Third time lucky. In Shanghai last month, it was announced that Australia had won the right to host the 22nd International Conference on Oral Maxillofacial Surgery (ICOMS) in 2015, with Melbourne as the host city. The International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (IAOMS) is the world’s voice for the specialty with more than 1,500 of the world’s leading surgeons from 73 countries expected to travel down under.
IAOMS International President Dr Nabil Samman said it was the Executive Council’s role to choose the country that best exemplified the aims and objectives of IAOMS. Head of the Australian Bid Committee and the International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (IJOMS) Editorial Board Member, Dr George Dimitroulis said Melbourne faced strong competition against six other world class destinations including Singapore, Rome, Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico’s Monterrey and Jeju Island in Korea.
“It was third time lucky for Australia. It was paramount that our bid met the rigid guidelines of the International Executive Committee, the bid budget displayed thorough planning and sound financial indicators, the host city’s support and the strength of our bid committee.” Dr Dimitroulis was joined in Shanghai by fellow bid committee members Dr Chris Poon, Dr John Curtin and Bid Patron Dr Bob Cook AM, who was past International President of IAOMS.
“One of the contributing factors to the success was the close proximity of the hotels, restaurants, and other facilities to the new Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, where all attendees could walk to the Centre, without lengthy coach transfers,” added Dr Dimitroulis. Managing Director of ICMS Pty Ltd, Barrie Markey and National Business Development Manager, Abigail Krause travelled with the Melbourne Convention & Visitors Bureau (MCVB) Regional Sales Manager-North Asia, Jennifer Tung to support the bid.
“This convention has been in the pipeline for more than 10 years, we were with the bid committee back in 1985,” said ICMS’ Barrie Markey. “Even though there are only 200 specialists in Australia, it also proves that a major congress can still be won.” After an introduction from John Curtin, George Dimitroulis sought the support of Barrie Markey and his team over 12 months ago to form a bid strategy. That is when ICMS’ professional team joined forces with Dr Ann Collins, then President of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (ANZAOMS) and enlisted the support of the MCVB to move the bid campaign into action.
“This win is an outstanding example of how persistence pays off and believe this bid fulfilled all the needs of the organisation with particular reference to the extensive planning and break even scenarios of the bid budget,” added Markey. The Australian and New Zealand Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (ANZAOMS) are active members of IAOMS and will underwrite the event.
Promotional activities will commence at the 2013 congress in Barcelona. This successful convention bid win is amongst a string of successful partnerships through ICMS’ 39 year history of organising prestigious world congresses including:
5th World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery
12th World Congress of the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
7th International Orthodontic Congress
17th World Hydrogen Energy Conference
11th International Congress of Human Genetics Zonta International Convention
