The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and the Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe (SANCBE) inked a partnership to improve the future of the international business meetings and events industry.
The partnership, unveiled at SANCBE’s semi-annual meeting in Athens, will kick off with a joint survey to assess the academic and learning landscape within the European business events sector. The survey is designed to provide a data-driven look at current educational offerings, identify skill gaps, and highlight evolving industry needs.
The findings from the survey will be used to create a three-year strategic action plan, which will focus on strengthening talent development and fostering innovation to help the industry meet future challenges. The results will also help shape the ongoing development of ICCAUni.
Senthil Gopinath, CEO of ICCA, stated: “ICCA’s partnership with SANCBE is very long-term and this is yet another important step forward in our efforts to better serve destination marketing members. Initiatives geared toward identifying the needs of the industry with regard to academics are key to innovating toward solutions.”
Matthias Schultze and Eric Bakermans, co-chairs of SANCBE, highlighted the alliance’s ability to collect and analyse data across 29 European countries. “This makes collaboration with ICCA not only logical but essential, as we combine forces to gain a clearer understanding of the education landscape in Europe,” they noted.
The survey is expected to provide convention bureaus and destination marketing organisations (DMOs) across Europe with actionable information to improve educational programmes and partnerships with academic institutions.
