CIMPA Conversations

Hello Everyone,
 
As winter wraps its snowy blanket around us, I wish you warm mornings, little miracles, good health, prosperity, joy and love in 2007.
 
I wish you a meaningful start to a new year full of challenges. Welcome to an exciting world of great possibilities! We all have 365 mostly blank pages on our new 2007 calendars. Please save these dates:
 
Spring Event: June 4-5 – Asian Academy Hall of Fame Awards in the Capitol and the White House
Summer Camp: August 11-13 – Camp Diversity
Fall Conversations: October 15-17 – International Technology, Meetings and Incentives Conference. Last year, it was in beautiful Prague; this year, it will be in amazing Asia – China, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Online conversations on the certification programs currently being revised.
 
Let us continue our conversations – as partnerships and friendships begin with ordinary conversations.
 
PRAGUE COMMENTS: I am still getting wonderful letters about our conference in Prague. Here is a sampling but the complete file will be at http://www.cimpa.org . Credit goes to our fantastic speakers, sponsors and participants for the success that it was. I cannot thank them enough.

“Excellent educational program combined with a great opportunity to learn about international destinations to host your events.  A must attend event for the experienced international meeting planner.” -   David Williams,  Executive Director, International Association for Energy Economics

“I had a wonderful and fun trip of a lifetime! Dining at beautiful castles and chateaus is wonderful, I highly recommend it!  It was very interesting and I enjoyed the conference presentations and meeting such interesting people”. – Margaret Lickteig
 
“I had a fabulous time in Prague and I met wonderful participants coming from such interesting backgrounds”.  – El Cid Butuyan, World Bank
 
“Again thank you for a wonderful, unforgettable trip to Prague and Vienna.  You are the WOMAN when it comes to planning meetings”. – Cathy Gonzales, Vice President, Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce
 
“WOW!  Nestor and I thoroughly enjoyed the CIMPA conference and the Awards Ceremony!  Thank you so very much for the wonderful venue, the great conference, the many side fun trips and most of all the great people who came”. – Edith M. Ardiente, Vice President, International Truck and Engine Corporation
 
“Thanks so much for another great conference. It was excellent! The President Hotel was great and the speakers were the best!” – Dr. Ken Webster, Executive Director, American Osteopathic Association
 
” am sorry I missed John Bell and Kathy Loveless. I heard they were fabulous. I will check out their websites and join you in Asia in October.” – Linda Steinberg, Independent Planner
 
“The conference in Prague was terrific. We met many interesting people and we learned a lot from the great speakers. Also, the Hotel President was perfect”. – Margaret Gonzalez, President, International Association of Hispanic Meeting Professionals
 
“A very thought-provoking forum.”  – Pepi Stunkel
 
We will try to make our meeting in 2007 an even better one. Please suggest a timely, provocative theme. (In Prague, it was “Planning Meetings in the Google Age and the Era of Terrorism). Please join the Conference Committee which Dr. Sonny Lee has agreed to chair and I hope to see y’all in Asia in October.
 
E-BROCHURES: If you liked our state of the art brochure on the Prague conference, I am happy to announce that Tat Leong Sweeting (remember her brilliant presentation on distribution of conference materials?)  has agreed to give all CIMPA members a very special discount. You can have your own ebrochure that loads fast, does not crash the recipient’s mailbox  and expands to fill the full screen at more than half the price. No distribution cost. Also, if you are a CIMPA member, we will distribute your brochure. Here’s a sample:
http://www.epage-international.com/clients/c/cimpa06/index.html
 
CERTIFICATION: The beginning of a new year is also a good time to make an investment in your career. Ask us about CPPM (Certified Planner of Professional Meetings and CGMP (Certified Global Meeting Professional) programs. We are currently revising these programs. If you are a member, you may participate in the revision and get grandfathered into the program.
 
MEMBERSHIP: Get connected. I am personally inviting you to be a member of CIMPA. Email me and I will send you a unique gift I picked up from my travels with your membership credentials. We are also running a membership promotion until February 14, 2007. You get a 25% discount on gold membership and a chance to win a great vacation. It’s a good time for emerald members to experience the privileges of gold membership. Hit reply to request the coupon code.  
 
If you are already a member, other active members and I want to get to know you better and explore how we can do business together. I am inviting you to serve in one of our committees. Do please email me so we can start a conversation on this. I would love to chat with you.
 
For details, please visit us at http://www.cimpa.org or just hit reply.
 
All the best,

Andrea Sigler, PhD
President, CIMPA

Here’s what our attendees told us:

“I want to familiarize myself with – international meeting venues and opportunities. How to plan a convention in other countries; what are local resources, government assistance and/or interference potential, how is business “done”? What is accepted practice?

