Over 190 participants from more than ten countries across Europe helped EFAPCO to explore all manner of ways to help drive the events industry to survive and thrive in the current wildly uncertain times.
They included some of the brightest up-an-coming students in the international meetings and incentive travel industry, from across Spain and Portugal for the latest edition of the IMEX-MPI-MCI Future Leaders Forum. It ran in tandem with the Congress, and featured an intensive “round table” workshop programme plus opportunities to take part in the main Congress sessions
Hosted by EFAPCO’s Portuguese association, APECATE, the Federation’s 5th Congress took place at the Estoril Congress Center, on the Portuguese coast, one of Europe’s greenest meetings complexes in a green-minded destination.
“All our delegates reacted very positively to the input from every keynote speaker,” said EFAPCO Vice President Helena Weinstein who also headed up the organising team.
“I guess it was the powerful range of speaker talent that gave us a surge in late Congress registrations, taking us close to the numbers achieved by the last – landmark – Congress held in Brussels in 2010,” she added.
Highlights included a highly analytical presentation by Jose Manuel Bastos, Head of Unit Conference Organisation at the European Commission. He gave delegates some “inside track” guidance as to how meeting planners could become involved in the organisation of EU business events at a variety of levels ranging from high-level political and technical gatherings to broad public meetings.
Business events activity from his unit accounted for Euro 40 million a year. Most meetings were subject to detailed framework contracts, yet even small companies could tender for conference assistance projects. And, of course, not all EU events took place in Brussels. Indeed here were many ways of presenting a company’s credentials, he added.
As for working with the European Commission, it was always more receptive to linking up with companies who belong to recognised membership organisations representing a broad perspective.
EFAPCO President Nicolas Le Brun, a key contact with the EU over recent years, commented: “In lobbying the EU, it is important that our Federation continues to grow and thereby strengthen our voice in seeking greater political, economic and cultural recognition.
“In just eight years we have expanded from six founder-member countries to 13, including several in the “new” Eastern Europe including, most recently, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Our membership embraces every country with a national PCO association and today we are encouraging PCOs in other countries to form their own associations in order to join us.
“A recent membership audit revealed that we now have more than 1,450 full and supporting members including well over 500 PCOs. Others include DMCs, hotels, airlines, exhibition organisers, technical suppliers and exhibition specialists.
“I’m sure the buzz generated by every aspect of the Congress programme has given delegates renewed confidence in the value of EFAPCO membership – and for spreading the word to other European countries.”
