International Congress and Convention Association and Kaohsiung City sign Kaohsiung Protocol

ICCA – the International Congress and Convention Association announced jointly with the city of Kaohsiung, the Kaohsiung Protocol Framework as the major legacy outcome of the 59th ICCA Congress. We are re-imagining the future of global events and it all starts here. This year, the ICCA Congress has been transformed into a hybrid experience like no other. As part of our interactive six-weeks-long Congress program, the entire global ICCA community connected with each other and explored new ideas, formats and technologies.

Together we created the “Kaohsiung Protocol”, a crowdsourced  framework identifying major trends and key strategies which will enable the international meetings industry to thrive, now and into the future. The trends identified include Innovative Business Models, Shared Risk, Digital Restructure & Hybrid Events, and Enhanced Engagement & Value Strategies.ICCA President James Rees states: “It has been a privilege to work with the Kaohsiung City Government and we thank all the Host City Stakeholders for their commitment to rise to the challenge presented by the global pandemic and to re-imagine the ICCA Congress and build a hybrid event that will act as a “live” case study for the entire events industry and ultimately will deliver a framework for the future of our association that will be enshrined in the Kaohsiung Protocol – a tangible, documented framework that will be the true legacy of this year’s event – and that will resonate with members for years to come.”

The Kaohsiung Protocol Framework is ICCA’s response to the major global trends such as technological advancement, safety and health, and understanding the next generations of attendees, all impacting the global events industry. It is our conclusion that it is the duty as well as privilege of the event industry to contribute to the advancement of the society through promoting core values such as knowledge economy, sustainable development, and global connection.

Gregg H. Talley, moderator of the Kaohsiung Protocol working group and CEO of the Talley Management Group added: “It’s an exciting day to see the fruition of the Kaohsiung Protocol with the signing. We have a framework for members to build from based on our customer’s input. And we have an interesting path forward on innovative business models, industry collaboration and advocacy. Our goal was to create a legacy for the Kaohsiung Congress – Mission accomplished!”

This is a new framework for identifying and prioritising these important trends and strategies. We call upon ICCA members and the society as a whole, to make reference to the Kaohsiung Protocol Framework in coordinating future development.

ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath: “ICCA’s primary objective is to restart our industry in a safe and sustainable manner. ICCA being the global meetings industry association decided to create a framework which will enable and support ICCA members and the wider business events industry to utilise the knowledge, best practices and understand new business models”.