BestCities Global Alliance’s Loren Christie and ICCA’s Dr. Senthil Gopinath signed the renewed partnership agreement at IMEX Frankfurt 2025.
Associations looking to create deeper, more lasting impact through their international meetings can now benefit from the renewed Incredible Impacts Programme**,** following the extension of a strategic partnership between BestCities Global Alliance and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
Announced at IMEX Frankfurt 2025, the renewed three-year agreement ensures the continuation of the Incredible Impacts Programme, an initiative that awards annual grants to international associations whose meetings deliver lasting social, environmental, or economic legacies.
Each year, the programme offers two financial grants – a main grant of US$20,000 and a seed grant of US$5,000. These funds are awarded to associations that demonstrate innovative approaches to legacy creation, providing not just recognition but practical support to develop or scale meaningful initiatives.
Finalists present their projects at the ICCA Congress each November, with winners selected by a panel and conference participants.
The programme is open to international associations, giving them the chance to gain global exposure, access funding, and connect with a network of peers interested in purpose-led events.
Originally launched in 2017 by BestCities Global Alliance and ICCA, the Incredible Impacts Programme continues to advocate for international meetings as catalysts for global change. It supports a shift in how impact is measured in the meetings industry – from numbers to narratives, and from attendance to transformation.