An Award for Cécile’s MIM

The final day of the Brussels Meetings Week ended in one exuberant party. On Good Friday about one hundred and fifty guests enjoyed the presentation of the Brussels Tourism Awards. No less than 13 prizes were awarded. BITC President Philippe Close announced MIM Magazine as the winner of the special award ‘Best Press Coverage of Brussels’. A crystal trophy was handed over to Cécile Caiati-Koch for her project ‘Brussels in the MIX’, an issue of MIM Magazine completely devoted to the versatile and trendy aspects of Brussels.
Cécile Caiati-Koch: ‘Every year in December I create, together with a small team, a special about one particular aspect of Brussels. This time I had selected the subject ‘Brussels in the MIX’, with which I wanted to demonstrate that Brussels can offer a wide variety of activities to meetings and incentive organisers. The response I received from companies and organisers was overwhelming. Through the familiar Fax Back form that we sent along with the magazine I received 1800 requests for further information or for extra brochures. The year before we received 1300 requests for the ‘Touch down in Brussels and discover’ issue. With the next issue in December 2008 I will make Tripadvisor change its opinion with a complete MIM Magazine devoted to ‘Fun in Brussels’.
‘Each year I have a similar project for the cities of Antwerp and Ghent and for the Walloon region. This year I’m even making a special supplement on two cities at the same time: Liège and Ghent, highlighting the convention facilities for associations. Our readers are keen on our special MIM supplements because they’re brimful of new ideas for corporate events.'

Oxygen and monks

Sometimes I get a writing shock. And now and then I even get a philosophical impulse. The more I hear and read about Tibet and the Olympics, the more I’m amazed at how few people dare to take a stand. I think I haven’t heard a single sound from the side of the meetings industry but I do hear that the Olympics have a stimulating effect on incentive trips. I’m not so sure about the effect on meetings. People say that in China a 100 convention centres are being built. I hope that there’s at least one where a congress on Tibet can be organised. Meanwhile I’ll suggest the theme:
‘People who clear out forests and jungles take away the oxygen of the earth. Forests are nature’s lungs.
Governments that clear out monasteries take away the spirit of the earth. Monasteries are the spiritual breath on earth.
Whoever touches these sources and values can count on an answer from nature because the earth can always overpower mankind.’

Visiting Nelson Mandela

There was no appointment made. I also wasn’t informed that it could happen. Together with some fellow editors in chief, I was visiting Johannesburg for something completely else: the ‘Meetings Africa’ conference and exhibition, and some ‘BusinessUnusual’, which isn’t too difficult in South Africa. On a nice and sunny Thursday morning I had the unexpected privilege to explore Jozi, Jo’burg, or whatever name you wish to give to the ‘Golden City’, together with Kerstin Hoffman and her seductive smile. She’s the Editor in Chief of CIM Magazine. We were feeling great in the car with MT, a cheerful guide of JMT Travel & Safaris. We were driving on 13^th Avenue, in the fancy and well-armoured Houghton district when suddenly our guide came to a sudden halt to take a better look at the residential home of Nelson Mandela. And you know what happened? The heavy gates of the white presidential villa swung wide open and before we even know what happened, a friendly security guy invited us to drive in. Kerstin’s and my blood pressure was rising to a higher than normal level. At least mine was. To be invited on the property of the former president of South Africa just like that… That’s something the best incentive organiser in the world can’t pull off, we thought.We positioned ourselves on the steps and we took pictures for ages. And again I saw that broad smile appear on the not so German face of Kerstin. We felt like young doves in this quiet and deserted spot… Nelson Mandela doesn’t live there for quite a while now but it was his official residence from ’94 to ’99 when he still was president. Now he lives a bit further but our visiting schedule didn’t allow for us to have coffee there. Still a big thank you to MT for this wonderful incentive moment! What journalists have to endure in their hard life!

