The European Meetings & Events Conference will take place at ExCeL in London from 18-20 April 2008.

Meeting Professionals International, the Dallas-based organisation delivers global human connections through its 68 chapters and clubs in 20 countries around the world.

The European Meetings and Events Conference 2008 is MPI’s annual three-day European conference gathering meetings and events professionals from across Europe and internationally for education and networking on an international level.

The European Meetings and Events Conference in London will run just prior to IMEX 2008 in Frankfurt, April 22-24.

Attendees, especially those travelling from North America to Europe, will be able to take advantage of a cost productive travel schedule with both events making for an interesting week of cutting-edge knowledge, rich contacts and abundant marketplace opportunities.

The Host City

The European Meetings & Events Conference takes place in London. Visit London is the official visitor organisation for London and provides a first class convention bureau service for the business market.

Their range of free services includes a Venue Enquiry Service, a directory of London’s venues and event services, a comprehensive destination website, bid support for international meetings, introduction to suppliers and site visit facilitation.

For more details, go to www.visitlondon.com

The Host Venue

The European Meetings & Events Conference will take place at ExCel London, the international exhibition and conference centre which is home to a vast array of events from internationally acclaimed exhibitions and conferences to sporting spectacles and superb days out for the family.

ExCel London is situated alongside Canary Wharf and City Airport, within a stunning waterfront setting that includes a variety of hotel, bars, pubs and restaurants. For more information and travel directions, visit http://www.excel-london.co.uk/.

The Premier Industry Event - its purpose

The European Meetings and Events Conference 2008 in London will inspire new ideas for meetings and events professionals.

This conference will bring relevant and exciting education to attendees and bring together key professionals – buyers and sellers - from all over Europe and around the world.

For those impacted by the ever-growing global meetings and events industry, The European Meetings and Events Conference, co-created by MPI, is the place to be to influence the community conducting meetings and events in Europe.

MPI will welcome to London experienced leaders and new members of this rich global community, and through human connections and creativity, provide each attendee with elevated knowledge about the world-wide meetings and events economy.

Event Objectives

1.             To create a unique platform for the meetings and events professionals to connect

2.             To provide high level education for meeting professionals in Europe.

3.             To provide superior networking opportunities for the MPI community in Europe.

The Education Programme

The education programme covers key issues that meeting professionals have to learn about to enhance their business skills. They are based on key themes and are designed for maximum impact. Delegates will experience learning on two levels - through the content itself, and through the methods used to present the material.

The content for several sessions will be co-created by the participants and selected industry experts including the opening session.

Opening Education Session

World Learning Exchange - An Open Space Experience facilitated by Lisa Heft

Open Space invites input from stakeholders at all levels, brings diverse thinkers together on issues and projects, fosters organizational flexibility and interdepartmental teamwork, and brings groups of 20 to 2000 people together creatively and productively to work on complex issues and opportunities.

Internationally renowned facilitator Lisa Heft will guide you through this dynamic process used around the world for conferences, issues forums, organizational meetings, and conflict transformation.

Two different paths, a training course for young professionalsand Executive Level Track, are being offered at the European Meetings and Events Conference to cover the different education needs of the delegates.

Training course for young professionals

Measuring For Success presented by Nico Meyer

Nico Meyer, CMM, Managing Director of MeetingMonitor

Nico Meyer, CMM is Managing Director of MeetingMonitor, the meeting industry’s online evaluation and benchmark tool, and Qmatters, specialised in measuring and improving customer experience.

Risk Assessment in the Meetings Industry

Elling Hamso, Meeting Management Consultant and Managing Partner of the European Event ROI Institute.

Elling Hamso is a Meeting Management Consultant and Managing Partner of the European Event ROI Institute. He has spent most of his career as a senior executive in the Norwegian oil and gas industry and later as a management consultant.

Overcoming Meeting Challenges

Lotte Marie Roesgaard and Torhild Molvig

Lotte Marie Roesgaard is a Human Resource Manager for Comwell hotels and the woman behind Comwell MeetingDesigner. Torhild Molvig is corporate MeetingDesigner and was one of the first to become a Comwell MeetingDesigner.

Your Role as a Training Provider

Carole McKellar, Founder and Managing Director of Resources for Associations, which handles association management and association development; and BIEN Venue, offering site selection, contract negotiation and event management.

Implementing Sustainability

Fiona Pelham, Director of Organise This, LLD, an event management company dedicated to being environmentally responsible and community involved.

Marketing Trends and Their Impact on Meetings and Events

Eric Mottard, Partner and Director of Grupo eventoplus, the leading events media group in Spain, Eric Mottard has been giving training courses and conferences on event organisation and other related topics (marketing, promotion to event professionals...) since 2000.

Executive Level Track

Leading Your Self: Achieving Sustainable Excellence

Dr. Jagdish Parikh - Chairman of A.L. Movers Pvt. Ltd. (Allied Lemuir), a Director of the Lemuir Group of Companies, DHL Danzas Lemuir, Technova Group of Companies and Noema Inc.

