Report - Frankfurt - IMEX 2009: One of IMEX’s most enduring and influential Forums got underway yesterday when the 7th Politicians’ Forum took place at Messe Frankfurt and the Intercontinental Hotel. Nearly 20 politicians from all over Europe, including the UK, Sweden, Poland and Lithuania gathered under the moderation of Michael Hirst, OBE and Chairman of the Business Tourism Partnership of the UK to voice their recommendations and ideas for improving communication and understanding between the meetings industry and political representatives the world over.

They were joined by 60 industry executives and leaders from industry associations, including European Cities Marketing (ECM), the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC), the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC), the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and the International Association for Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO).

Hirst opened by talking about the need for unity and stated that now, more than ever, it was vital for politicians and the meetings industry to work together, to maintain open communication and shared goals and also to take a long-term view. “There is a growing recognition that the meetings industry can actually lead the recovery,” he said.

“Today we must ask how the issues of the moment will shape the industry’s future and also how the meetings industry can raise itself in the list of political priorities to engage at higher levels. Today should also be about finding new ways to optimise our potential and also asking ourselves how the meetings industry can respond to a new environmental agenda and precisely how political support can help achieve that,” said Hirst.

The overall objective of the 2009 Forum was to demonstrate to the assembled politicians the role the meetings and conference industry can play in driving overall economic recovery. Detailed case studies were shared which illustrated precisely how certain cities had proved the short and long-term value of meetings to their local regions. The result in each case was much closer co-operation between the industry, its local participants and political representatives. This year’s case studies were from Goteberg, Malaga, Vienna, Montreux and Sydney.

The line up of speakers and contributors at this year’s Forum included Brenda Anderson, CEO of Site Global; Rod Cameron, Director of Programming & International Development, AIPC; Leigh Harry, President of JMIC; Olivier Lepine, Chairman of the Conventions Division of ECM, Philippe Fournier, VP of IAPCO and Edgar Hirt, President of AIPC.

On the politicians’ panel, and responding to questions from the floor, were John Greenway MP; Katarzyna Sobierajska, Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Sport and Tourism, Poland; Helena Nyhus, Deputy Mayor of Goteborg, Sweden and Geoffrey Lipman, Deputy Secretary General of the WTO – World Tourism Organisation.

Katarzyna Sobierajska said, “This was a very important meeting which allowed us to develop our opinions and look on a more global basis, share knowledge and learn new solutions. In Warsaw we are co-operating with City Hall to help us to persuade the EU to allocate budgets to build a big new congress centre.”

Conny Branneberg, Regional Councillor, West Sweden, President of Municipal Council, added, “The idea of us all getting together is key for the future of the industry. In the present economic climate our job is to make life better for our citizens. In our region we have companies including Saab and Volvo and therefore it’s very important for us to expand the meetings industry as traditional industries will not generate jobs in the future, but business tourism can help.”

The IMEX Politicians’ Forum, which is organised together with AIPC and ECM under the auspices of JMIC, is one of several lobbying initiatives developed by the award-winning trade show. This year the seven-year momentum created by the Politicians’ Forum has been compounded in several new areas.  The launch of Meetings for Success, in partnership with JMIC, aims to lobby board level executives about the true value of meetings and events to the commercial bottom line. In addition, Meetings Under the Microscope is a new educational offering that encourages meeting planners to look beyond meetings logistics to understand the finer points of meeting content.