p12 pg14 pg 18 R22.80 September 2011 www.theevent.co.za EVENTS THE International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) held its African Chap- ter Workshop in Kenya from 3-5 August 2011. F OR the first time, Africa played host to the Interna- tional Congress and Con- vention Association (ICCA) Africa client supplier and edu- cational workshop. This event, which was aimed at interna- tional meeting planners in Af- rica, aimed to explore ways of raising the international con- vention business in Africa and enhancing intra-African meet- ings and events. According to Cape Town International Convention Cen- tre (CTICC), CEO, Rashid Toefy, who also fulfils the role of ICCA African Chapter chairperson, the full potential of Africa as a desirable meetings and event destination is not realised. “There is often a perception that doing business in Africa is difficult and a key focus for the chapter is debunking this myth and to put Africa on the global map through proac- tively positioning Africa as a leading international meetings and events destination.” Africa has successfuly host- ed some of the world’s biggest sporting events and confer- ences such as the cricket and rugby world cups, the World Summit on Sustainable De- velopment, the World Con- ference against Racism, the International Diabetes Federa- tion and the FIFA World Cup. More than 50% of the ICCA members in Africa were pre- sent at this workshop, which explored the challenges fac- ing meeting planners in Africa. “We initiated this workshop in Nairobi to create yet another possibility to meet with some of the approximately 200 pro- fessional associations in Africa that regularly organise interna- tional meetings” says Rashid. Representatives of profession- al African associations from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tan- zania and Ethiopia attended. Rashid’s passion for Africa was echoed in his welcome speech. “Because of my ex- periences in Africa, I decided to make Africa a sort of a pi- lot. On a more personal note it was a test to see what poten- tial there is for African rotating events in our database. My aim was to increase the number to 60 but I didn’t know where we would end up. Now after a year and a half I am proud to say that there are 260 African rotating events in our data- base. So from 60 to 260 in two years clearly shows you how much potential there is when we talk about business leads in the ICCA African region.” In his keynote speech, Dirk Elzinga revealed some impres- sive statistics. “283 meetings took place in Africa last year. That makes up 3% of the glob- al meeting market and we have 14% of the population in Africa as you all know. In pure numbers we can say we have the rights to accommodate 14% of the global meeting market. If you recognise that in the past 15 years we actu- ally have no market share. We have 32 destinations in Africa who have hosted internation- al conferences and you see the grouping there… Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Tuni- sia and the list goes on. Africa is growing. It is not a miracle because global offices have been brought in here from around the world. You find Eu- rope has by-laws and America has by-laws but you do not find it here in Africa. That means that with the growing interest in the situation that you could start introducing by-laws into the market. You want to be seen as a serious competitor. We also want to host our peers in Africa.” Sally Fink CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ICCA MEETS IN AFRICA Kenyatta Convention Centre
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p12 pg14 pg 18
R22.80September 2011 www.theevent.co.za
EVENTSTHE International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) held its African Chap-ter Workshop in Kenya from 3-5 August 2011.
FOR the fi rst time, Africa played host to the Interna-tional Congress and Con-
vention Association (ICCA) Africa client supplier and edu-cational workshop. This event, which was aimed at interna-tional meeting planners in Af-rica, aimed to explore ways of raising the international con-vention business in Africa and enhancing intra-African meet-ings and events.
According to Cape Town International Convention Cen-tre (CTICC), CEO, Rashid Toefy, who also fulfi ls the role of ICCA African Chapter chairperson, the full potential of Africa as a desirable meetings and event destination is not realised. “There is often a perception that doing business in Africa is diffi cult and a key focus for the chapter is debunking this myth and to put Africa on the global map through proac-tively positioning Africa as a leading international meetings and events destination.”
Africa has successfuly host-ed some of the world’s biggest sporting events and confer-
ences such as the cricket and rugby world cups, the World Summit on Sustainable De-velopment, the World Con-ference against Racism, the International Diabetes Federa-tion and the FIFA World Cup.
More than 50% of the ICCA members in Africa were pre-sent at this workshop, which explored the challenges fac-ing meeting planners in Africa. “We initiated this workshop in Nairobi to create yet another
possibility to meet with some of the approximately 200 pro-fessional associations in Africa that regularly organise interna-tional meetings” says Rashid. Representatives of profession-al African associations from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tan-zania and Ethiopia attended.
