ESAE Takes the Reins of the European Association Summit

All photos credit to visit.brussels

After 11 successful years of running the European Association Summit (EAS) and bringing together Association professionals from all over Europe to learn and exchange with colleagues, visit.brussels is announcing a strategic shift, following the recent opening of their exciting new initiative: The Association Place (TAP).

Focussing its efforts on supporting the International Association Community through this new project, visit.brussels has opened the door to the founding partners of the European Association Summit to shape the future of the event. To this end, the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE) has taken over the organisation of the event with the collaboration of visit.brussels in these efforts.

ESAE was one of the four founding partners that established the EAS and supported the Summit development throughout its history, sharing the goal of advancing the Association management profession.

Therefore, ESAE will take the opportunity as a Summit founding partner and is planning to organise future editions of the EAS, starting in the second quarter of 2024. Visit.brussels expresses its strong support to ESAE in this endeavour and is excited to be collaborating on the next chapter of the Summit’s journey. 

‘We are very proud of establishing the annual point of reference for Associations in Brussels over the past 11 editions. We are happy to see that the Summit journey goes on with ESAE in partnership with visit.brussels, a community sharing those same values,’ says Patrick Bontinck, CEO, VISIT.BRUSSELS.

As the organisation that brings together European Associations professionals, and with the mission of promoting excellence in Association management through knowledge exchange and sharing of best practice, ESAE is committed to build on the legacy visit.brussels created.

The next edition of the EAS will be planned to include the ESAE’s Association Awards Ceremony, following the success of the inaugural event earlier this year in June 2023. The ESAE Board and Co- Chairs of the ESAE Communities of Practice will be working together to develop a programme which is relevant for Association executives and professionals as well as the community at large, including ESAE partners. The dates and venue for the 2024 edition to be announced soon.

"As Association executives ourselves, we are sensitive to the needs and topics that matter the most to our peers. We want to create a Summit designed by Association professionals, for Association professionals, aimed at advancing knowledge-sharing for all. We hope to build on the success of past editions by being inclusive and collaborative across our community," says Mike Morrisey, ESAE President.

The Association Place (above) aims to become the gathering place for the International and European Associations community in Brussels. This venue will become the place to meet, network and do business for the strongest Association-centred ecosystems in the world. This opening is a significant step in visit.brussels’ long-standing strategy to support the International Associations sector in Brussels.

Visit.brussels will continue to work hands in hands with the founding partners of the EAS such as the Federation of European & International Associations in Belgium (FAIB), ESAE, and the Union of International Associations (UIA) as well as key industry players in order to further enhance the added value of Brussels as home for International Associations.

For more information, please contact the ESAE Secretariat