HQ #125 / Global Views 2026: The New Geography of Influence

As the global meetings industry enters an era where influence is increasingly decentralised, HQ #125 explores how new regions, emerging destinations and evolving association communities are reshaping the future of international collaboration. Under the theme Global Views 2026: The New Geography of Influence, this Summer Edition examines how leadership is becoming more diverse, local expertise more visible, and business events a catalyst for economic transformation, institutional resilience and global knowledge exchange.

The edition opens with powerful conversations featuring the African Society of Association Executives (AfSAE) and the newly launched Asia-Pacific Society of Association Executives (APSAE), whose leaders argue that the future of association management will no longer be defined by importing established models, but by creating governance frameworks, leadership pathways and professional ecosystems rooted in regional realities. Together, their perspectives reveal a global association community moving towards greater plurality, collaboration and intellectual exchange.

Throughout the issue, HQ explores how the meetings industry is redefining value beyond infrastructure alone. A compelling interview with Maritz examines why live experiences continue to thrive in an increasingly AI-driven trust economy, while Kenes Group introduces the Sustainable Event Goals (SEGs), offering the industry's first practical framework to translate sustainability commitments into measurable action. Additional contributions from Frank Cuypers, CityDNA and AIPC challenge destinations and venue leaders to rethink placemaking, leadership development and long-term strategic planning in an increasingly uncertain world.

Destination storytelling remains at the heart of the edition. Our cover story explores Angola's Vision 2050 and the launch of the Angola Convention Bureau, revealing how business events are becoming a strategic pillar of the country's economic diversification agenda. Across the issue, we also spotlight Hong Kong's role as a bridge between East and West for global associations, Barbados' compact yet highly connected meetings proposition in the Caribbean, and Cape Town's ambition to position Africa at the centre of global knowledge exchange. Additional features from Kigali, Bangkok, Panama, Costa Rica, Washington, DC, Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, Rotorua and Poland illustrate how destinations across every continent are building distinctive identities around expertise, culture, sustainability and international collaboration.

Discover HQ #125, a Summer Edition that celebrates the emergence of new voices, new perspectives and a new global map for the meetings industry where influence is no longer concentrated in a handful of established markets, but shaped by destinations and communities confident enough to define success on their own terms.