The world is going to IBTM China this year

Industry thought leaders set to deliver insight into global themes at this year’s ibtm china Knowledge Forum

ibtm china 2016 taking place in Beijing on the 7th and 8th September at the China National Convention Centre (CNCC), has announced that the key themes to be explored in this year’s ibtm china Knowledge Forum are Industry Engagement, Connections Mean Everything, Tools for Meetings Productivity, Leading Lights From Leading Events, and Industry Engagement.

Organised by Reed Travel Exhibitions, the programme will feature keynote sessions from industry thought leaders including Stephen Rice, Training Director, Antal International and Noor Hamid, Regional Director Asia Pacific, International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), and Rosemary Ma, founder of Beijing Sinofastlane.

Cici Chen, Senior Project Manager for ibtm china, commented, “We are delighted with our knowledge programme for this year’s ibtm china. All of those attending will have access to insightful information and knowledge such as the research conducted by ICCA, which presents China as a sought after destination for meetings planners around the world, or Stephen Rice’s ideas about personal branding and effective networking.”

Stephen Rice will open this year’s ibtm china Knowledge Forum with his session “Personal Branding.” Rice will explore some of the challenges companies face when trying to make their brand stand out from the competition and provide examples of ways of establishing branding through social media, networking, and attending events. In his second session, “Effective Networking” Rice will explain the importance of networking in today’s MICE industry and lay out an effective networking strategy involving the steps to take before, during and after any networking event.

Rice commented, “One of the most important soft skills needed by executives today is self awareness. While this may sound simplistic, truly understanding what you are saying without words, through posture, expression, gesture, tone and presence defines who you are in the eyes of others. This concept is core to success in many aspects of business and is included in both ‘Effective Networking’ and ‘Personal Branding.’ ”

Noor Hamid, Regional Director Asia Pacific for ICCA will explore what the most sought after destinations have to offer to worldwide meeting planners in his session titled “International Association Destination World Ranking and How China Can Stay In The Game!”

Hamid commented, “If we switch our focus to China – Asia Pacific and Middle East’s No. 2 nation and No. 8 in the global table – the country has experienced substantial growth in the number of international conferences visiting over the past decade and is securing events with increasingly larger delegate numbers and academic prestige. My session intends to look deeper into these trends and explore some of the implications they hold for the global meeting planner.”

Rosemary Ma – a well-respected trainer and observer for Chinese conferences and the exhibition industry – will focus her session “Event Design: What Makes The IAEE Annual Meeting So Memorable?” around a case study of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) annual meeting. Ma will open attendees’ minds to event programming by analysing the design elements that make the IAEE annual meeting so valuable and memorable for its delegates and close her session by highlighting trends in successful educational programmes.

Chen commented, “ibtm china prides itself in delivering tools to all attendees that allow them to achieve maximum ROI for their attendance, through networking events and educations sessions. Our Knowledge Programme aims to spark ideas, promote debate, craft relations and identify trends that will allow everyone to grow their business, and therefore we hope attendees can make the most of it.”