Meeting Professionals International's 2025 World Education Congress, held at the America's Center in St. Louis from June 18-20, drew 1,900 in-person attendees, as well as 300 virtual participants.
According to MPI, 45 percent of the people were first-time attendees, and international attendance was up year-over-year. In total, there were 104 participants from outside the United States, comprising 5 percent of the on-site attendee base. Among them were 59 event professionals from Canada, 24 from EMEA and APAC, and 21 from Latin America.
MPI president and CEO Paul VanDeventer noted the significance of increased international attendance during a time when many destinations are seeing a decline in overseas visitors.
"Our community in challenging times needs to lean into each other even more. They want to be together and they want to support each other," said VanDeventer during the event's press conference. "We're very proud to be able to provide a safe place, particularly right now, for our Canadian colleagues with what they're going through. I talked to a lot of them individually this week, and they have talked a lot amongst themselves for months leading up to this. They recognize that what may be happening politically is not indicative of what they've always loved about being in the United States."
Meeting with purpose
As the WEC took place over Juneteenth, Carol Daniel, a senior producer/host for Nine PBS and the official event emcee, gave a few remarks commemorating the day that slavery ended in the United Sates.
MPI also collaborated with the city's convention and visitor's bureau, Explore St. Louis, to add immersive, off-site educational experiences. Four learning journeys were available, including one on "The Role of Black History, St. Louis," held at the Missouri History Museum, and another on "Women in Business: A Journey of Resilience and Connection," which took place at Energizer Park.
As part of its sustainability initiatives, MPI partnered with the U.S. Food Waste Pact, ReFED and the World Wildlife Fund to launch a Food Waste Prevention Pilot Project at the conference. Staff from MPI, the venue and its catering teams received training on reducing food waste and implementing environmentally friendly practices. Attendees were able to volunteer in an on-site food waste audit. Findings from the WEC will be used as a case study for improving sustainability efforts for future events.
Looking ahead
MPI announced a slew of updates during the conference. New leadership appointees include Jim Russell, executive vice president of sales for Freeman, who is the chair-elect for MPI's board of directors. Richard Allchild, North American head of sales for IMEX, has been appointed chair-elect for the MPI Foundation's global board of trustees.
Also in the works is a relaunch of MPI's Certificate in Meeting Management program. The industry certificate will be updated with feedback from past CMM holders and focus-group studies.
The next edition of MPI's World Education Congress will be held in San Antonio, June 2-4, 2026. The European Meetings & Events Conference will take place Feb. 21-24 in Barcelona.
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