With a tear in my eye

Last week I wrote a nice article about Nice, Hong Kong and about my very own home town - Antwerp. What do these cities have in common, you might wonder. Well, I’ll tell you. From the mid 80s till the late 90s, people were looking full of admiration to three convention bureaux that were doing well all over the world. Even better, they were top-class when it came to communication and promotion. Nice had the wonderful Acropolis convention centre, which opened in 1984, with ‘grande dame’ Jacqueline Pietri. Antwerp had the Antwerp Convention Bureau (founded in 1982) together with the GOM (Regional Development Company) and director Agnes Steenssens. Finally, Hong Kong had a wonderful convention centre at the harbour - HKCEC, which opened in 1988.
At the time, those cities were ‘hot’ because they were managed in a particular way. Afterwards, they rested on their laurels… Until now! But in Nice, a little new meeting flower is blossoming at the Boulevard des Anglais; in Hong Kong another saucer has started twirling on a little stick in the ‘Fragrant Harbour’ and Antwerp had almost found its diamond gloss again… Unfortunately, Inge Van Gaal (see photo), who’s the present director of the Antwerp Convention Bureau, has said goodbye to her ‘cake town’. That’s the reason why I’ve had to wipe away a tear on Leap Day, February 29. It’s a pity. The waiter she introduced (see photo) is still holding open his dish but Inge is no longer in it. Maybe she’s having another dish now?
When I interviewed her in August 2006, she gave me a nice metaphor of a city as a waiter: ‘Service should receive the full attention in a city. That’s why I like to use the image of the ‘waiter’. A man or woman who meets visitors with a natural smile and sets them at ease, and who serves them ‘friendliness’ above all. All the other things we already have in abundance anyway.’

Inge, I hope that your successors can live up to this image in the future, because Antwerp deserves its spot on the international meetings globe. You leave behind a waiter who could only open his dish for 65 degrees, but when will I be able to see Antwerp like it was in the 90s: open at 90 degrees, in all its splendour? I will look out of my window every day to see if a wind of change is blowing, even if I have to turn my neck 180 degrees for it.

Tea Chat with Lady Jean

This year I was really pulled out of my hibernation by the voices of two charming ladies, whom I was very honored to meet in the beginning of 2008, however unbelievable this may sound to some people. Actually there where 3 ladies but I’ll come back on that later on. The first one was Preeti from Hyderabad in the South of India, but I already informed you about her.

And last week I was having tea with Jean Evans, Chief Executive of the Dublin Convention Bureau. For the occasion and because of the setting, I gave her the title of “Lady Jean”. Imagine the golden yellow armchairs, red and yellow tulips, Irish tea served in pure white Irish porcelain and the company of a lady who’s loved in the whole of Dublin because of her efforts to give the city an inviting destination appeal. And then I did not even mention the location: The Four Seasons Hotel in Dublin. What more could you want? And did you really think we were chatting about the fact that last year Lonely Planet proclaimed the Irish as the most friendly people of the entire world. No, we were talking about the construction of the new Convention Centre in Dublin, designed by the 80-year old Irish born architect Kevin Roche. The following quote describes him adequately: “The worst thing you could ever do is to retire”. I will act upon his advice in the literal sense. The opening of the Convention Centre Dublin is expected in 2010. I still hear Jean saying: “We are already waiting twenty years for this big moment. Everyone who even has the slightest connection with the meeting industry in Dublin is wildly enthusiastic about it.”
I can still hear myself thinking: “If only there were more cities that had such residents. Feeling happy because a new style of commodity exchange is built, this time not to trade goods but human intellect. A Brain Exchange Building!”

Land of PCOs

I’ve been able to survive the European winter by going to the south of India around the turn of the year. It was heavenly warm over there around New Year. 28 degrees Celsius on average. In Hyderabad I was introduced to the Indian Meetings Industry for the first time in my life, more specifically, to the only Indian purpose-built convention centre and to a lovely meetings host. Her name is Preeti Sood. She’s marketing & communications manager at HICC, or Hyderabad International Conference Centre, where ICCA will hold its annual congress in 2010.
Preeti showed me the new airport that’s being built - a unique project - and the Novotel airport hotel that’s also under construction - her new working environment in 2008! And I’ve been travelling through the new Hightech City of Hyderabad for half a day. You don’t know what you’re looking at! But there’s one thing I can see: now I roughly know how India’s Meetings Industry of tomorrow will look like.
But I didn’t know that India had the largest number of PCOs. Everywhere at the side of the road they’re announced. ‘Look, there’s another one!’ Preeti kept on saying. ‘Where?’, I replied all the time. ‘There’, she kept on saying. And another one, another one and another one… Private Communication Office or Private Call Office! Nice try, Preeti!

