PCMA adds digital conversations to upcoming APAC forum

Six deep-dive sessions will be exclusively available to digital attendees.

Japanese, Korean and Mandarin-speaking attendees are encouraged to tune into the event, which will offer live, simultaneous interpretation of the presentations.
Japanese, Korean and Mandarin-speaking attendees are encouraged to tune into the event, which will offer live, simultaneous interpretation of the presentations.

PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association) has added new interactive conversation segments to its upcoming Convening Asia Pacific – The Global Recovery Forum, a hybrid event taking place on 10 November at the ICC Sydney and live-streamed across the region.

Going live at 12pm AEDT (9am in Singapore and Hong Kong) the four-hour event will now allow digital attendees to join in six ‘Conversations with the Experts’ sessions: interactive deep dive chats with key industry leaders, offering practical insights into managing and innovating business events in the Covid era.

The panel includes planners, event organisers, marketers, technology specialists and creators covering various sectors. All attendees have to do is nominate a topic before the event and then chat with the presenters over 25-minute breakout sessions.

And to cover as much of the region as possible, PCMA will have live, simultaneous interpretation of the presentations from English into Japanese, Korean and Mandarin, via the cloud-based Interprefy platform.

Topics and speakers include:

  • Incentive Travel and Events with Bert Li, associate director of event production, Amway China
  • Corporate Meetings and Events with Deborah Caldwell, senior vice president Asia Pacific, head of event marketing, Bank of America
  • Association Meetings and Events with Paula Rowntree, head of events & experience, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners; and Kirsty Grimwade, senior manager, events, The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
  • China Focus: Are We Back in Business? with Frankie Gao, managing director, China, MCI Group; and Stephen Zhang, president & chief distribution officer, Manulife Sinochem
  • Engaging Your Audience with Digital Events: Up Close and Personal with Sourabh Kothari, co-founder and CEO, Mindcurrent; and Jennifer Kingen Kush, founder and strategist, Kingen Kush Solutions

Karen Bolinger, managing director of PCMA APAC, said that the last-minute addition was a result of research, surveys and community chats. "What we’re hearing is that you want to ask your peers and customers what they are doing, how they’ve made decisions and what the next 12 months looks like. Now is your opportunity to ask them directly, as well as share some best practices and tips on rebuilding the business events sector in APAC."

This is on top of an existing programme which includes case studies, workshops, and strategic content co-created by event planners and the industry.

To further encourage sign up, the PCMA Foundation is granting scholarships covering registration cost for individuals to attend either in-person in Sydney or digitally. Scholarship applications end today (Wednesday, 4 November 2020), so apply here.