BestCities Global Alliance and ICCA have unveiled three finalists of the 2024 Incredible Impacts Programme – International Hip Preservation Society (ISHA), European Academy of Childhood Disability (EACD), and World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). The three will compete for a US$20,000 grant at the upcoming ICCA Congress in Abu Dhabi this month.
Following a presentation of their entry, the three associations will await voting by Congress attendees. Voting results and the final score evenly weighted between jury and audience will determine the winner.
In a press release introducing the finalists, BestCities and ICCA said all three share a common goal of achieving equity for people everywhere.
ISHA’s 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting served as a catalyst for its expansion across Africa, with a key objective of building hip preservation hubs that are accessible to patients across the continent – regardless of class, age or gender.
EACD developed the EACD+ programme to improve quality of life for people with a childhood-onset disability by expanding their access to sports, culture and technology. Following the success of EACD2024 in Bruges, Belgium, EACD sought to expand the programme to future host destinations, and created an Impact Creation Task Force that raises awareness of the needs and rights of people with childhood-onset disabilities and advocates for more inclusive policy making throughout Europe.
WAN-IFRA initiated the Copenhagen Criteria project in 2024 to identify news values that will help news organisations better appeal to younger audiences. The association intends to advance the Copenhagen Criteria at the World News Media Congress in Krakow, Poland in 2025, including other marginalised groups, such as women and immigrants, to ensure diverse voices contribute to the conversation about news consumption.
The Incredible Impacts Programme celebrates the value of international association meetings by rewarding innovative thinking and creativity across the industry. Programme finalists demonstrate proven impact in shaping a better world, inspiring others to incorporate their own legacy initiatives into future events.