“I would like to hear about experiences of other US attendees that have held meetings in various countries”.

“Let’s be honest. We attend international meetings to see and enjoy the country. What’s wrong with that? Of course, we want to do business as well. Making new friends is a good start – isn’t it?”

“I think informal meetings are better than formal meetings. But in most cases, we don’t know the people enough to arrange informal meetings. “

If you would like to make a presentation on your destination at this conference, please email me. We invite presentors from all countries. Special invitation is extended to emerging destinations

Please – let me hear from you.

These issues will be addressed at the 16th International Technology, Meetings and Incentives Conference.

Don’t forget the dates – November 10-13, 2006 at the 5-star President Hotel Prague. On the right bank of the Vitava river. Close to the Prague castle and Old Town – where most of the tourist attractions are.

This conference is hosted by Connected International Meeting Professionals Association (CIMPA), International Association of Hispanic Meeting Professionals (IAHMP), Orbisun International and Asian Leaders Association (ALA).

You will find most of the information at www.cimpa.org/itmic2006.htm

Please post your comment.

All the best,
Andrea and the ITMIC TEAM

First the terrorists turn airplanes into missiles, now we are told that lipstick, hand cream and mouthwash can be life-threatening. Fear now comes in a bottle of water.

Meanwhile travel and meetings, especially international meetings, are thrown into chaos. How do we cope? How do we promote the excitement of travel, seeing new places, meeting new people amidst the fear of terrorists? How do we calm down these fears?

WANTED: Presenters to talk about real life stories, ideas, plans and others to put our lives as planners of meetings and travel back to normal – more or less.

If you are a supplier, what are you doing to help make our attendees more secure?

If you are a planner, what keeps you awake at night and what are you going to do about it?

If you are a speaker, please share your ideas.

The topic of the 90-minute panel is “Planning Meetings & Travel in the Era of Terrorism”.

Please – let me hear from you.

These issues will be addressed at the 16th International Technology, Meetings and Incentives Conference.

Don’t forget the dates – November 10-13, 2006 at the 5-star President Hotel Prague. On the right bank of the Vitava river. Close to the Prague castle and Old Town – where most of the tourist attractions are.

This conference is hosted by Connected International Meeting Professionals Association (CIMPA), International Association of Hispanic Meeting Professionals (IAHMP), Orbisun International and Asian Leaders Association (ALA).

You will find most of the information at www.cimpa.org/itmic2006.htm

Please post a comment.

All the best,
Andrea and the ITMIC TEAM

Hello, Everyone!

Wheww! Summer in Washington DC is sooooo hot. So it is in most parts of the world, I understand. Not to worry – autumn is just around the corner – and yes, our 16th Fall Conference in beautiful Prague.

Don’t forget the dates – November 10-13, 2006 at the 5-star President Hotel Prague. On the right bank of the Vitava river. Close to the Prague castle and Old Town – where most of the tourist attractions are.

This conference is hosted by Connected International Meeting Professionals Association (CIMPA), International Association of Hispanic Meeting Professionals (IAHMP), Orbisun International and Asian Leaders Association
(ALA). The theme is “Planning Meetings and Travel in the Google Age”.

At this conference, we will formally launch the Federation of Minority Organizations, an international network of associations serving the minority market. You are invited.

You will find all the information at www.cimpa.org/itmic2006.htm 
 
Here is the schedule at a glance:
November 9 – Orbisun International Board of Directors Meeting November 10 – Tour to Karlovy Vary
November 11-12 – Joint International Conference of CIMPA, International Association of Hispanic Meeting Professionals, Asian Leaders Association &
Orbisun Intl
November 11 -Luncheon hosted by the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation.
ALA Advisory Board Meeting, Vitava River Boat Tour with Dinner, IAHMP Board of Directors Meeting
November 12 – Luncheon hosted by Orbisun International
November 12 – Dinner hosted by Corinthia Hotel. 
November 13 – Bohemian Paradise Tour.
Asian Academy Hall of Fame Awards; CPPM Awards; Distinction in Diversity
Awards
 
November 14-16 – Tour to Vienna, Austria. Happy 250th Birthday, Mozart!
November 14-16 – Poland Tour 
November 17 – 18 – Mission to a SOS Village in Brno

Certification exams will be given online, via email or onsite. Please hit reply for more information.

CONVERSATION TOPICS
We will continue the conversations we have started in previous meetings. Suggestions are still welcome. What keeps you awake at night? We would like to get a global perspective of the challenges you and your colleagues are
facing. Please hit reply to email me.

