AIPC annual conference is converted to an industry forum

AIPC is unable to retain the originally scheduled dates for the 2020 AIPC Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur. The host venue MITEC had to deal with the rescheduling of their various events owing to the Covid-19 situation and AIPC's understanding is that they have to accord priority to their events that would have taken place in the first few months of 2020.

Industry Forum

The association of international convention centers is currently making preparations for its Annual Conference to take place around the same dates in an even more relevant and accessible form. This will be achieved by relocating and repurposing the AIPC 2020 Annual Conference as an Industry Forum on COVID-19 Management and Recovery; and will incorporate the General Assembly. AIPC will do this in collaboration with its G3 Alliance partners UFI and ICCA, which will enable them to offer a comprehensive set of resources and strategic alignment that the three global organizations can deliver. AIPC's goal is to focus the forum's content on the impact and mitigation of Covid-19 on meetings and center companies, as well as the approaches convention centers will need to create and advance into what may be an extended and complex period of recovery.

Topics of discussion

The topics of discussion will revolve around the following:

1. The Trajectory: Where are we and What Comes Next? Tracking and anticipating new developments
2. Weighing the Impact: Industry and Venue Experiences and Responses: Assembling and analyzing the best available data and experiences to create a consolidated picture of the current and projected impacts on all sectors
3. The Economics of Survival: How both the underlying economy and our industry are likely to fare in the face of direct impacts and government response policies
4. Restoring Confidence; the Psychology of Recovery: Strategies for managing through the dynamics public attitudes in recovery
5. Reputational Strategies and Messages: Advice on how best to communicate both during and after a crisis in order to best support a return to normality
6. The “Boilerplate”: Legal, Insurance and Partner Perspectives: Practical implications for key management / client relations tools such as legal obligations, insurance coverage and other contractual matters.
7. Practical Measures: Best Practices for Management and Containment: The latest resources available to manage and ensure continuity with global standards
8. A Collaborative Recovery Strategy: Designing and Securing a Partner Agreement: Developing a coordinated response strategy to demonstrate industry resolve and project a sense of confidence and solidarity moving forward.

All of these topics will be directly relevant to the planning and tactics convention centers will need to employ as the meetings industrie makes the transition from emergency response and survival into recovery and restoration, and therefore demonstrate the industry’s resiliency. The topics will also equip convention centers to better engage with their local governments and industry partners in their respective destinations.

Final dates

Arrangements are now being finalized for this event and will be communicated to members via Bulletins and the AIPC website. While AIPC is now targeting the original timing of June 28-July 1, final dates will obviously have to be based on prevailing conditions.