On April 14 – 16, Estonia successfully hosted its first IAPCO National Seminar. The training event, which took place in the Tallink Spa & Conference Hotel in Tallinn, was attended by 60 representatives from the Estonian meeting industry, who came to gain expert insight into the business’ latest methods and trends.IAPCO, the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers, is widely recognized as the world leader in international conference training.
The event was led by IAPCO speakers Michel Neijmann, Managing Partner of K2 Conference and Event Management Co. in Istanbul, and Sarah Storie-Pugh, Ambassador for Congrex-UK in London. Both are experienced members of the IAPCO Training Academy and have extensive backgrounds in the international conference sphere.
After the seminar Storie-Pugh praised the advanced level of Estonia’s conference industry and the positive attitude of the training participants.
“It was a fantastic experience”, she said. “We certainly enjoyed being part of this enthusiastic group, who have much knowledge already but a thirst for even more. Tallinn is a great city with many wonderful facilities, and the people are friendly and professional.”
The seminar was organised by IAPCO in conjunction with the Estonian Convention Bureau, Enterprise Estonia and the Estonian Tourist Board.
“The training was invaluable for the those who took part,” said Riine Tiigi, managing director of the Estonian Convention Bureau. “It was a real eye-opener for most of them, and the feedback we’ve gotten has been extremely positive.”
Tiigi said she hopes the success of this event will open the door for similar seminars in the future.
Attendees were equally upbeat on the seminar.
“It was a great initiative by the ECB to organize such a prestigious seminar for Estonian meeting industry professionals,” said Kersti Vaino, Director of Sales and Marketing of Nordic Hotel Forum. “It is our key focus to attract more international events and… this seminar has provided excellent tools for achieving this.”
Evelyn Silvet of Frens Conference Services PCO added, “Although I’ve already been operating many years in the PCO business, the IAPCO Seminar offered me several new perspectives on how to manage our everyday work more efficiently and add extra value to our services.”
