RESOURCES | MEETINGS INDUSTRY RESOURCE SHARING | MEDIA
COVID-19 Coronavirus
The global COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted meetings, events and exhibitions world-wide for more than a year. In order to address the resulting impacts, manage responses and share experiences the industry came together with an unprecedented effort to share all available information and strategies, and this continues today even as industry re-opening is taking hold in many areas of the world.
Early in the pandemic Joint Meetings Industry Council President Kai Hattendorf called upon all industry members to actively support measures that help restore and build confidence in event participation including:
- Ensuring that all policies and procedures within the industry’s spheres of influence that help secure the health and safety of event participants are in place and up to date
- Maintaining detailed awareness of both local and global actions and restrictions in order to be able to advise on factors that may affect upcoming events
- Cooperating with local / national authorities to implement any measures that have been determined to potentially impact event attendees
- Consulting with event organizers and related service providers to explore ways in which any program adjustments that need to be made in response to outbreak-related impacts can be accommodated, and
- Continuing to support awareness of the essential roles of meetings, conventions, exhibitions and business events as drivers of recovery and advancement of global economic and societal development.
“By making this commitment to doing everything in our collective power to support the continuing role of meetings, conventions and exhibitions in global affairs and encourage governments and constituents everywhere to recognize just how important ongoing interactions are to addressing not just to focus on immediate challenges but the many more issues that can only be advanced by maintaining relevant gatherings”.
Through an understanding to share all relevant resources amongst industry organizations links are being made available to relevant materials as listed below. This list has grown as more resources became available and will continue to include new materials documenting the re-emergence of the industry.
A Year of COVID-19 Response | June 2021
Updated COVID Guides to Re-Opening Events, Use of Facilities as Temporary Vaccination Centres Now Available
AIPC, the International Association of Convention Centres, ICCA, the International Convention and Congress Association, and UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry – working collectively as the G3 industry alliance – have released the third edition of the Good Practice Guide: Addressing COVID-19 Requirements for Re-Opening Business Events.
Driven by their Joint Safety & Security Task Force, the three associations have been engaged in assisting their members, and the industry at large, since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, and the third edition of this key resource is just the latest example of this continuous support.
This Guide follows a series of COVID-19-related publications released by the three associations, and is now being shared to help create conditions and safeguards that will enable the smooth re-opening of activities, while at the same time observing the needs and expectations of governments and health authorities. The associations stress that this guidance is based on examples, and not intended to represent or supplant specific local, regional and national health, safety, environmental, compliance and legal requirements which differ vastly from country to country.
A second publication, Good Practice Guide: Convention and Exhibition Centres as Temporary Vaccination Centres has also been created jointly by AIPC, ICCA and UFI in response to a growing number of convention and exhibition sites across the world that have started operating as temporary COVID-19 vaccination centres and others that have begun to reopen business events with varying COVID-19 protocols in place.
This good practice guidance aims to help convention and exhibition centres and event and congress organisers called upon by health authorities to convert part or all of their venue into a temporary vaccination centre and was again based on content collected from a range of AIPC, ICCA and UFI member facilities, enhanced by insights and information again made available through the associations’ joint Safety & Security Task Force.
The Guides are available for download here, and via any of the originating association’s websites.
Media Release
The JMIC Global Manifesto
The Iceberg Webinar | Part 1 | Part 2
Article
PowerPoint
Manifesto Infographic
JMIC Global Manifesto Presents Arguments for Business Events to Lead Global Recovery and Renewal
Now available for download is the JMIC global industry manifesto that sets out a series of arguments as to why business events such as meetings, conventions and exhibitions can and should be utilized to drive economic recovery and renewal in the post-COVID-19 era. The manifesto is intended as a resource for industry professionals and representatives world-wide to assist as they advocate for the re-opening of business events in their respective communities.
It was assembled with the advice and input of a broad range of industry leaders through an online forum process the results of which were captured in a two-part webinar held in 4 regions around the world last week under the auspices of 4 global industry trade shows AIME,IBTM, IMEX and Meetings Africa and supplemented with advice and commentary from global cities advisor Professor Greg Clark. A recording of this webinar is also available.
