The education content for the first America Meetings Week and AIBTM, taking place in Baltimore (21-23 June, 2011), is now in the final planning stages. Reed Travel Exhibitions global education strategy includes using content successfully delivered within their worldwide portfolio, as well as introducing new content with a focus on current events that shape the industry.
Scheduled to be the first large-scale Hosed Buyer meetings and events exhibition to take place in the US, AIBTM opens with the AIBTM Education Day, a day solely dedicated to professional education, on 21st June. The AIBTM trade exhibition opens on 22nd June and continues on 23rd June. AIBTM Education Day is comprised of a series of conferences, forums and workshops, current highlights include:
- The Association Leadership Conference – focusing on strategies for association meeting planners
- Women In Business conference – successfully launched at EIBTM recently – aimed at women in the events industry
- Focus on Technology – a series of hands-on workshops and debates by industry experts updating delegates on developments in social media, apps, social networking and the very latest tools to maximise an individual’s attendance at an event.
- Branding your Product Masterclass – another powerful topic that was part of the EIBTM Education Programme recently, will help suppliers to understand the power of viral marketing, social media and how to help their company or product stand out from the crowd.
Further content for AIBTM’s Education Programme will be created working with the leading industry associations including PCMA, CIC, MPI, ICCA, JMIC and details will be announced in the New Year.
AIBTM will also see the launch of the MPI Value of Meetings research study, sponsored by AIBTM, set to deliver the world’s first qualitative and quantitative study of its kind. The content is expected to be launched on the first day of the trade exhibition, Wednesday 22nd June.
Says Erica Keogan, Education Content Manager for RTE, “We are committed to developing stimulating, multi-faceted event experiences that go far beyond the show floor. Hosted Buyers, trade buyers and exhibitors to AIBTM will have access to a world-class comprehensive Education Programme specifically geared to helping them focus on the issues that directly affect their sector, while also giving them practical pointers on how to maintain, develop and attract business.
“Currently some of our most successful seminars, workshops and conferences are only available to specific shows within our portfolio and we are now going to look at which ones will also benefit our other events including AIBTM. For example, the ICCA Forum for Young Professionals, the Technology Hours, and sustainability programmes are all going to be part of America Meetings Week”, Keogan concluded.
Following on from the success of the annual CEO Summit held at EIBTM 2010, RTE will launch a new version of the concept at AIBTM, with members invited from the US meetings industry to join those from the current CEO Club who are either already involved in the industry within the Americas or are interested in developing their business there.
AIBTM Project Manager, Steve Knight added; “ The professional Education Programme created by RTE for its global meetings portfolio of events is unique and considered “gold class standard” by the industry. As a result, we are selectively choosing what’s appropriate for the US Hosted Buyers and, of course, for those that will come from outside the country – it total, we’re expecting 3,000 meeting professionals of which 2,000 are Hosted Buyers. It’s a project in progress and we will gradually be feeding details and information to the industry over the coming months”.
