The 4th European Federation of the Associations of Professional Congress took place in Belgium (Brussels) on 7th – 9th January 2010. Its theme “Sustainability and competitiveness in the Meetings Industry” came precisely within the remit of the European Union’s DG Enterprise and Industry and approved by EFAPCO Board, with Irena Sokołowska from Poland as a Vice President.
A wide range of topics was tackled by an impressive line-up of keynote speakers who were prompt stimulating interactive debates with delegates including some foremost industry personalities. Among them: Jan-Christoph Napierski, responsible for the sustainable organisation of December’s UN Climate Change Conference in Denmark and David Stubbs, Head of Sustainability for London’s 2012 Olympic Games.
There were also the panel discussions and round-table sessions allowing every participant to share knowledge on issues including “strategies behind making the right business choices”, “Working with Generation Y”, “Corporate Social Responsibility” and “PCOs’ liabilities versus clients’ responsibilities”.
There were 180 participants from 19 countries, among them Poland with their representatives. Participants spent these 3 days in the brand new congress center for 2000 people – SQUARE (Brussels Palais des Congrès), where EFAPCO congress was one of the first major events.
For next meeting EFAPCO working group was invited to Budapest (Hungury), Milano (Italy) and Frankfurt (Germany), however Polish representatives negotiated organize it in one of Polish cities: Poznań, Wrocław, Gdańsk or Szczecin. Estoril (Portugal) applies to host 5th EFAPCO Congress in 2012.
