SARAWAK’S Kuching city will play host to the Asia for Animals (AfA) Borneo Conference this October, an event that is expected to attract some 500 delegates from around the world.

Described as the largest and most represented animal welfare conference in Asia, the event will head to Malaysia for the first time. It will take place from October 6 to 9 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching.

Organised by the Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA), the conference is expected to be attended by speakers and delegates who are responsible for animal welfare and wildlife management.

SSPCA had chosen Partnerships Breed Success as the theme for this year’s conference and the main objective of the conference is to engage, network, exchange ideas and build lasting collaborations with those working on animal welfare and wildlife management.

The organising chairperson for AfA Conference and SSPCA chairperson, Rebecca D’Cruz, said: “This conference will be a gathering for the global fraternity of animal welfare practitioners and it will be a venue to share your knowledge and experiences to ensure a safe and secure future for the animals in Borneo.”

The conference will be divided into various plenary, symposia and workshop sessions.

THE former prime pinister of Australia, John Howard, inducted seven new ambassadors yesterday into the Business Events Sydney (BESydney) Ambassador Program.

Joining the programme’s current membership of more than 90 influential leaders are Financial Services Council CEO Sally Loane, Animal Logic CEO Zareh Nalbandian, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand CEO Lee White, University of New South Wales president and vice chancellor Ian Jacobs, University of Western Sydney vice chancellor and president Barney Glover, Charles Perkins Centre academic director Stephen Simpson AC, and Australian Institute of Architects president-elect Ken Maher, Hassell.

Established in 2009, the BESydney Ambassador Program leverages the global network and expertise of its ambassadors to help BESydney secure multimillion dollar international events for Australia.

Howard said: “Sydney is a global intellectual capital and an important driver of the Australian economy. Business Events Sydney and its Ambassador network are helping us grow the knowledge economy by facilitating innovation and collaboration in our most globally competitive priority sectors.”

New South Wales premier Mike Baird who is now Patron of the Program, said: “The Ambassadors are some of the world’s most inspiring individuals and together we secure international business events that provide lasting legacies for our people, our communities and our industries.”

UFI’S 11^th edition of The Trade Fair Industry in Asia has reported a 6.8 per cent growth in total net exhibition space sold in 2014, rising from 17,453,000m² in 2013 to 18,641,750m²last year.

The study, conducted by Business Strategies Group (BSG), noted that more than 56 per cent of sold exhibition space was transacted in China and 11 per cent in Japan. Among the more than 2,100 trade fairs included in the study, over 600 were held in mainland China compared with 338 in Japan, Asia’s second largest market.

Above-average growth was registered in Asia’s larger exhibition markets – China was up by 7.4 per cent, India by 7.6 per cent, Taiwan by 8.8 per cent and South Korea by 8.2 per cent.

South-east Asian markets continued to do well 2014. Space sold in Indonesia increased by 9.2 per cent, the Philippines by 8.8 per cent, and Thailand by 8.6 per cent.

One of the region’s smallest exhibition markets, Macau, emerged the top performer last year, registering a growth in net space sold from 143,000m² to 197,500m².

BSG has forecasted regional growth this year for the Asian trade fair industry. It expects to see a 5.2 per cent year-on-year increment in net space sales. Strong performance in South-east Asia is predicted and China’s trade fair industry will remain resilient.

UFI managing director, Paul Woodward, said in a press statement: “Asia remains a critical region for those developing international trade fair businesses and many people in our industry will be encouraged to see the results of this important survey.”

UFI members are entitled to receive a four-page executive summary of the research and to purchase the full report at a substantial discount. For more information on this study, email asia@ufi.org.

TTG Events, the organiser of the annual IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific which will take place in Bangkok from September 29 to October 1, is working closely with its Thai partners including the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) “to closely monitor the situation and undertake necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of all our delegates”, said its statement to the press and attendees.

The statement pointed out that the bombing incident on August 17 “is an immediate priority for the IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific organising team”.

Darren Ng, managing director of TTG Asia Media, which TTG Events is part of, said: “With the Royal Thai government making every effort to restore the situation to normalcy, we have every confidence that this will be achieved quickly.

“As such, IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2015 will take place as planned.”

TTG Events will continue to provide updates on developments in the Thai capital.

Attendees of the events can also visit www.tceb.or.th or contact TCEB at info@tceb.or.th for more information.

THE Australian city of Sydney witnessed a gathering of the world’s foremost researchers and practitioners in data mining, knowledge discovery, data analytics and big data at the 21st ACM Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining conference (KDD15).

The event, co-located with the Big Data Summit, kicked off at Hilton Sydney on Monday and will conclude today.

New South Wales (NSW) Minister for Trade, Tourism & Major Events, Stuart Ayres MP, who was also a guest speaker during the conference, said: “This is the first time Australia has ever hosted this prestigious event and it is only the second time it has been held in the Asia Pacific region. It’s a great opportunity to highlight Australian achievements in big data.”

Ayres shared that the event will inject more than A$2 million (US$1.5 million) to the NSW economy and “support thousands of jobs”.

Business Events Sydney CEO, Lyn Lewis-Smith, said winning the conference for Sydney was a major milestone.

“This conference is usually held in the northern hemisphere and is unlikely to return to Australia for many years,” said Lewis-Smith.

More than 1,000 participants were at the event, according to KDD15 general chair and director of the Advanced Analytics Institute at University of Technology Sydney, Longbing Cao.

