As the global business events industry embraces a shift towards hybrid and virtual event formats, Kaohsiung, home to Asia’s New Bay Area, is perfectly placed to lead this transformation.
The harbour city recently hosted the 59th International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Conference on 1–3 November as a hybrid experience — the first in the association’s history — thanks in part to Kaohsiung’s advanced connectivity and innovative technological cluster.
With some of the most proficient infrastructure and network connectivity in Taiwan, Kaohsiung is classified as a ‘gamma-level city’ by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC). It is the first city in the country to receive government support to develop its AR and VR industry, including AIoT and 5G application.
As the nerve centre of the ICCA Congress, Kaohsiung welcomed a live audience of industry leaders at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Centre and connected the global ICCA community by live-streaming content to more than 1,500 attendees in eight regional hubs across the globe.
Centered around the theme ‘Transforming Global Events Together’, the event featured a six-week ‘Road to Kaohsiung’ pre-congress programme that identified ideas and technologies for the future of events. The collective insights of the programme were officially presented during congress as the ‘Kaohsiung Protocol’ and will serve as a framework to help the industry identify new business opportunities and advance hybrid meeting models.
Presented in partnership with the Kaohsiung City Government, the ‘Kaohsiung Protocol’ is the major legacy outcome of the 59th ICCA Congress and demonstrates the city’s commitment to rise to the challenges presented by the global pandemic.
Chen Chi-Mai, mayor of Kaohsiung, said the city’s quick pivot to bridge the online-offline divide resulted in a number of innovative event components, while ICCA president, James Rees, said the re-imagined hybrid event will act as a “live” case study for the entire events industry.
Among the highlights, Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chi-Mai and economy minister Wang Meihua joined the opening ceremony — a testament to Taiwan’s early epidemic prevention measures, which has since allowed the resumption of regular work and social life, and even hosting large-scale conferences.
Building on the digital transformation theme, Bob Bejan, corporate vice president: global event, studio and marketing community at Microsoft, delivered a keynote presentation, while leaders from Daimler, the International Semiconductor Association Taiwan, and The Octalysis Group shared insights into the driving forces of human motivation.
In the spirit of togetherness, attendees also co-created an original theme song for the 2020 congress, harnessing the power of music to engage and connect with ICCA’s global community.
The ICCA Congress is held annually, but the 2020 congress in Kaohsiung will forever be a milestone in the history of the business event industry.