The global event has established a partnership between the two associations.
The highly anticipated SITE & MPI Global Forum, that saw the two leading international MICE associations come together for the first time ever, ended on Sunday, January 14, 2018.
The SITE & MPI Global Forum took place in Rome, with over 540 attendees from all over the globe: 55% from Europe, 34% from North America, 17% from the rest of the world.
Meeting industry professionals had the opportunity of attending 30 training sessions over the course of three days. The two associations issued the following statement, highlighting their commitment to future cooperation and collaboration:
“Whereas the SITE + MPI Global Forum 2018 in Rome (Italy) brought together the worlds’ leading professionals across all industry segments;
Whereas the Boards of Directors and Foundation Trustees of both Organizations are dedicated to creating synergy for the benefit of their members and the industry as a whole;
Whereas both organizations have a shared interest in advocating for meetings, incentives, conventions, and events professionals around the world,
The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) and Meeting Professionals International (MPI) hereby commit to future cooperation and collaboration with each other for the benefit of industry professionals globally.”
The Treaty was signed by:
Kevin Hinton, CEO, Society for Incentive Travel Excellence
Annamaria Ruffini, President, SITE International Board of Directors
Paul Van Deventer, President & CEO, Meeting Professionals International
Amanda Armstrong, Chair, MPI International Board of Directors
The Forum also saw Annamaria Ruffini’s debut as President of SITE, the first ever Italian to be appointed to this role.
The event was a success on an organizational level, too.
Here is what SITE and MPI leaders and attendees had to say about the Forum:
Annamaria Ruffini, CMP, President of SITE International Board of Directors; President & CEO of In & Out:
“For me, the Global Forum’s keywords were Cooperation and Sustainability. I brought home some really interesting prompts for my job: always look around for inspiration, as it can be found everywhere.”
Mauro Bernardini, President of MPI Italia Chapter; Owner & Managing Director of All Star Agency:
“I think the event’s keyword was ‘Being Genius’, as shown by Alberto Angela’s remarkable opening and Julie Cottineau’s closing speech. The Forum has made me aware of how Rome and Italy are one of the favorite event destinations for companies from all over the world – all thanks to our incredible artistic, cultural, agricultural, stylish and creative heritage.”
Rodolfo Musco, CMP, CMM, CME-it; President of Motivation & Events, founder of MPI Italia Chapter, and the person in charge of MPI Italia Chapter’s professional certifications:
“The Forum proved that swapping and sharing experiences increases personal and global professionalism. The meeting rooms’ set-up (with round tables) encouraged the interaction between attendees and created an emotional connection that helped with the learning. For instance, participating in a seminar held by a young graduate showed me the value of outlining the participants’ expectations and consequently how to plan appealing and effective conferences. The methods used to engage and capture the audience were also really interesting and effective.”
Emily Kratt, INNOVATX Events Managing Director and past president of SITE Texas Chapter:
“Inspiring, surprising, good value – these were for me the keywords of the Forum. I was inspired to think about my professional and personal brand as a story, and to think outside of the box on impactful and untraditional ways to tell it. This can be applied to everything, meetings or incentives included.”
Enrico Jesu, Meeting & Business Development Manager of Vela SPA:
“It was obvious from the start that ‘global’ would be the most significant trait of the Forum. Such qualified speeches and the networking with international professionals have given me a great deal of enthusiasm and lots of new ideas for my job.”
About SITE
Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) is the only global organization dedicated to the strengthening and support of the incentive travel industry. The association provides its members with professional development, certification and business connections.
Over the last 44 years, SITE has grown to over 2,100 members in 84 countries with 29 local and regional chapters.
About MPI
Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is the largest meeting and event industry association worldwide. Founded in the United States in 1972, it provides innovative and relevant education, networking opportunities and business exchanges to its 17,000 members.
The association has more than 90 chapters and clubs in 19 countries. MPI Italia Chapter, founded in 1991, was the first European chapter.
(thank you to Emily Kratt for the night photo)