EUROPE – The UK’s biggest events industry exhibition, International Confex, has unveiled what key industry figures are calling the broadest educational programme in the show’s 30-year history.
The content of the show, which runs at Olympia London 12-13 March, sees a mixture of high profile speakers, international thought leaders, direct buyer insights and industry experts.
West Ham United Football Club Vice-Chairman and entrepreneur, Karren Brady, CBE, will deliver the keynote presentation on Day One of the show, which will also see the return of Conference Question Time.
A strategic partnership with the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) will deliver a session on Day One featuring senior healthcare association buyers Isabel Bardinet, CEO of the European Society of Cardiology and Alessandro Cortese, CEO of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO).
The second day’s programme will see discussions from global corporate buyers from Hewlett-Packard and IBM (Server Sales EMEA). Zibrant will also host its critically acclaimed Healthcare Forum with Richard Parker, Director of Healthcare Strategy, leading the event.
There will be content on the Internationalisation of Events, Marketing Techniques and Innovations that are changing the world of events, and the mobile revolution.
The Keith Prowse agency will deliver its thoughts on Hospitality Trends for 2014, and there will be an ‘Ask the Agency Experts’ session which will include senior level representatives from the agency world.
“This is a great programme of education that has been tailored to meet the needs of the full range of visitors,” said Donna Bushell, Event Director for International Confex. “We have a good mix of entertainment, information and education delivered by brilliant speakers from around the world.”
On top of the educational experience, International Confex will also be packed full of informative features. Jackie Mulligan from the University of Leeds will be leading a series of Imagineering Tours around the event, looking to ‘reimagine’ the future of events, while University event management departments will send students to compete in a University Conference Challenge.
There will be an interactive velodrome WattBike Challenge on the London VeloPark stand and the annual Perfoming Artistes Showcase will involve a portfolio of celebrity names.
The programme will also provide the platform for the launch of the Events are GREAT Report, the long awaited industry anthology, featuring up to date statistics on the size, value and growth of every sector of the UK events industry. This session will complement the official response from the industry to the findings of the All Party Parliamentary Inquiry into the events industry, a session that will also take place during the show.
“Education is a critical part of the show and is important in fulfilling our commitment to our visitors and our exhibitors,” said Bushell.
“People lead busy lives but we’re confident that they will get genuine value from time spent at International Confex this year.”
International Confex is organised by Mash Media Group Ltd, owner of Conference & Meetings World, Exhibition World and Conference News and Exhibition News titles. Full details for exhibiting and attending the show: www.international-confex.co.uk.
Photo of Karren Brady courtesy of Woman & Home, Liz McAulay
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