Busy weeks for association executives and great venues in Belgium
The past two weeks were very busy for association executives. They could experience high-value education at the European Association Summit in Brussels and meet with peers at the Associations World Congress in the beautiful city of Antwerp. Both events together attracted over 600 international association professionals to Belgium. The Square Brussels Meeting Centre and the newly built Flanders Meeting and Convention Centre hosted the delegates and exhibitors with a very warm welcome and high-class hospitality.
3 Important topics discussed with industry experts
What was discussed during those days? The European Association Summit had provided a huge choice of hands-on workshops where associations could discuss their current challenges with their industry colleagues. The workshops were presented by very talented and smart moderators such as Silke Schlinnertz (Euroheat & Power), Malgosia Bartosik (WindEurope), Martin Sirk (ICCA), Kai Troll (ISCA), just to name a few.
An equally exclusive choice of presentations was offered at the Associations World Congress. Over 400 delegates and industry partners attended the sessions and participated in a presentation by well-known industry professionals such as Jayr Bass (AOSpine), Werner Bill (ERS), Monica Fontana (ERA-EDTA), Holger Omlor (EAIE) and many more.
After visiting both events, we experienced that the following topics are especially challenging associations currently:
1. Membership Engagement and Retention
Please find valuable information about the topic in our following blog articles:
- Membership Frameworks For Today’s Associations
- Creating And Maintaining Member Engagement In Associations
- How to Focus Effective Digital Marketing for Associations – Part I: Membership
2. Digital Marketing and the management of Social Media and Content
Please find valuable information about the topic in our following blog articles:
- The Synergy of Social Media and Successful Conferences
- Digital Marketing Trends: Top Tips for Associations
- Building Relationships Online With Social Media Marketing
- Enhancing the Delegate Experience with Effective Conference Content Distribution
3. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Read our blog article addressing GDPR challenges:
Many thanks to the organisers of the events, Elisabeth Van Ingelgem (visit.brussels) and Damian Hutt (Association of Association Executives) and their teams and the local hosts. These events are very valuable for the education of association professionals and highly important for our industry.
Silvano Schaer, Congrex Switzerland
