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 ‘How to boost your conference budget’ theme of Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s 9th Association Seminar

Panellists (l to r) Amos Wong; Project Manager of AOS Conventions and Events (AOS), Yap Shook Fung; Director of MCI Malaysia, Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Yahya; Organising Committee Chair for 21^st FIGO World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2015, Teo Chee Hai; President of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) and Gregg Parker; Managing Director of Parker Industries Sdn Bhd share their thoughts on ‘How to boost your conference budget’ with moderator, Angeline Lue, Director of Sales & Marketing, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre at the Centre’s 9^th Association Seminar.

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 March 2014 – The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s (the Centre) 9^th Association Seminar brought together leading Professional Conference Organisers (PCOs), decision-makers of national associations and industry professionals to share knowledge and experience on international best practices in the delivery of successful meetings. 

Under the overarching theme ‘How to boost your conference budget’, Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Yahya, Organising Committee Chair for the 21^st FIGO World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2015 which will be held in Vancouver, Canada, highlighted that having local and regional sponsors can further boost one’s event budget. “Having sponsors can ensure the desired outcomes and the overall quality of the meeting is not compromised”. 

In sharing his experience in preparing for the upcoming International Federation of Surveyors Congress 2014 (FIG 2014), President of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), Mr Teo Chee Hai said that a compelling proposition and strong programme content are important to attract delegates, especially Generation-Y. “So in our bid presentation, we included a theme that focused on the development of youths; which is one of FIG’s goals, and demonstrated our commitment with the suggestion of concurrently hosting an undergraduate conference. To be held at the Centre from 16 June to 21 June, FIG 2014 is expected to welcome 3,000 delegates.

Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz and Mr Teo were joined by Ms Yap Shook Fung; Director, MCI Malaysia, Mr Amos Wong; Project Manager, AOS Conventions and Events Sdn Bhd (AOS) and Mr Gregg Parker; Managing Director, Parker Industries Sdn Bhd in the interactive dialogue session moderated by Ms Angeline Lue, the Centre’s Director of Sales & Marketing. 

This year’s forum programme also included roundtable discussions on ‘How to attract sponsorship for your event’, ’The benefits of using a Professional Conference Organiser’, ‘From local to global association conference planning’, and‘International conference and its impact on local associations’, a case studyon a successful bid process and the benefits of hosting international conferences by Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) General Manager, Business Events, Ms Ho Yoke Ping, as well as two workshops titled ‘Bid Clinic’ and ‘Association Development Clinic‘ by MyCEB. 

According to Mr Alan Pryor, the Centre’s General Manager Designate, the Centre’s annual thought-leadership and knowledge-sharing association seminar is part of on-going Corporate Responsibility (CR) efforts to support local associations, “to educate, encourage and inspire them to proactively engage their international counterparts to bring their meetings to Malaysia, and at the same time, contribute towards enhanced professional development.”

More than 110 participants from over 42 national associations and meeting industry partners participated in this year’s 9^th Association Seminar.