PLANNING MEETINGS AND TRAVEL IN THE GOOGLE AGE
In his book,  ” The World is Flat,  Tom Friedman, Pulitzer Prize Winner and author of  “The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization”, confirms what most economists have been saying all along – that the global
economic playing field is being leveled.  We are seeing a global, Web- enabled playing field that allows for collaboration without regard to size, geography or distance – or  even language. What he really means is that the world is connected.

Anybody can now compete or collaborate with anybody – no matter what your size or where you are in the world. Cheap, ubiquitous communication tools have finally obliterated all barriers to international cooperation or
competition. The ‘flat world’ is a level playing field where  ‘Goliaths’ and ‘Davids’ play side by side – not one on top of the other. What are the implications for our industry? Let’s talk about that.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? BLOG AND BE HEARD
We’re at a media crossroads. People-powered information is surging, from blogs to podcasts to videocasts to open-source browsers with a million user-created plug-ins to open-access academic journals. Information will be
free, as never before.
 
Blogging is a publishing revolution Because of their simplicity and ease of use, blogs are proliferating across the Web, and there are now an estimated 6 million of them. Blogs democratize the media. No longer do you have to rely solely on industry magazines. Blogs are being used as a new millennium cyber soapbox.  Hotels are using them as a resourceful way to speak to customers and to find out what customers are thinking. It is powerful media because it is connected into what people call the “blogosphere.” Bloggers read one another and link to one another, creating a giant spider web of connected sites. The blogs are where you find the answer to “What are
people on the Net saying?”  Again, what are the implications for our industry and how can we take advantage of it?
 
COUNTRY CONVERSATIONS
Here’s what you told us:
“I want to familiarize myself with – international meeting venues and opportunities. How to plan a convention in other countries; what are local resources, government assistance and/or interference potential, how is business “done”? What is accepted practice? “I would like to hear about experiences of other US attendees that have held meetings in various countries”.
“Let’s be honest. We attend international meetings to see and enjoy the country. What’s wrong with that? Of course, we want to do business as well. Making new friends is a good start – isn’t it?”
“I think informal meetings are better than formal meetings. But in most cases, we don’t know the people enough to arrange informal meetings. “

Ok – let’s get those folks down to the conference and let’s have a conversation.  We invite participants from all countries – particularly the emerging destinations which are just now targeting the meetings and incentives industry. Visit www.cimpa.org/register_print.htm to register.

CONVERSATIONS OF COURAGE AND INSPIRATION FROM THOSE WHO HAVE SURVIVED CANCER AND OTHER DISEASE BUT MUST CONTINUE TO WORK.
What is this topic doing in a conference of technology, travel, meetings and incentives professionals. I will tell you. Conferences are about people. You never know who you are meeting at these conferences if you just sit down in a darkened meeting room watching powerpoint presentations. Last year, I was sitting with a woman and as the lights went out, she dropped a bottle of medication that rolled to my feet. I picked it up and saw that it was the same medication I took a few months back. “Do you have cancer?”, I asked. Tears welled in her eyes “Yes.”

That was the beginning of a close friendship. Myself, a survivor and she, terrified and hopeless, comforted each other. Since then, this talented woman had worked with me on several projects.

Bottomline: We are all human. We all have our burdens and our struggles. They become easier if they can be shared. The bonds that result from this are very strong, indeed. In the process, we can help support each other personally and perchance help each other professionally.

More Conversation Topics:

Diversity and Multiculturalism
War, Travel and Meetings
Marketing to Ethnic Markets
” Wisdom of the Crowds”
Certification
Tips and Strategies: Ideas You can immediately use
Strategic Alliances
International Site Selection
Fundraising
Working for Yourself
Security Issues
All about Negotiations

ABOUT THE PLACES WE WILL VISIT

Karlovy Vary – Carlsbad

In the exact words of our hosts: “The biggest and most prominent spa town in the Czech Republic with more than 650 years old tradition of  using of hot mineral springs for improving of health. Clientele from 87 countries from the whole world, 9000 beds in hotels, health and spa resort, wellness offer, anti-aging spa. Karlovy Vary became a much frequented social center for the European aristocracy for centuries, you can meet  many celebrities here even today. It is a town of arts with a big choice of cultural, artistic and sporting activities. The beauty of romantic architecture
attracts also the film makers: “Last holiday” with Gerard Depardieu and Queen Latifa, “James Bond” with Daniel Craig and Eva Green. Since 1946 the International Film Festival of category “A” visited a.g. by Leonardo di Caprio, Robert Redford, Sharon Stone etc. Traditional  outstanding products
of Karlovy Vary are sold under  world famous brand names: Moser-crystal, Thun-porcelain, Becherovka Liquer, Mattoni mineral water etc.  More information at: www.karlovyvary.cz “

