Responsible. Rough sea breeze meets warm hospitality: Copenhagen is considered one of the most popular congress cities in the world. In the 2018 ICCA rankings, the Danish metropolis came eighth, beating major cities such as Sydney, London and Madrid. Especially when it comes to sustainability, Copenhagen sets a great example. Wonderful Copenhagen...

From the heart. For a long time there wasn’t much to report about the meetings industry of Spanish capital Madrid. Barcelona as the young, wild city by the sea attracts a lot of attention. Its ranking in the ICCA’s international congress statistics is high, and last but not least, it is home to IBTM. But: “Madrid nunca duerme,” Madrid never sleeps....

Taking a stand. “I reject invitations to conventions.” This sentence appeared in bold in the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit on 22 August 2019. It comes from Stefan Rahmstorf, a climatologist and the co-chair of the Earth System Analysis department at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, who says: “Scientists have to fly to do their...

CIM: Are you one of the eight Germans in ten who, according to a study, would be willing to have a virtual or digital twin?
Michael Looschen: As a first step, that sounds rather promising. However, I firmly believe that in today’s world with its ever faster pace driven by the possibilities of digitisation, one of the most important factors for...

Dear Readers,

are we just talking, or are we already taking action? Today’s event attendees with their fresh awareness of new formats and sustainability are often amazed at the Powerpoint deluge, disposable carpets and plastic badges. What does it take to get people to commit to and take action? Emotional, Greta-style appeals or sober stocktaking?...

Time is of the essence. “Science tells us that on our current path, we face at least 3 degrees Celsius of global heating by the end of the century,” UN Secretary General António Guterres warned at the United Nations (UN) Climate Summit in New York last September.

These are strong words, as researchers already predict devastating risks to nature...