Meeting News - December 21, 2009 - (Page 16)

Association Watch By Seth Harris sharris@meetingnews.com Joint Meetings Industry Council To Increase Global Advocacy The Joint Meetings Industry Council this month announced plans to increase its role as a global advocate for the meetings industry through a separate administration, fund new research, increase its government lobbying efforts and coordinate member positions on key issues affecting the industry worldwide. The council is made up of many of the major meetings associations in the United States and abroad, including the Destination Marketing Association International, Meeting Professionals International, the International Congress and Convention Association, the Professional Convention Management Association and Site. The new projects are being funded by increased allocations from members and through sponsorships from IMEX and Reed Travel Exhibitions. Total additional funding we need to do is have a more coordinated exceeds €60,000, according to Leigh Harry, voice,” Harry told MeetingNews. JMIC president, chief executive Some of that will come of the Melbourne Convention through commissioning new and Exhibition Centre and ICCA research studies, primarily president. focused on the industry’s total In late 2010, JMIC will conimpact globally and then using vene a summit of its members to those findings to influence policy align their views and to develop makers at the governmental level. a plan to help guide them for the “We are getting better at measurnext 10 to 15 years, something ing the economic benefits of the Harry said that has not been meetings industry, be it spend in done since 2000. hotel rooms, restaurants or what“The intent is really that assoever, but now looking at the JMIC’s Leigh Harry ciation members in the past all downstream things that come tended to have their own voice out there in the out of the meetings industry as well,” he said. marketplace and they’ll still do that, but what Harry noted that the Convention Industry Council, which conducts many of the same efforts for its association members in North America, supports JMIC’s efforts, which he said are not in competition with CIC. “We are mindful of the fact that CIC is doing a number of similar things in the states,” Harry said. “MPI and PCMA are part of CIC, so we are talking closely with CIC to make sure there is a coordination in the activities because the JMIC focus is more about the rest of the world, but will have a focus in the United States as well.” The council also is creating a separate administration. Previously, the organization was administered by member organizations with the chair’s association handling the bulk of the work and rotating treasury responsibilities with another association. Currently those fall to ICCA and the International Association of Congress Centres, respectively. The chair is rotated semiannually. The additional funding also allows JMIC program manager and president of Criterion Communications Rod Cameron to serve in a wider consulting role to the council, according to Harry. The Secretariat Office remains at the International Association of Congress Centres’ Brussels office, where association secretary general Marianne de Raay handles some JMIC administrative duties. r www.meetingnews.com 16 MeetingNews December 21, 2009 http://www.tajhotels.com/boston http://www.tajhotels.com/boston http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - December 21, 2009

Meeting News - December 21, 2009
Contents
Newsmaker
Viewpoint
Meetings Spotlight
Association Watch
Construction Cites
Event Profile
Meeting People
Dateline: Mississippi
Dateline: Las Vegas
West Regional
Planner’s Choice Awards
Travel Dashboard

Meeting News - December 21, 2009