The Challenge:
The 2021 ICCA World Congress’s Asia Pacific Hub Seoul event ran from October 26 to 27 at Coex’s Grand Ballroom. But how would the congress unify meetings professionals from around the world without even meeting? The key was to share over 100 hours of live content and knowledge development opportunities seamlessly over a virtual platform.
The live regional event was limited to 100 attendees due to South Korea’s COVID-19 social distancing measures at the time, but the speakers, moderators, and attendees included representatives from major companies, universities, and convention and tourism bureaus across the country.
Coex’s Hybrid Meetings Capabilities on Full Display:
Throughout the pandemic, Coex has continually upgraded and refined its technology and services for hybrid meetings, and they were instrumental in the smooth operation of the congress’s Asia Pacific Hub Seoul. In particular, Coex’s professional live streaming service, Coex Live, was used as the official streaming service to broadcast the ICCA Congress Seoul. This suite of services includes top web streaming equipment and expert management services to oversee the operations. This combined with Korea’s world-renown ultra fast and stable internet network service made it possible for the hybrid ICCA event to be held with ease.
Outside the main venue of the Grand Ballroom, attendees were also able to experience and learn about some of Coex’s most recent offerings of meetings industry innovations. A pop-up broadcast studio, a part of the services available under Coex Live, showed attendees how speakers could be broadcast in a multiple variety of backdrops in real time for their event. Coex representatives were also present to demo the Mobilo contactless business card, a sample of which was handed out to each ICCA Congress Seoul participant as the official souvenir.
Event Overview:
The two-day Asia Regional Hub Seoul event ran with speakers and panelists presenting from both the Seoul venue and in other places around the world - with participants tuning into both local and shared international sessions throughout the two days.
The Seoul event opened with Welcoming Remarks from CEO of Seoul Tourism Organization Ki Yon Kil, which was followed by Congratulatory Remarks from CEO of Coex Dong Won Lee, ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath, and ICCA Regional Director-Asia Pacific Waikin Wong. The Keynote Speech in Korea, “2022 Korean Trends and New Normal Convention Strategy,” was given by Seoul National University Chief Researcher Jihye Choi.
A variety of topics were discussed under the congress’s theme of “Forward to our Future”, including, “Green MICE, Opening the World of Sustainablility,” and “Why is Agile culture needed for MICE organizations in the post-COVID-19 era,” - both of which were moderated and discussed in Seoul.
Regarding Coex’s capabilities for hybrid events like the ICCA Congress Regional Hub Asia, Coex Venue Marketing Team Assistant Manager Amy Cha remarked, “Coex is tasked with the hosting of some of Korea’s most important events, and so it is essential for us to stay up to date and flexible - no matter what challenge we are presented. We are happy to have supported ICCA by serving as the venue for its congress’s Seoul hub for the second year in a row, and also to do so with our cutting-edge hybrid meeting services.
Learn more about Coex LIVE here https://www.coexcenter.com/coex-live/
Learn more about the 60th ICCA World Congress here https://www.iccaworld.org/