the GCB commissioned IZT , the renowned Institute for Future Ideas and Technology Assessment , with implementation of the study .
In connection with the study , a scenario workshop with almost 30 experts covering a wide spectrum of areas with relevance for the event industry was held in Frankfurt on April 9 th , 2013 . In addition , a Delphi study was conducted : roughly 80 experts were polled about the subject of technology . Various scenarios were examined in that context : for example , the role and the changing form of knowledge transfer , the interplay of conferences with newly developed technologies and the architectural requirements placed on the convention centre of the future . The picture was rounded off with an online survey that was aimed at the associations of the industry and their members .