Recognition. In advance of a pivotal forum for members of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) the international Meetings Industry organization has welcomed three major new affiliates in the past three months. PCMA, the Professional Convention Management Association and DMAI, (Destination Management Association International) have joined as full members while UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry has agreed to cooperate with other JMIC members in support of its mandate to provide a forum for overall industry issues and take action to enhance industry profile and a better understanding of the benefits it generates to the broader global community.
“JMIC has been in existence for almost 50 years, and has provided a useful forum for the exchange of industry information during that time”, said JMIC President Barbara Maple. “Now, member associations are realizing the importance of the industry being able to represent itself in an integrated way on major issues such as sustainability, transportation and the economy. This new surge of membership reflects a growing understanding of the need we have to take more direct action as a group, and to raise industry profile to the point where we are seen as a real factor in the global economy.”
JMIC now consists of eleven major international associations, including AIPC (The International Association of Congress Centres), COCAL (The Latin American Confederation of PCO and Related Companies), ECM (European Cities Marketing), EVVC (The European Association of Event Centres), IAPCO (The International Association of Professional Congress Organizers), ICCA (The International Congress and Convention Association), MPI (Meeting Professionals International), and SITE (the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives) as well as the new additions noted above. In recognition of the growing importance of an overall voice for the industry, a forum has been organized for JMIC members supported by EIBTM, and will be taking place during their event in Barcelona in early December. The purpose of the forum is to identify priority issues for the industry, determine the degree of consistency in the views of member organizations and determine the collective positions and actions members wish to take in addressing these.
“Our industry has come a long way in terms of devising new ways to work together and advancing our image as a distinct sector said Maple. “However, we’re also increasingly being called upon to present a coordinated industry position to complement that of other global industry sectors, and we need to take another step forward in order to do that. This newly expanded membership gives us increased strength and broader representation to do that, as well as the benefit of a wide cross section of industry interests to draw upon in developing a comprehensive long term strategy for key industry areas”. www.aipc.org
