Business Events Week to return in 2014

Business events are quite the modest achiever.

Head down, tail up, they generate billions of dollars for economies the world over.

In Australia, the value of business events to the national economy is estimated to rise to a whopping $31 billion by 2020.

And for the state of Victoria in particular, between 2010 and 2015, business events secured by the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) will increase Gross State Product by $1.6 billion.

But the value of business events goes beyond dollar signs.

Not only are business events responsible for 22,000 jobs in Victoria alone, they also enhance Melbourne’s global profile as a knowledge destination.

In addition, business events expose our scientists and industry leaders to international best practice, boost the skills and experience of our local workforce, increase access to international markets for Victorian industries and raise Melbourne’s profile as a great place to live, invest, work, study and holiday.

It’s for all these reasons (and a quite a few more) that today we announced the return of Business Events Week in 2014, designed to showcase the value of the industry.

Business Events Week will be held from Monday, 17 to Friday, 21 February, 2014 and will again be centred around AIME on 18 and 19 February.

We are also proud to announce that Professor Ian Chubb, Chief Scientist of Australia, is the official ambassador for Business Events Week 2014.

Like MCB, Professor Chubb is a firm believer in what business events can do to support the development of the research and knowledge sectors.

The inaugural Business Events Week took place in February of this year and attracted over 5000 people from interstate and overseas to more than 50 events.

Aside from AIME, in 2014, highlights on the Business Events Week program include the annual Associations Forum CEO Symposium on 20 and 21 February, for which we are expecting between 100 to 120 senior decision makers from domestic and Asia-Pacific not-for-profit associations.

Another major highlight of Business Events Week will be Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s Open Space, which is a free public event taking place on Thursday, 20 February.

Open Space will showcase ‘innovation’ with key note speakers including Todd Sampson, well known for his role as a panellist on The Gruen Transfer on the ABC; Dr Ken Kato, Chairman and Executive Creative Director of Cato Partners and one of our Club Melbourne Ambassadors; and Dr Cathy Foley, Chief of CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering and also a Club Melbourne Ambassador.

For more information about how you can get involved in Business Events Week visit http://www.melbournecb.com.au/about-mcb/tradeshows-fairs/business-events-week.aspx

Author: Karen Bolinger joined the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) as Chief Executive Officer in November 2011.