Lviv Convention Bureau visited 61th ICCA congress that was held on November 6-9 in Krakow. About 900 participants of MICE industry came to Poland to take part in the election of a new president, board members, discuss industry trends, establish contacts, solve business issues, learn at lectures and join humanitarian missions for Ukraine.

LCB spent these congress days at meetings with partners and in conference halls at training sessions. We talked about support for Ukraine and Lviv, about the Russian war, about the future of the conference industry, about important events, about the restoration of business tourism after the war.

We would like to share 5 insights from the event:

Ukraine is on the air

At first glance, it may seem that everyone has already forgotten that russian war in Ukraine is going on a couple of kilometers from Krakow. A large congress, many business tourists, everyone talks about something, solves business issues over lunch, attends training sessions. But, if you listen and look closely, the question of russian war comes up again and again. Sometimes in a lecture about economic trends, then in a session about how events should change the world for the better, then during a social program. The organizers emphasize that the industry should stick together and support Ukraine as much as it can: donate, take part in charity missions, participation in the work of humanized hubs. And here it is important that there are Ukrainian organizations that are ICCA members who will tell you how to be useful.

Supporting of Lviv

LCB has been a member of ICCA since 2015. Over the years of partnership, we have established good cooperation. At the beginning of the war, the ICCA board suspended russia’s membership in the association, and allocated funds to support initiatives for Ukraine. Now ICCA also supports the participation of Lviv in various industry events, calls on associations to join in supporting the city and hold their events in Lviv after the end of the war.

Security issue

During the congress Best Marketing Award was presented – an award given for achievements in the marketing of products and services. This year, Wales won Award for a document that interprets the new legislation in Great Britain regarding the creation of safe conditions during the holding of events. The reason that made us think about security protocols was the terrorist attack in Manchester during the concert of a popular singer, in which 22 people died and more than 1000 were injured. The Congress Center in Wales processed all the recommendations and chose what would be most relevant to professional event organizers, the locations themselves. The document contains many recommendations on how to prepare the venue, how to check participants, how to properly evacuate visitors, how staff should behave, what legal responsibility, etc. In the context of the Russian war and the long-term threat from Russia, professional organizers of events in Ukraine will definitely need a similar document. The experience of Britain in this matter will agree. If you are interested, you can view the document at this link.

A voice for the youth

During the congress, there was also a forum of young professionals, where the work of the Council of Future Leaders (ICCA Future Leaders Council) was presented in more detail. The new structure was created with the participation of young active professionals from different parts of the world in order to represent the voice of young people and take into account their wishes in the development of the industry. The bureau team also attended the forum and took part in the discussion of the future development of the conference industry, what skills and competencies a young specialist should possess in order to meet the requirements of the industry.

Transformation of the industry

This year’s congress raises important topics. MICE community emphasizesed that after Covid-19, the industry cannot simply be restored to the indicators of 2019, it should be transformed. There are many challenges: attrition, attracting new talent, digitalization, complicated logistics, inflation, war, equality of opportunity, innovation in event design, sustainable development, inclusiveness, diversity, the legacy of events. etc. All of them require deep consideration and making important decisions.