The core points of the Global Manifesto are available in PowerPoint format that you can use as a stand-alone presentation or add into your own presentation for enhanced impact.
The JMIC Global Manifesto is now in infographic format to help facilitate delivery to target audiences i.e., community and government.
- JMIC, together with AIME, IBTM, IMEX and Meetings Africa, to release a 2-part webinar showcasing the industry speaking with one voice.
- Input from industry leaders and commentators being used to complete an Industry Manifesto delivering joint messaging for our sector.
NEW! The AIPC, ICCA and UFI Guide to Addressing COVID-19 Requirements for Re-Opening Business Events has been updated to include the very latest in industry experiences, lessons and resources. You can download the VERSION 2 here, or via any of the G3 partner associations.
This new Global Guide on the matter identifies and promotes globally emerging standards, protocols, and good practices. The “AIPC, the International Association of Convention Centres, ICCA, the International Convention and Congress Association and UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry have collaborated on a highly relevant new publication Good Practice Guide: Addressing COVID-19 Requirements for Re-Opening Business Events. The third in a series of COVID-19 related guides, it has been designed to support the work of the associations’ respective memberships in their efforts to identify and apply conditions and safeguards that will enable the safe re-opening of business events while observing the needs and expectations of relevant governments and health authorities for health and safety.
The Guide complements two earlier publications – Good Practice Guidance to COVID-19 for Convention and Exhibition Centres and Good Practice Guidance for the Use of Centres as Temporary Emergency Facilities – which were produced and distributed in March and April of this year by AIPC and UFI.
Now, the associations have made this publication available to any members of the Meetings Industry in need of such a resource. The Guide can be accessed either via the AIPC, ICCA or UFI websites or downloaded here.
AIPC and UFI Release Second Guide to Convention and Exhibition Centres Managing COVID-19 Consequences
Good Practice Guide | Convention and Exhibition Centres as Temporary Emergency Facilities
JMIC Creates Portal For Access to COVID-19 Resources
Media Release
In The Thick of It: Preparing for Recovery
JMIC Commentary
This clip was prepared by ‘The Iceberg’ as an industry response to the latest announcements this week around the COVID-19 issue, in particular noting the critical role that meetings, conventions and exhibitions will have to play in economic recovery following the outbreak and calling on governments to take this into their decision making around support measures. You may find it useful in your own communications and as an aid to having as much alignment of messaging as possible as we move forward.
The Iceberg | JMIC President Statement on WHO, IMEX Announcements and the Role of the Meetings Industry in Economic Recovery
Meetings Industry Calls for Support Measures in Response to COVID-19 Coronavirus Outbreak
JMIC Media Release
Key planning recommendations for Mass Gatherings in the context of the current COVID-19 outbreak
World Health Organization Guide
We are seeing a global wave of event postponements and cancellations, as government and health authorities respond to the COVID-19 pandemic
This Show Will Open for Business Campaign
As an acknowledged leader in the management of the COVID-19 outbreak, Singapore has continued to respond in an informed and strategic way to the evolving situation. SACEOS – The Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers – has continuously supported local and regional industry by summarizing and interpreting this information as part of their industry support program. Their latest document provides highly useful insights and guidance for the industry as a whole.
As many countries begin the process of organizing relief / compensation to mitigate COVID-19 impacts it will be important to ensure that we effectively lobby for government attention to the need to supporting the meetings, conventions and exhibitions and their suppliers as vehicles for economic restoration and recovery. Attached is a recent letter to the European Commission that made this case very effectively and could be adapted for use in other areas (with relevant data). It is worth noting that this approach elicited a positive response from the EC.
Links to COVID-19 Resources Assembled by Other Industry Organizations:
UFI | Global Association of the Exhibition Industry
PCMA | Professional Convention Management Association
EMECA | European Major Exhibition Centres Association
MPI | Meeting Professionals International
SISO | Society of Independent Show Organisers Statement (UFI and SISO Statement)
ICCA | International Congress and Convention Association
IAPCO | International Association of Professional Congress Organizers
SITE | Society for Incentive Travel Excellence
CityDNA | City Destinations Alliance
Go Live Together Campaign