The 59th ICCA Congress will include face-to-face events in host city Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and in regional hubs.
In light of the pandemic and global travel restrictions, the
International Congress and Convention Association has transformed its 59th annual congress into a hybrid event. Under the new model, created by ICCA
in conjunction with Maritz Global Events, delegates can participate virtually
and/or via face-to-face opportunities during the "Global Hybrid Multi‐Hub
Congress Experience."
The six-week format includes digital education sessions –
which began Sept. 22 — and will
culminate with the face-to-face conference in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 1-3,
2020; over the same dates, attendees
also have the option to attend face-to-face events at one of five regional hubs: Cape Town, South Africa; Kuching, Malaysia;
Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Málaga, Spain; and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ICCA’s North
America and Latin America contingents won’t organize in-person events, but will offer programming
specific to their respective regions during the Nov. 1-3 dates.
The new format was developed to attract and engage as many members and
stakeholders as possible, according to ICCA leaders. "This was
based on the concept of giving our attendees the flexibility and autonomy to
choose their manner of participation," they added, "instilling feelings of safety and
security during the event journey... while providing a truly global experience."
A highlight of the congress
will be the creation of the "Kaohsiung Protocol," a framework identifying major
trends and key strategies that will help the international meetings industry
to thrive. In total, the six-week program will feature more than 100 sessions and 180
speakers. Among the keynote speakers are Bob Bejan, corporate vice president, global
events, production studios and marketing community at Microsoft,
and Jean Pierre Lacombe,
director of the International Finance Corporation's global
macro, market and portfolio research.
A full schedule of the 59th
congress programming, happening through Nov. 3, can be viewed here;
registration information can be viewed here.