Rashid’s passion for Africa was echoed in his welcome speech. “Because of my ex-periences in Africa, I decided to make Africa a sort of a pi-
lot. On a more personal note it was a test to see what poten-tial there is for African rotating events in our database. My aim was to increase the number to 60 but I didn’t know where we would end up. Now after a year and a half I am proud to say that there are 260 African rotating events in our data-base. So from 60 to 260 in two years clearly shows you how much potential there is when we talk about business leads in
the ICCA African region.”In his keynote speech, Dirk
Elzinga revealed some impres-sive statistics. “283 meetings took place in Africa last year. That makes up 3% of the glob-al meeting market and we have 14% of the population in Africa as you all know. In pure numbers we can say we have the rights to accommodate 14% of the global meeting market. If you recognise that in the past 15 years we actu-ally have no market share. We have 32 destinations in Africa who have hosted internation-al conferences and you see the grouping there… Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Tuni-sia and the list goes on. Africa is growing. It is not a miracle because global offi ces have been brought in here from around the world. You fi nd Eu-rope has by-laws and America has by-laws but you do not fi nd it here in Africa. That means that with the growing interest in the situation that you could start introducing by-laws into the market. You want to be seen as a serious competitor. We also want to host our peers in Africa.”
Sally Fink
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
ICCA MEETS IN AFRICAKenyatta Convention Centre
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EVENTSFROM the feedback received from those who attended the ICCA African Chamber Work-shop, it’s clear that Africa is ripe to take its share of the associa-tion business pie.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
DIRK Elzinga says the work-shop exceeded the or-ganising committees’
expectations and was ground-breaking in calling to attention Africa’s potential as a meeting
destination. “There is not a big understanding of the meetings industry for association represen-tatives in Africa. Meetings usu-ally have a strong South African stamp as the rest of Africa is seen as not having the experience or infrastructure necessary for meetings. The continent is still in its infancy as a meeting destina-tion so there is still a lot of work to be done, but there’s a promising future ahead.”
He says there needs to be more understanding of what Afri-ca has to offer and believes that the African associations should unite to share knowledge and learn more from each other. The concept was unanimously em-braced by those present.
Ben Osoro from the Kenyatta International Conference Cen-tre echoes this sentiment: “This was a good meeting. We have to get African associations and the African event organisers to help, for mutual benefit, all the stakeholders fully push the ICCA African agenda. It is amazing how much we could unlock from the meetings rotating just within Africa - whether associa-tions, NGO or intergovernmental based meetings.”
Mkunde Senyagwa from the Arusha International Confer-ence Centre in Tanzania was also impressed. “The ICCA Africa Chapter in Nairobi was very suc-cessful, as we were able to share our experiences which are very
unique to us, the Africa Meeting Industry, in a very exceptional way. We managed to network with potential clients and went back home with some serious business leads.”
To put the state of meetings in Africa in perspective, Dr Dave Otieno, chairman of the All Africa Anaesthesiologists Association delivered a case study outlining the challenges he faced putting together the association’s an-nual conference.
“The All African Anaesthesia Conference in Kenya gives a good picture of the problems we have on the African continent in many areas. The conference took place from 12-16 Septem-ber 2009.”
Winning the pitch to host this conference was the easiest part. Our South African counterparts have a big voting power in Af-rica and greatly supported us in this conference.”
“Because there were prob-ably better countries with better infrastructure to host this meeting this caused us a lot of negativity and the people who lost the bid showed animosity even to the end,” he says.
The lack of a professional con-ference organisers (PCOs) was a major challenge. “Because of all the structures it was very difficult to get information from the previ-ous hosts. They did not want to hand over the documentation. We did not know who to contact
and this went on for about two years. We lacked education on how to hold conferences of this magnitude. Remember we were used to hosting conferenc-es of about 100 people which can be organised by a secretary. We didn’t have the support. we needed,” says Dave.
