Friday, December 28, 2007

In 2007 I was impressed by: (part 2)

One conference got 9.2 out of 10 in 2007
Are congresses boring? Some are, the ones that are not organized properly. Where poor speakers are given a chance. In 2007, I have attended two fantastic conferences. And that means a lot, because a convention or conference has to be really good before I say: ‘This was a wonderful meeting’. Well, I’ve only had two of that standard this year: the IFLA (The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) opening session in Durban in August and the two-day Holland Association Symposium in Amsterdam in November. I even award Eric Bakermans and his team a little more than 9 out of 10. Not only did I enjoy this symposium, I really had a great time. And do you know what these two meetings had in common? Three things: excellent speakers, great debate leaders and ‘out of the box’ subjects!

Malaysian Etiquette People often say that all hotels and all conference centres are the same. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. I always say: nothing is the same. I discover new ideas and initiatives whenever and wherever I go! In Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre I noticed a little leaflet that told about ‘Malaysian Culture Protocol Etiquette’. Directors, Senior managers, staff of international organizations running events in Kuala Lumpur and organizers of all types of events can benefit from various workshops like ‘Business & Social Etiquette’, ‘To Know Malaysia’, ‘Royal Protocol & dignitaries’ etc. In my opinion, that’s a great initiative by a Convention Centre. And during my update walk through the Centre, I discovered a fully-equipped hospital room with a separate entrance. Where in the world and in which other congress centre can you still find that?
(to be continued)

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