Got that? It’s a haven for stressed people. It is known for its anti-aging treatments and products. (Yeah – I desperately need some too).   During the last century the town has been a popular meeting place for European royalty and high society. Among the famous figures who stayed here were Goethe, Schiller, Beethoven, Chopin, and Karl Marx. Today, if you’re lucky, you can still bump into some famous people there. The city center has been recently completely renovated. A few km long colonade on the Tepla river bank is lined with shops, hotels and springs and offers a memorable walk. More than 60 hot springs have been found here and 12 are used in spa treatment. The springs, which vary in  temperature from 34 to 73 degrees C, are used ” for baths and drinking cures”  (not the same water

The town is also renowned for the production of fine engraved glass from Moser Glasworks established in Karlovy Vary in 1857. THUN Karlovarsky porcelain. Karlovarska Becherovka liquor since 1805 contains 40 herbs and is supposed to be medicinal.

The City of Karlovy Vary will host  lunch and the visit to the Regional Museum. Please join us.

BOHEMIAN PARADISE – Designated a UNESCO Geopark. 24 castles and ruins of the castles, 8 chateaus, 13 rock towns, museums, historical towns. Biggest underground lake. GARNETS! Only one company in the entire country mines and
sets the garnets, so whatever isn’t produced by them is a fake. That factory is GranᴠTurnov located in Turnov. We will visit this factory and you will have the opportunity to see how garnets are mined and then made into stunning jewelry. You will also have the opportunity to buy the genuine products at factory savings. We will also visit the Bohemia crystal and glass factory. Many come to Prague specifically for this famous product. 

It being so close to Christmas, we will head for the historical town of Jicin to visit a factory of Christmas glass decorations. Make your Christmas tree sparkle with some of the world’s most beautifully crafted d飯r. A spectacular Christmas tree for a memorable Christmas! In between sightseeing and shopping, we will head for rock town Hruboskalsko to have
lunch at the beautiful Chateau Hrub᠓kᬡ nestled against a backdrop of green forests and blue mountains.

We will end the day and the conference with the Annual Awards Ceremony at a royal reception with the Duke and Duchess of Turnov at their chateau. How’s that for a royal ending?

PRESIDENT HOTEL, our home for the duration of the conference,  is a 5 star property offering world-class hospitality and services.

CORINTHIA HOTEL – Experience the warmth, colour and vitality. From the island of Malta, influenced by cultures, ideas and experiences from all points of the compass, comes the Spirit of Corinthia.  5- star.

CZECH AIRLINES – Our official airline. $380 roundtrip plus tax from JFK nonstop to Prague. 15% off the lowest fare from European and other countries.

MISSION TO A SOS VILLAGE IN BRNO – One of the things that sets our conference apart is that it is a conference with a mission. Since 1994, we have included quality time for caring and sharing with underprivileged children in our destination. This year is not going to be any different.

VIENNA – Most people visit Vienna with a vivid image of the city in their minds: a monumental vision of Habsburg palaces, trotting white horses, ladies in fur coats and mountains of fat cream cakes. And they’re unlikely to be disappointed. What makes this year special is that it is the 250th birthday of Mozart and Austria is celebrating.

POLAND – All over the world, Auschwitz has become a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Holocaust. It is an important part of world history. Also visit Wroclaw’s Japanese Gardens, the stadium in which Hitler intended to hold the Olympic Games, an enormous wooden Church of Peace listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. End the trip with a cheerful evening in the oldest restaurant in Europe (founded in 1274).

THE PHILIPPINES, OUR NEXT HOST. The Pearl of the Orient. An archipelago of 7,107 islands, the Philippines stretches from the south of China to the northern tip of Borneo. The country has over a hundred ethnic groups and a mixture of foreign influences which have molded a richly unique Filipino
culture.

Before the Spanish explorers came, Indo-Malays and Chinese merchants had settled here. In 1521 the Spaniards discovered the islands. After ruling for 333 years, the Spaniards left in 1898 and were replaced by the Americans who continued to colonize the country for another 48 years. The Americans brought over their educational system, their legal system, and their democratic form of government. On July 4, 1946, the Americans gave the Philippines its independence.

The Philippines is home to about 77 million people. Considered as the third largest-English speaking country in the world, the Philippines has world-class meeting facilities.

There will be post conference trips to China and Thailand.

For info:www.cimpa.org/itmic2006.htm
To register: www.cimpa.org/register_print.htm

Allow me to end with a provocative thought:
The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created. Created first in the mind and then created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but MADE, and the activity of making them, changes both the maker and the destination. – John Schaar

All the best,
Andrea and the ITMIC TEAM