It became apparent that there was a lack of PCOs oper-ating in the area. Dave says he approached many event organ-isers, but their expertise was cen-tred around private parties and pageants, and not conferences. By 2007, planning for the confer-ence still had not been complet-ed, government was not giving its support and an added con-cern was post election violence causing unrest in the cities. From a logistical point of view, there were participants that needed accommodation. “We reached a point where we wondered whether we should consider ask-ing another country to host the meeting,” says Dave.
In the end, government final-ly came forward and the con-ference went ahead although there were many complaints about the expenses involved.
But despite the logistical nightmare he faced, Dave be-lieves the conference was a suc-cess. “We succeeded in market-ing Kenya as a destination. We had 752 delegates,” says Dave.
Sally Fink
ICCA COMES TO AFRICA CONTINUED
The team behind the ICCA African Chamber workshop
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GENERAL INDUSTRYTHE EVENT asked Advocate Louis Nel to shed some light on the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) from a glass half full perspective.
NO doubt you have heard about the South African Consumer Protection
Bill (No. 28629) (CPB) and the subsequent Consumer Protec-
tion Act (No. 68 of 2008) (CPA) which was signed into law 23 April 2009 (but only became ef-fective 1 April 2011).
It is imperative for all business to peruse it, analyse it, ascertain how it impacts on business and to start ‘implementing’ it as soon as possible which is the legislator’s stated intention. This means not only assessing all your business forms, contracts and advertis-
ing material for compliance, but also training your staff pertaining to such documents and any in-teraction with any potential and actual customers.
The main motivation for the CPA is the fact that by and large existing consumer protec-tion was woefully inadequate and in dire need of review. It was motivated by inter alia ‘dis-criminatory and unfair market practices; proliferation of low quality and unsafe products; lack of awareness of rights; limit-ed redress; inadequate protec-tion for consumers and weak enforcement capacity’.
It is interesting to note that the CPA not only endeavours to consolidate various other existing consumer and related legislation, but it is also based on extensive research carried out on corresponding overseas legislation. The CPA has success-fully considered and combined all aspects that were previously contained in some seven differ-ent statutes as well as making consequential amendments to various other Acts. The ap-proach decided upon based on international trends was to a rights based approach and following extensive consultation with various government and NGO bodies, this resulted in the Draft Green Paper in 2004.
Did you know that the CPA is not only goods news for con-sumers but for suppliers as well?
I know there are a lot a rumour and scaremongers out there and yes it is not business as usual but you do not have to shut down shop, go fishing, sit in a corner and mope or incur unnecessary and exorbitant legal fees to be-come compliant.
There are some really scary versions of consumer behaviour being bandied about especially with reference to the implied six month warranty and contracts concluded as a result of direct marketing. However any such behaviour must be assessed inter alia against the backdrop of ‘re-sponsible consumer behaviour’.
This must be read in conjunc-tion with one of the stated ways in which the CPA sets out to re-alise consumer rights i.e. by the creation of a consumer ‘com-mon law’ (Section 4) and in such manner the aims and purposes of the CPA will be developed and expounded on a ‘case by case’ basis and in a consis-tent manner as prescribed i.e. a ‘consistent system of redress’ (section 3), thus avoiding uncer-tainty and duplicity.
Contained in the same sec-tion is wording that ties in with the self-regulatory approach propounded not only in the CPA but also in the regulations issued in terms of the CPA i.e. the cre-ation of a ‘consistent, accessible and efficient system of consen-sual resolution of disputes’ – the CPA is trying to avoid what hap-
pened with FICA when some 37 000 complaints were lodged within the first year. Thus the vari-ous industries are encouraged to have their own codes of con-duct and ombudsman (sections 69, 70 & 82) – the CPA may very well be saving suppliers costly liti-gation fees.
Some of the key areas of the CPA of importance for the event industry:•Direct marketing and absolute liability is a major issue:•Direct marketing - because the consumer can cancel (only in the case of direct marketing) on five days’ notice •Absolute liability - because the provider of service who provides access to goods (e.g. accommodation and trans-port) is deemed to be a sup-plier of the goods•Third party suppliers of goods and services – it is absolutely im-perative you ensure:•Suitable contracts with such parties•It must include a CPA compli-ance undertaking and guar-antee•It must include a suitable in-demnity, especially given the ‘supply chain’ and absolute li-ability exposure.
