Politicians' Forum
The next IMEX Politicians' Forum will take place on 26 May 2009.
About the Politicians' Forum
The
Politicians' Forum is co-organised by ECM (European Cities Marketing) and
IMEX and held under the auspices of JMIC (Joint Meetings Industry Council).
"This year's Politicians' Forum was at a significantly higher level, with some very stimulating sessions - IMEX's long term investment in this area is beginning to pay dividends."
Martin Sirk, Chief Executive Officer, ICCA
The Forum demonstrates the value of the meetings industry by focusing on return on investment and benchmarking. Case studies illustrating successful co-operation between local politicians and the meetings community are presented. The Forum allows politicians and the leaders of major international associations to share experience and information.
Politicians' Forum Objectives
- To improve politicians' understanding of the value of meetings at local constituency level.
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To demonstrate how clients see the role of politicians in terms of understanding their needs and providing financial support.
- To demonstrate how politicians can gain maximum benefit from meetings held in their city, region and country.
Views from past attendees...
"Many thanks for the invitation to IMEX. As a first timer I can honestly say that it was a stellar experience. Great organisation, fabulous company, stimulating debate and a real sense of fun. No wonder people are already discussing next year."
Jane Lomax-Smith,
Minister for Education & Children's Services,
Minister for Tourism,
Minister for the City of Adelaide
“I was immensely impressed with the magnitude of the global meetings industry and the overall setup and impact of IMEX on the sector as well as the networking and business platform it offers to exhibitors.”
Mr Cumhur Guven Tasbasi, Deputy Governor of Istanbul
“The reason it is imperative for me to encourage local politicians to attend IMEX and the Politicians Forum is that they can see for themselves the importance and size of the Conference and exhibitions industry. When they learn how many countries already invest in conferences and exhibitions as a way to boost their local economy they are able to take that knowledge away and build upon it once they return.”
Dr Hilda Farago, General Secretary, National Tourism Board, Budapest, Hungary
"This Forum was very important for my understanding of the meetings industry and its needs. The most important message is that we must have discussion between professionals and politicians. It's also very important that the professionals go to the politicians not only when they have special demands but after the events, too – with good or bad results – to explain, search for new proposals together and so on. The second thing is to reinforce good collaboration between all the people responsible for a city's tourism.”
Laurent Wehrli, Minister of Economy, Tourism & Culture, Montreux, Switzerland
“It was very interesting to see that meetings are, in fact, a large industry in their own right, as distinct from tourism. They have a very important part to play so we need to keep involving more politicians in these discussions.” Delaux had attended the previous two Forums and added, “The contacts at the Forum are of very high quality. My message to the professionals is to have tenacity. We have to continue our fight to give real political status to the industry.”
Stephan Delaux, Deputy Mayor of Bordeaux, France
“This was the first Forum I have attended. Figures are always interesting and the speeches were a source of reflection and inspiration for politicians. The most important message for me was the absolute need for the meetings industry to speak with the same voice to politicians and the necessity for industry professionals to gather in order to have real representation. My message to them is: do not wait for what authority can do for you; meetings industry professionals are – and must consider themselves to be so as well – partners in the process of selling a city/country.”
Vincent Henderick, Deputy Head of the Cabinet of the Minister of Economy and Labour, Brussels, Belgium
Click here to view a report from the 2008 Politicians' Forum
Click here to view a synopsis of the general discussion at the 2008 Politicians' Forum
Participation is by invitation only. Please contact Dale Hudson, dale@imex-frankfurt.com for more details.
