With the 62nd ICCA Congress fast approaching, ICCA revealed more in-depth details about its new congress format, and what delegates can expect to take away from its member-led content sessions, during an online media launch today (September 25).
Themed It Starts With Us, the conference will take place from November 12-15, 2023, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok.
Ksenija Polla, head of education and legacy programmes, said that ICCA had identified 10 topics over the past few months, and discussions at the congress would see “collaborations for many years to come”.
To deliver the new congress format modelled on “uniqueness, diversity and inclusion” to “share knowledge and best practices” with delegates from 85 countries, ICCA is working with global events company Maritz, shared ICCA’s CEO Senthil Gopinath.
Ben Goedegebuure, chief global strategy of Maritz, described the 2023 congress as “something totally new”, where everybody is a “newcomer”, an “equal participant”, and it would be an event that “listens to everybody”.
The format will also allow attendees to build their own “congress experience” and participate in a “sharing hub concept” where they “co-create content in areas of interest to them”.
For instance, there would be 180 minutes of solution-finding with 80 topic champions facilitating conversation for the first two mornings.
“And on the final day, there will be 60 minutes of action-driven action to set the content for future events to engage members long after the congress,” Goedegebuure elaborated.
Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, president, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), also promised an event that would offer “the right content, knowledge, networking and business opportunities” and an opening ceremony, welcome reception and gala dinner showcasing the hallmarks of Thai culture to ensure delegates have an experience and evening to remember.
Gopinath shared that the trajectory of the registration numbers, pegged to 2019 attendance, achieved 60 per cent of the prediction between March and September.
“Asia Pacific is still to register and members are waiting for government approval to attend,” he pointed out, adding that the 2023 congress is anticipated to be one of the largest in the association’s history.
Host destination, Bangkok, also reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a carbon-neutral event.
To do this, TCEB director Nooch Homrossukhon said the bureau would be working with ICCA and the local organising committee to track all carbon emissions and carbon offsets.
Chiruit added the aim was to build the Thai capital’s environmental credentials in the meetings industry, having clinched the Most Improved Award from the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) 2022 during the 61st ICCA Annual Congress in Poland.
The association will also look into the event’s sustainability impact, and produce a detailed report on how TCEB delivered carbon neutrality after the congress.
Thailand is hosting the ICCA congress for the third time, where the first was held in Bangkok in 1984, and the second in Pattaya in 2007.