Web 2.0 – Where is Technology Headed?

Roo Reynolds - Metaverse Evangelist based at IBM’s Hursley Park laboratory in the UK.

Andrew (Roo) Reynolds is a Metaverse Evangelist based at IBM’s Hursley Park laboratory in the UK. He is part of a team which facilitates the use of Virtual Worlds within IBM.

Dedicated sessions covering hot topics relevant to specific industries such as the financial sector or the pharmaceutical industry will also be covered at The European Meetings and Events Conference.

A Community Involvement Project, suitable for all levels will provide delegates the knowledge, the skills and the logistics required to set up community projects.

This session, sponsored by Organise This, is an opportunity to take a hands-on approach to learning.

Delegates will take part in a community involvement project while at the same time receiving education on the logistics required to set up community projects. Delegates will learn how to implement their own event community projects and gain an insight into how projects similar to this are increasingly important to clients and delegates.

Delegates taking part in this session will ensure that The European Meetings and Events Conference leaves a legacy.

Registration and Hotels

Full details of registration, including discounted rate for early registration and the hotels available for The European Meetings & Events Conference can be found on the website: www.mpiweb.org

The Social Events

Welcome Reception

All delegates are invited to the liveliest welcome reception ever in ExCeL London’s central boulevard. Unique, traditional, cutting edge, refreshing, imaginative, surprising – Britain is all this and much more and the evening’s food and entertainment will reflect its amazing variety, kicking off the conference in style.

Rendez-vous Europe

Considered the best party in the meetings and events industry! A night of dancing and networking at The O2, London’s newest and most exciting entertainment venue with numerous bars and restaurants in Entertainment Avenue and indigO2, the phenomenally stylish private club. All proceeds benefit the MPI Foundation Europe, which funds programmes and research that positively impact the European meetings and events industry.

Closing Night Gala Dinner

A once in a lifetime evening at the The Painted Hall, part of the Old Royal Naval College, the great baroque masterpiece of English architecture, set in landscaped grounds on the River Thames in the centre of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. This beautiful eighteenth century building - regarded as the finest dining room in Europe – will be the venue for a very special closing Gala Dinner.

The Association Partners

UK Association Lounge

Eventia, “As the UK’s trade body for live events organisers, Eventia looks forward to supporting the European Meetings and Events Conference. The opportunity to share ideas and trends from an international perspective is an exciting one that we welcome wholeheartedly.” ”, says Izania Downie, Eventia Executive Director.

EIA - Events Industry Alliance, “EIA is delighted to support The European Meetings and Events Conference 2008, as it makes its way to London in April.  It will be fantastic to welcome our colleagues from Europe and across the world to the UK, and to and celebrate the undoubted recent global growth of events, as well as discuss and plan for our industry's prosperous future.  See you in London!” Trevor Foley, Group CEO, EIA (Events Industry Alliance)

·                     ABPCO – The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers

·                     SITE – Society of Incentive Travel Executives

·                     MIA – Meetings Industry Association

·                     ISES – International Special Events Society

·                     BACD – British Association of Conference Destinations

Organiser’s media quotes

“The European Meetings and Events Conference in London elevates the traditional MPI European conference experience,” said Bruce MacMillan, MPI President and CEO. “By co-creating the event around what meeting professionals need to be successful today and tomorrow, we identified critical experience environments that became the basis for the design and delivery of the conference in a way that offers unprecedented value to our member community.”

David Hornby, commercial director of Visit London and London host committee co-chair, said, “We look forward to welcoming new faces, and attracting those who may not have considered the benefits of being part of this global community in the fabulous city of London.  This conference will offer speakers and sessions that not only inspire but also explore the issues of today and engage individuals at all career levels.”

Vanessa Cotton, managing director of ExCel London and London host committee co-chair noted, “By enhancing the traditional role of a host committee, MPI involved both members and non-members in a co-creation process aimed at producing the most relevant learning and networking experience for meeting and event professionals.”

Commitment to Sustainability

MPI recognises that the operations from the European conference can have both positive and negative impacts environmentally, socially and economically.

A sustainable development policy has been created for this event which outlines MPI’s intention to manage its annual European event in such a way as to minimise negative social, environmental and economic impacts whilst meeting the event objectives and maintaining a high quality experience for all delegates.

Sustainability Objectives

• To raise awareness and provide education on sustainability within the UK meetings and events industry.
• To create a benchmark for the sustainable development of The European Meetings and Events Conference
• To achieve BS 8901 Sustainable Event Standard

Organisational Sustainable Development Strategy

MPI’s new vision and mission ‘to build a rich meetings industry community’ is activated by four strategic imperatives, one of which is to ‘elevate the member conversation and experience’.

Integral to ‘elevating the conversation’ is the pledge to take strong and active positions on issues that matter to the community, for example corporate social responsibility and student development and that as social and environmental responsibility becomes a priority for many organizations, MPI will be the leader in the meetings and events community. It will activate ways to reduce the environmental impact of its own meetings and events; and provide the community with education and inspiration on eco-friendly processes and procedures.