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IACC Celebrates Success of First Ever Americas Virtual Connect
5/28/2020
The 39th edition of the IACC Americas Connect conference took place in virtual form last week (18 – 21 May), with 660 delegates (up 187% from last year’s event) attending over the four days making it the largest gathering in the association’s 40-year history. The IACC team, which originally rescheduled the conference to take place at Delta Hotels | Marriott Dallas Allen & Watters Creek in Texas, decided rather than postponing, it would move the event to an online format and remove all registration costs for members, to make the event accessible to all enabling members and partners to access key education, networking and knowledge sharing with their peers throughout the uncertain time. Mark Cooper, CEO, IACC commented “This is the year when IACC needs to step up and support every one of our 400 member venues and making registration free was the right decision. By doing this we opened the event up to many more of our members who would not usually be able to attend. Our incredible management, company sponsors and commercial partners made this happen with their unwavering support of Americas Virtual Connect.” The IACC Americas Virtual Connect education programme included more than 15 hours of CE creditworthy learning, with sessions focused on how to embrace the ‘new normal’ and develop creative, powerful services and experiences for returning meetings. Results show attendees stayed engaged for an average of 2.6 hours each day with 30% achieving high or medium levels through polls, Q&A and Emoji sharing. Cindy Novotny, Managing Partner, Master Connections Associates kicked off the event with her high-energy keynote ‘Chaos Creates Winners!’. Cindy focused her motivating keynote around the current global pandemic and inspired delegates to embrace the ‘new normal’ and showcase how innovation and ideas can be born from the unknown. Other sessions focused on how to incorporate new social distancing measures into all areas of a venue and a panel session that explored the new future for meetings. On the third day of the conference IACC hosted a ‘What’s on your Mind’ panel session, facilitated by Sean Anderson, Vice President of Sodexo. Prior to this delegates had the opportunity to submit suggestions for topics they wanted to discuss to the IACC team, which then pulled together a panel of experts for the panel. The discussion focused on six key topics including an exploration into possible standards and points of differentiation for things like continuous centralised breaks and creative beverage stations against changing operating requirements driven by COVID-19. IACC also hosted its annual Global Innovation Awards, a fast-paced competition focused on innovations. Seven IACC members and suppliers were invited to deliver a four-minute-long elevator pitch for their innovation to a panel of global senior meetings industry press judges. This year UCLA Housing & Hospitality won the award for its new product ‘The Plateia Cookbook’, which was centre-stage of a wider social responsibility campaign. The people’s choice award, as voted by the conference delegates, was awarded to Benchmark & Deloitte University for their joint Special Dietary Needs Management programme. On the final day of the conference, Nancy Lindemer, IACC Americas, President hosted a Happy Hour session, which gave delegates the chance to reflect on their time at the conference and take part in a virtual toast and networking session. Reflecting on the associations first virtual Americas Connect Cooper said: “A year ago I would not have imagined an IACC conference taking place online and at the same time welcoming our largest global gathering in our 40-year history. It is testament to the fact that IACC community doesn’t let anything stand in the way of coming together and supporting each other. He continued: “We have had some fantastic feedback from our attendees and I truly hope that many of the first time attendees that joined Virtual Connect will come back in person next year, when the conference takes place in Dallas in March. It will be a truly special live event.” The next IACC Americas Connect will take place on 8 - 10 March 2021 at Delta Hotels | Marriott Dallas Allen & Watters Creek in Texas. Sessions from the IACC Americas Virtual Connect can be viewed on the IACC YouTube channel at youtube.com/channel/UCArjlcSgqRDBrPC93m0iYBg?feature=watch About IACC Founded in 1981, IACC is dedicated to representing the best meeting venues globally and is, by definition, the future of the meetings industry realised. The association brings together the brightest, most innovative minds from around the globe. IACC elevates the meeting experience by creating a unique point of entry that is inclusive of the best-in-class meeting venues internationally. IACC membership is a symbol of meeting excellence and exceptional connections amongst the best in the meeting industry. This exclusiveness makes IACC’s members part of an elite group representing the most innovative, forward-thinking and results-driven meeting venues globally. All members meet a set of stringent Quality Standards and agree to a Code of Ethics. IACC includes over 400 member conference venues from Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Wales, Canada, Costa Rica and the United States. The IACC Mission Statement: "To bring together the brightest industry minds to promote the best meeting venues, which deliver exceptional meeting experiences. There are meetings... And then there are IACC Meetings". The IACC Vision: “IACC is a global community of passionate people and organisations delivering innovative and exceptional meeting experiences. Contact: questions@exhibitormagazine.com |
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