Registration Opens for Dubai Association Conference 2022

Registration for the next edition of the Dubai Association Conference, taking place on 21 February 2022, has opened to the international association community. Set to be hosted at the Dubai Exhibition Centre, within the Expo 2020 Dubai site, the event will feature a strong lineup of leaders from the global associations sector as well as Dubai’s public and private sector among its speakers and participants. 

Under the theme of ‘Associations and The New World: Resilience & Reinvention’, the third edition of the conference will provide a platform for exploring how associations can adapt amid not just the aftermath and direct impact of the global pandemic, but shifting dynamics among the professions and industries they serve. The conference will once again be hosted under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.

Continuing the tradition of the previous two editions, the event will kick off with a session featuring the founders of the Dubai Associations Centre (DAC): His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism and His Excellency Hamad Buamim, President & CEO, Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Other sessions on the agenda will explore themes and topics including design thinking, policymaking priorities, innovation, diversity and revenues.

Among the international speakers bringing their international insights and expertise will be: Michelle I. Mason, President and CEO of the American Society of Association Executives; Marjorie Anderson, Founder, Community By Association; Jason Thompson, Professional Thinker, Copywriter and Speaker; Marc Mekki, Digital Innovator and UX & Design Thinking Expert; and Bo Kruger, Owner, Moving Minds.

Leaders of global associations also among the featured speakers will include: Alessandro Jacques Cortese, CEO, European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology; Dianna Steinbach, Vice President, Corporate Development, ISSA - The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association; and Magdalena Nowicka Mook, CEO, International Coaching Federation.

Michelle I. Mason (pictured right), President and CEO of the American Society of Association Executives, said: “I’m looking forward to engaging in meaningful dialogue with global association leaders at the Dubai Association Conference in February 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered how association leaders engage with their members and other stakeholders, even as face-to-face meetings are returning. The pandemic has changed the way people work and the way they want to receive critical services, so associations are very much in a race for relevance.

“In my session in Dubai, I’ll be sharing more about ASAE’s Conscious Inclusion strategy which will help organisations unlock the full potential of a diverse workforce and membership through intentional representation and creating spaces and places where differences are valued.”

Martin Sirk, International Advisor, Global Association Hubs Partnership – who has supported DAC in designing the conference agenda – said: “Resilience and reinvention should be the top concerns on every association leader’s mind and every board’s agenda: ensuring survivability as a necessary pre-condition to re-imagine how we can serve our association’s mission, whilst working out how to deal with the extreme uncertainty of the post-Pandemic world.

“We’ve brought together a wonderful mix of association leaders from around the world to share their experiences, insights and recent innovations, and specialist experts in the strategic skills needed to navigate these treacherous seas.  Our education sessions and informal time together are designed to be engaging, interactive, curiosity-stimulating and sometimes provocative: a great platform to mix together thought-leaders from Dubai and the Gulf region with peers from Europe and North America, aiming to stimulate new connections, fresh perspectives, practical projects and partnerships, and creative solutions for each association’s most urgent challenges.”

Following the conference, delegates will be offered a full-day immersive visit to Expo 2020 Dubai to experience the thematic and national pavilions, attend celebrations and events, and sample cultures and cuisine from around the world. 

Ahead of the main conference, a series of three interactive online sessions have been taking place this year, exploring the key themes of the event and providing an opportunity to ensure the agenda addresses the key concerns and topics delegates may wish to explore. The last of these sessions took place on 7 December.

The conference is the flagship event of the Dubai Association Centre (DAC), which was established in 2014 to support and license regional and international associations in setting up an office or chapter in Dubai. DAC opened its state-of-the-art offices in One Central, DWTC in December 2019, providing a collaborative environment for registered associations.

Previous editions of the Dubai Association Conference have explored key themes and priorities for the sector, attracting experts from around the world and building momentum behind the city’s status as an association hub. The inaugural event in 2017 successfully established the conference under the theme ‘Building a Community’ while the second edition in 2019 built a compelling programme around the theme ‘Driving change: The societal impact of associations’.