Meeting News - October 6, 2008 - (Page 4) Inside the Meetings Industry Edited by Rayna Katz rayna.katz@nielsen.com New Event Tech Show Successfully Co-Locates with Affordable Meetings More than 1,700 meeting and event professionals came to Washington, DC, last month for both the annual Affordable Meetings National show, run by Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), and the inaugural Event Technology Expo (ETE), also run by HSMAI and co-located with Affordable Meetings at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. According to HSMAI president and CEO Bob Gilbert, attendance at the Sept. 10-11 Affordable Meetings conference was 5 percent higher than at last year’s event, which had no ETE component. The ETE education sessions took place alongside Affordable Meetings’ educational track of 23 sessions and addressed tech-related topics mentioned in pre-event attendee surveys as being vital to meetings, exhibition, and event management. One key theme of the education, Gilbert noted, was the improved ability to identify measurable and tangible benefits when using technological solutions. The keynote presentation, by LinkedIn co-founder Allen Blue, laid out the benefits of using socialnetworking sites to market events and to enhance pre- and post-event knowledge sharing and community building. Blue also announced that LinkedIn will introduce an events application later this month. In other education sessions and on the show floor, the tech applications featured related to every aspect of event planning—from sourcing, logistics, and marketing to enhanced learning, real-time polling, and linking attendees remotely to in-person meetings, as well as virtual conferencing. In a sign that the new ETE has drummed up wider appeal among planners than Affordable Meetings National did on its own, the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO) used ETE as a backdrop for a town-hall meeting on the conference’s first day, ahead of the keynote presentation. “SISO had no formal presence at our September event in the past, but clearly the technology aspect is compelling to meeting and event producers and suppliers,” Gilbert said. And later that day, SISO held a “D.C. Caucus,” which brought together leaders of the association community and their private-show colleagues to discuss common event challenges, solutions, and possible partnering opportunities. NBTA to Offer Strategic Meetings Management Certification in the Summer of 2009 The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is adding to its educational portfolio a certification program in strategic meetings management. Come July 2009, the Strategic Meetings Management Certification (SMMC) program will begin accepting applications, with classes likely to begin in October of that year. An SMMC task force is determining the core competencies that will be taught and tested by the program. Kari Kesler, a task force member and global manager for meeting solutions for Honeywell International in Morristown, NJ, stressed that the SMMC will have “almost nothing in common with other certification programs related to meetings,” such as the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and the Certified Meeting Manager (CMM) administered by the Convention Industry Council (CIC). Kesler emphasized the difference between strategic meeting planning and delivery— which is addressed by other certification programs—and strategic meetings management. “The SMMC is for the person who must develop and run a program that dictates how every meeting and event in a company is approved, sourced, contracted, and paid for,” Kesler said. “A good SMM program requires sound negotiation strategies and contract templates that result in less effort, greater oversight, and lower overall spending.” The new certification is the latest effort by NBTA to become a resource for travel managers who are taking on meeting management. In mid-June, NBTA published online several SMM case studies to educate both planners and purchasing managers on creating such a program. NBTA also announced at that time that it would co-produce the Summit on Travel & Meetings, which will take place in late January in Charlotte, NC, and address the integration of meetings spend into larger corporate travel agreements. r —Section written by Robert Carey www.meetingnews.com ASAE Pr o d u c e s P a p e r o n A s s o c i a t i o n s ’ S o c i a l R e s p o n s i b i l i t y Building on its 2008 Global Summit on Social Responsibility, the American Society of Association Executives & the Center for Association Leadership has released a draft of “Guiding Principles for Socially Responsible Associations.” The draft came from representatives of associations, charities, and business partners who worked with colleagues and members of the United Nations. The 30-point document guides associations on social responsibility in advocacy, leadership, ethics, diversity, regulation, human rights, philanthropy and community service, and environmental and economic sustainability. The final document will be presented for approval and discussion by ASAE & the Center’s boards of directors in November. To view the draft, visit www.asaecenter.org/srprinciples. Additionally, ASAE & the Center accepted a 4 MeetingNews October 6, 2008 $500,000 pledge from Global Hyatt Corp. to assist with the launch of ASAE’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiative. Over the next three years, Hyatt’s contribution will support ASAE & the Center in building the knowledge resources needed to support diversity and inclusion across all associations and nonprofit organizations. The first major step in the initiative will be a Diversity Summit, scheduled for Dec. 10-11 in Baltimore. “We want participants to walk away from the Summit with clarity about how to make their organizations more diverse, feeling more connected to other organizational leaders doing similar kinds of work, and knowing they have a forum for communicating with ASAE & the Center,” said Trish Kerle, director of diversity and inclusion at ASAE & the Center. http://www.asaecenter.org/srprinciples http://www.meetingnews.com
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