Winter sleep

At the start of 2008 I’ve dreamt more about hibernating than ever before. Immediately I have to add that I live in Belgium, a country where winters are dull, grey, shivery, cold and often without snow, which makes the winter time even more frosty. I’ve been able to shake off that nasty feeling by thinking about squirrels, hedgehogs, hamsters and bats. During winter they retreat to their warm nests and holes and they keep sleeping until they set off for spring time, wide and awake. I’d actually prefer to be a dormouse (see photo) during winter, because he’s supposed to be the best hibernator. He sleeps long and deeply and only gets out of his nest when spring has fully begun. Unfortunately that kind of blessed sleep is not granted to human beings, at best a bit of a longer sleep by going to bed early and getting up late… Hereby I declare that my dream sleep is over and I’m back again with more warm stories about the meetings industry!

In 2007 I was impressed by: (final part)

Grand opening: ABBA museum in Stockholm
By the end of 2007, Stockholm intrigued me during a presentation in Brussels. Ewa Wigenheim (see photo) announced that she would be opening the first ABBA museum in Stockholm together with her husband. On the 3rd of June 2009! 4000m² of ABBA pleasure will be shown for thousands of fans. But also for curious congress delegates!

From Zulus to Vikings
I caught - like a fever - the best incentive experiences of 2007, with the Zulus in South Africa (see blog) and with the Vikings in Iceland. On a fall day, Olöf Einarsdottir of Mountaineers of Iceland placed me on a snow mobile on the biggest glacier in Europe. I melted of pleasure in the ice! If you keep a list of all the things you would like to do in your life, add ‘A Multi Day Super Jeep Expedition’. Even if you’re wearing Italian fashion shoes, you can still experience an ice adventure like this! That’s how strong the glacier outfits are, that you get from the mountaineer guides. But, in this outfit you can’t go shopping in the shopping mall in Reykjavik!

Extra: in February 2008, number 25 of HeadQuarters magazine will be published. A celebration, a special edition... Meeting Trends. Keep an eye out for that issue if you want to know what lies ahead in 2008 and later!

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)

In 2007 I was impressed by: (part 1)

The oldest guide in the worldWhen I visited the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa halfway through 2007, I got the oldest guide in the world for one day. Thomas Rudolo is 81 years old, he is quick-witted, knows a lot of places, names and dates by heart as if he’s still a young student, and once in a while he says: ‘which year was that again, I’m getting old’. He drove me at 120km an hour to the Battlefields and the Midlands. Near Pietermaritsburg in Howick he made a pitstop. ‘At this place, Nelson Mandela was arrested in 1962. That was the beginning of his 27 year detention’. Thomas blinked away a tear and so did I. And we drove further through the hills with green farmlands... I’m still grateful to Syavayatours for letting me spend some time with the oldest guide in the world for one day.

A new profession in the meetings industry: Welcomer Can our industry still invent a new profession? I was convinced not. Until that day that the first Pullman hotel in Paris – Paris Rive Gauche – opened its doors, and I encountered a well-dressed young man with an orange tie. I hadn’t had the chance to report myself to the reception or he began to speak to me as if I was his personal guest. He reminded me of warm Asian hospitality on cool Parisian territory. I asked him about his function: ‘Welcomer,’ he replied very politely.

Girl with moon settingHotel visits can sometimes be a little bit annoying. Always the same dull stories about the number of hair driers in each room and which drinks are available in the minibar. Ugh! And then all of a sudden, this young trainee appears in front of me in the recently opened Hilton hotel in Reykjavik. Very confident she says: ‘in this conference room, 35 people can be seated in moon setting.’ - ‘What did you say,’ I ask again. ‘Moon setting,’ she repeats. ‘Who invented that,’ I inform. ‘I did,’ she says very convincing. Edda Hrund, I would like to compose a new conference jargon with you in 2008! Half-moon setting, full moon setting, first quarter setting and even meet in lunar eclipse! Down with all the dullness of theatre, school and all these tedious schoolish settings.

(to be continued)