Good HR practice within the meetings and events industry – navigating today’s challenges
Next in our series of guest editors, we'd like to introduce HR expert Kate Goodman, a member of the CIPD and a Mental Health First...
Monday Insights – May 16th
This Monday’s Insights feature brings you the industry headlines you may have missed from the previous week.
Headlines
The counter-terror Protect Duty bill – otherwise known as Martyn’s Law – moved ahead another step in the legislative process on the 10th May as it was confirmed in the Queen’s Speech, which sets out the Government’s plans for the year ahead.
The Protect Duty will be a new piece of anti-terrorism legislation designed to ensure the public is better protected from a “multifaceted, diverse and continually evolving” terror threat. Its purpose is to “keep people safe by introducing new security requirements for certain public locations and venues to ensure preparedness for and protection from terrorist attacks”.
It follows a campaign from Figen Murray, the mother of Martyn Hett, who lost his life in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in May 2017.
Read more, including comments from Figen, on Conference News, here.
ICC Belfast will host the first All-Ireland Sustainability Summit, on 09 June 2022. Business leaders and officials from across the Island of Ireland will be gathering at ICC Belfast, where attendees will have an opportunity to put sustainability firmly on their radar for 2022 and beyond.
The aim of the event is to raise the profile of the wider sustainability agenda and help companies create positive change within their own organisations.
Danielle McCormick, Owner and Lead Consultant at sustainability consultancy, Triterra, comments “There has been a huge shift in businesses adopting more sustainable practices over the past couple of years and feel that this has really come in to play across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in more recent months.”
She continued “Research from HSBC has revealed that 78% of UK businesses expect sales to grow over the next year as a result of an increased focus on sustainability, with the main reasons cited including improving operational efficiency (26%), meet regulatory requirements (26%) and to gain a reputational advantage (24%).”
Read more on iccbelfast.com, here.
The 2022 UFI European Conference, which took place over three days, put the spotlight on important industry topics and challenges faced by exhibition and event industry professionals. UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, identified key themes of discussion, including post-pandemic recovery, new business models, the talent crisis, net zero and other sustainable questions.
The event, which took place in Poznan, Poland, was hosted by Grupa MTP and offered a blend of keynote sessions, interactive workshops, networking and social activities.
The format of the conference continues to evolve to better serve delegates, this time including a speed networking session, organised in collaboration with London-based industry recruitment agency Expocast, and the first live Exhibition Think Tank workshop.
Doubletake
The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust, has been confirmed as the operator for the new Geelong Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCEC) that will open in 2026.
As the existing Government operator of convention and exhibition services in the state of Victoria, the Trust already manages the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) and will manage both GCEC and MCEC to leverage expertise and opportunities to collaborate.
GCEC will be developed on the Geelong Waterfront precinct as part of the Geelong City Deal – a partnership between the Australian and Victorian Governments, together with the City of Greater Geelong.
The $294 million project includes the construction of a purpose-built Convention and Exhibition Centre, incorporating a 1000 seat plenary venue and at least 3700 square metres of flexible event space to allow large and small events to run concurrently.
The centre will be a major driver of jobs and economic growth for the City of Greater Geelong and surrounding areas, supporting 600 jobs during construction and an additional 270 ongoing jobs through operations.
Every event at GCEC will benefit a local ecosystem of hoteliers, event organisers, food providores, chefs and casual wait staff, cleaners, technicians, logistics and transport operators and more.
Peter King, Chief Executive of Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre said:
“We have more than 25 years’ experience hosting and delivering world class business events and we’re excited to start operating in Geelong and the Bellarine. We look forward to engaging the local community, businesses, and event organisers as the Centre is developed.
