Expanded Conference Awards Ceremony honours Estonia's Best of 2015

The Estonian Convention Bureau's annual 'Conference of the Year' awards ceremony took place in Tallinn on January 13, with the top prize going to 25th Nordic-Baltic Congress of Cardiology. Organised by the Estonian Society of Cardiology and the PCO Conference Expert, the large-scale medical gathering brought 632 cardiologists, researchers and other experts to the Swissôtel Tallinn in June 2015. It beat out 21 other nominees to win the award.

The conference's chief organiser, Professor Margus Viigimaa, received the prize. He stressed the positive impact of hosting the event in Estonia, especially regarding how it helped put the small country on the map within the international community of cardiologists. “Estonia has been the chair of the Nordic-Baltic Association of Cardiology for the last two years. As the representative for this region, we were able to make our voice more heard within the European Society of Cardiology. That is something Estonia could not have achieved on its own,” he said.

“Many international conferences were held in Estonia throughout the year 2015, but this jubilee conference truly stood out for its high level of professionalism, significant number of participants as well as for the positive feedback received from delegates,” said Kadri Karu, the ECB's Managing Director.

The gala awards ceremony was held at the newly opened Tallinn Creative Hub, a one-of-a-kind venue built into a former power station, with the city's Deputy Mayor, Arvo Sarapuu, handing out the honours.

This year's candidates list included a record 22 entries, compared with just nine last year, thanks to changes to the format allowing members of its Ambassador programme, as well as universities and research institutes, to make nominations.

Other upgrades to this year's ceremony were the addition of a 'Most Innovative Conference' award, won by the JCI Nordic Inspiration Conference held in August, and a 'Successful Bidder' award, taken home by Priit Halberg. The latter was recognised for bringing the OIDFA World Lace Congress to Tartu in 2020, with 1,000 delegates expected to attend.

The ECB kicked off its 'Conference of the Year' award in 2012, with each year's winners chosen by a vote of all its members.

www.ecb.ee