Explaining the event organiser’s decision to take the event to Sydney, Cao said: “Sixty-four per cent of the nation’s technology start-ups are based in New South Wales and Sydney is home to more than two thirds of Australia’s ICT headquarters….”

THE Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS) is collaborating with Biji-Biji Initiative, a Malaysian social enterprise that champions progressive ideas and sustainable living through the creative reuse of discarded materials, at this week’s the 16^th International Architecture, Interior Design & Building Exhibition (ARCHIDEX).

Through this MACEOS Green Initiatives programme, all PVC and tarpaulin banners used during the four-day ARCHIDEX will be collected and transformed into fashionable and uniquely designed tote bags. All proceeds raised from the sale of these bags will be channeled to Biji-Biji Initiative.

This programme marks the first Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity undertaken by MACEOS.

Vincent Lim, president of MACEOS and president of C.I.S Network, the joint organiser of ARCHIDEX, said: “Recycling advertising banners into something artistic and wholly practical is the first step we are taking towards creating a more environmentally friendly events industry.”

Matthieu Mertens – Partner, Head of Systems & Electronics, Biji-Biji Initiative, said: “These banner tote bags that we make from discarded advertising tarpaulin offer a creative solution for the global waste problem and each (will have its) own quirky design. These banners have been given a second life, saving them from ending up in the landfill.

“There are countless creative ways we can up-cycle fashionable and useful everyday objects from discarded items. All that’s required is an open mind and a willingness to look at waste from a different perspective.”

At the same time, MACEOS is calling for industry partners including professional conventions and exhibitions organisers, venue owners and operators as well as contractors, to be committed towards reducing carbon footprint during the staging of business and leisure events. An official Green Events logo will be accorded to events that meet the criteria set by MACEOS.

MANILA’S new interactive educational theme park, DreamPlay by DreamWorks, may be built for children but it is taking a serious interest in domestic and Asian MICE markets.

Located in the City of Dreams (COD) Manila, the attraction can accommodate up to 1,200 MICE delegates, and full hire is allowed with a minimum booking for 1,000 participants.

Kevin Sim, COD Manila COO, said DreamPlay by DreamWorks has a “dedicated schedule for MICE participants” during weekday mornings and nights to enable them to experience the venue “without the crowd and it does not infringe on the play space’s ‘adults only allowed if accompanied by a child’ policy”.

“We have been tapping companies for their teambuilding and family day activities; locally, through regular sales calls and sales blitzes and regionally, though tradeshows and sales missions, partnering with wholesale MICE teams, fam trips and offering special rates and concessions for group bookings,” Sim told TTGmice e-Weekly in an interview.

He added that the world’s first DreamWorks-inspired theme park has already hosted a number of corporate events in the past weeks.

It has eight attractions that are suitable for adults, including for teambuilding. Three function rooms including a high-ceiling ballroom can host meetings, workshops, focus groups and product launches.

THE China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Yunnan Sub-Council has signed a number of MoUs to boost the MICE industry in the Chinese province.

Mu Jiansheng, CCPIT Yunnan Sub-Council, Exhibition Department director, said eight MoUs were inked during the 11th China Expo Forum for International Cooperation (CEFCO), which was held in Kunming earlier this year.

CEFCO was co-organised by CCPIT, UFI-the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, IAEE-International Association of Exhibitions and Events and SISO-Society of Independent Show Organizers.

Mu said DCEC, which opened in provincial capital city Kunming in June, was built to serve the whole of China and for Kunming to become the gateway to South-east and South Asia.

“With the opening of DCEC, which is four times bigger compared to the Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Center, we can now raise the profile of smaller events and host mega events for the tobacco, sugar and alcohol industries,” he remarked.

DCEC has staged three large-scale events to date, including the China-South Asia Expo which attracted 80,000 delegates from 20 countries.

Come November the venue will host the China International Travel Mart.

A SERIES of seven new themed coffee breaks is now available to meeting planners who are taking their events to Regal Kowloon Hotel in Hong Kong’s Tsimshatsui.

The seven themes include Tropical Fever, which features tropical fruits dishes and Mixed Berries Smoothie; Vegetarian Refreshment, which offers a refreshing selection of greens; as well as five others that draw inspiration from Hong Kong, Japanese, English, Thai and Singaporean cuisine.

To enjoy one of these fun concepts, meeting planners need only to upgrade their regular coffee break with a top up of HK$60 (US$7.80) per pax. A 10 per cent service charge applies.

Contact rkh.banquet@regalhotel.com.

THE second edition of the rAWr (Recognising Award Winning Results) Awards will include a Special Award category this year to recognise incentive operators who have brought large groups to Malaysia in 2013/ 2014 with the support of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB)’s Twin Deal ++ global campaign.

Three international operators will receive the Special Award – the International Incentive Operator Award for Excellence at the event on November 12 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

The annual rAWr Awards, a joint collaboration between MyCEB and the Malaysia Association of Conference & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (MACEOS), also features four other categories – Business Events, Conventions, Incentive, and Exhibitions. Winners must be Malaysian registered companies that are members of either MyCEB and/or MACEOS, and event owners such as national associations.

Zulkefli Sharif, CEO MyCEB, said: “It is important we recognise extraordinary and innovative excellence in the business events industry to lift Malaysia’s stature in world rankings. Winning a rAWr Award seals your reputation as an events professional, instilling a sense of awe and respect for your company and individuals who are game-changers, challenging boundaries and continuously adding value to clients and the industry.”

Entries will be accepted until September 30, 2015. For more details visit www.rawrawards.com.my.