European Cities Marketing went global and exported its ECM Summer School outside Europe

Like its big sister the ECM Summer School, the ECM Academy is the bridge for worldwide professionals to a successful career in the meetings industry. Thereby ECM consolidates its position as the educational reference in the sector, counting on 30 years of expertise with the ECM Summer School.The first edition of the ECM Academy took place in Johannesburg, 19-21 February 2016, with 74 participants coming from African convention bureaux, convention centres, tourism boards, hotels, travel agencies and event agencies.

“We live in a constant changing world, and the meetings industry is no exception. Ongoing education is a success factor for future business. It’s a crucial task for top management in each organisation, whether it is a CVB, tourist office, congress centre, airline, hotel, DMC, PCO or meeting planner, to train every employee continuously. We are very proud that this philosophy attracted all these students here in Johannesburg” declared Bettina Bunge, ECM Vice-President for the Meetings Industry.

The ECM Academy featured an exceptional line up of speakers, including Jonathan Cohen (Azimuth Marketing Communications Ltd), Nina Freysen-Pretorius (ICCA), Barbara Jamison (London & Partners), Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo (South Africa National Convention Bureau), Anja Loetscher (Geneva Tourism & Conventions), Christian Mutschlechner (Vienna Convention Bureau), Esmare Steinhofel (ICCA Africa), Marcel Vissers (MIM and Headquarters Magazines), Anne Wallin Rødven (InspirAR) led by the course leader Pier Paolo Mariotti, CMP CMM (EURAC Convention Center).

European Cities Marketing President, Ignasi de Delàs, said: “We are really delighted that our first ECM Academy organised in South Africa was a real success being fully booked! We have been able to provide the highest standard of course content, recruiting the best speakers, giving the latest examples showcasing the most up-to-date trends in the Meetings Industry and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the Faculty led by Pier Paolo Mariotti and the organising team here in Johannesburg.”

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