In its first ever partnership with an organization in the meetings industry, the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) will bring professional facilitation to the Association Day programme to help the participants engage with the learning on offer in interactive ways.
Martin Farrell, regional director for Europe, Middle East, North Africa (EMENA), comments: "We are delighted to partner with IMEX to help spread the word about the power of facilitation. The IMEX team understands just how important facilitation is when you consider the human aspect of events and meetings and together we are involved in Association Day to help participants engage with the learning on offer in interactive ways. We hope this is the first of many years of partnership."
IAF member Sean Blair, founder of ProMeet, is helping to drive the partnership with IMEX. He adds: "The team at IMEX is leading the way in connecting all aspects of events. There is huge potential to help all kinds of organizations to achieve better outcomes in their conferences, congresses and events by paying careful attention to the experience that participants have. Professional facilitation helps people interact and understand conference messaging and that in turn creates great outcomes."
Michael Foreman, past chair and head of external relations of ABPCO and sales and marketing director of TFI Group, introduced the IAF and the idea of facilitated sessions to the IMEX Association Day. Michael explains: "It is vital we ensure that we achieve effective engagement of our audiences in the event space. As agencies and PCOs, our clients are expecting their membership to get maximum value from taking the time to attend their events and we should offer nothing less to those people taking the time to attend one of the industry’s premier events in the association sector calendar."
Association Day is an exclusive event for association executives set to welcome more than 300 association professionals from 40 countries held in Frankfurt on Monday 18 May 2015. The IAF has over 1,200 members in more than 63 countries focusing on professional development, trend analysis and peer networking. Its mission is to grow the community of facilitators, establish internationally accepted professional standards, build credibility and promote the value of facilitation around the world.
In another first, IMEX is working with the United Networks of International Corporate Event Organizers (UNICEO) – the global community of practice for corporate events decision-makers. A new association for corporate planners, UNICEO is working closely with the IMEX team and will be bringing a group of members as hosted buyers to Exclusively Corporate, a dedicated education and networking event specifically for corporate meeting and event planners, running 17-18 May in Frankfurt.
"Becoming an industry partner with IMEX was a clear choice, given that IMEX is one of the leading trade shows in its sector," explains Debora Piovesan, vice-president for UNICEO. "Their dedicated programme for corporate decision-makers is perfectly placed to meet the requirements of our members. We are confident members will enjoy meeting with their counterparts and benefitting from the outstanding education programme of Exclusively Corporate."
Carina Bauer, CEO of IMEX Group, sums up: "We are delighted to be expanding our industry partnerships this year. The creation of the UNICEO is an exciting development as it allows the industry to collaborate and connect more strongly with the vital corporate community. The success of our Exclusively Corporate @IMEX programme shows that there is appetite in this community to connect and develop together."
"We are also extremely excited about our partnership with the IAF. Good facilitation is at the heart of successful meetings and events – however big or small – and we believe that the IAF has a natural synergy with our industry. We are pleased to have the opportunity, not only to work with them in order to improve the Association Day educational experience; but also to introduce them to the industry and assist in the development of key relationships."