This article is intended to pro-vide a brief overview of certain aspects of the CPA only and is not intended as legal advice.
Advocate Louis Nel
THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT - NOT ALL BAD NEWS
Advocate Louis Nel
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PROFILEKEEP calm and carry on. This is the motto of this year’s recipi-ent of the The South African As-sociation for the Conference Industry (SAACI) Personality Award: SAACI Western cape branch chair Zelda Coetzee.
“I LIKE to think that my way of doing business is dif-ferent,” says Zelda, who
admits she had to wait a long time before being able to in-troduce all the changes she’s been sitting on since she first joined the organisation ten years ago.
“I’ve come a long way with SAACI,” she says.
“When I had just entered the industry as a young pofes-sional I knew what I wanted to do and what I wanted to achieve, but I had to wait be-fore diving in feet first. I learned a lot of patience. Today I feel comfortable within the asso-ciation and I’ve brought the same passion that I have for my business into it.”
She believes she’s an am-bassador for SAACI as well as the events industry and cites this as the recipe for her suc-cess. “I try to have a unique service orientated approach to leadership,” she says.
Zelda rose in the associa-tion ranks from member, to deputy chair and finally chair.
As chair of the Western Cape branch of SAACI, Zelda has had free reign to let her innovation and passion for service shine. She introduced Speed Dating, which was a huge success, followed by The Amazing Race in conjunction with Adventure Worx and Tri-Active. At the end of August, the branch visited the Naza-reth House children’s home to hand over a cheque and de-liver presents to th children.
These initiatives not only add a breath of fresh air to the tried and tested association meet-ings, but have also driven mem-ber numbers. “People need val-ue,” she says, adding that the association has become more member orientated.
She’s surprised but delight-ed by her Personality of the Year award, given at the SAACI Annual Awards in July this year. “What I really wanted was the Branch Award and I’m thrilled that we got it. The numbers were declining and we got back on track with innovation. Cape Town is setting a trend to do things differently.”
Going forward, Zelda wants to get more young people in-volved in SAACI. To this end she’s driving the SAACI Youth Forum which aims to recruit more young professionals to the association.
“When I first joined SAACI it was a very exclusive club. I be-
lieve that we need to nurture young professionals otherwise in three or fours years we’re going to feel the pinch. We need to give young people the chance to grow.”
Zelda is the owner of Im-funzelelo Tourism and Event Specialists. She applies her approach of doing things dif-ferently to her own business as well. She explains that in the changing times, companies should be willing to embrace change as well. “Something is changing in the events indus-try. We must start listening to each other. The future of our success in this industry is the success of future partnerships. You can’t be a company that’s afraid of sharing.”
Heavily pregnant Zelda (she’s due in September) was on the local organising com-mittee for the SAACI annual conference in July. This is noth-ing new to the effervescent business woman. She organ-ised a Global Forum for top CEOs mere months after the birth of her first child.
Zelda was honoured for her outstanding contribution to the Tourism Industry in the Western Cape by the Depart-ment of Economic Develop-ment and Tourism in 2004.
For more information about Zelda visit www.imfunzelelo.co.za.
Sally Fink
SAACI PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR CALLS FOR INNOVATION
Zelda Coetzee
GENERAL INDUSTRYIF you have any news highlightsto share please visit our web por-tal www.theevent.co.za and loadyour own stories for considerationin next month’s edition.
Tourvest launches Event DynamicsTOURVEST Destination Manage-ment (TDM) recently launched Event Dynamics, a new brand which forms part of the con-solidation the Tourvest Groups’ business units; Global Confer-ences Africa, Seekers Travel MICE division and American Ex-press Travel Services South Africa MICE division, which will now op-erate from TDM offices.
The above brands, together with T.E.A.M and Indo Jet Sports forms the new Business and Sport Event pillar of TDM.
Previously, with a focused approach to corporate group travel historically in MICE, this ex-citing new brand will specialise in the delivery of full destination management services to the lo-cal and international market.
“The creation of this new di-vision will ensure greater syner-gies through the streamlining of systems and business opportuni-ties. The dynamics mean that we can now offer clients a va-riety of different services which I have no doubt will position us at the forefront of business and sports tourism globally,” says
CEO Bryan Coetzee. Event Dynamics will have na-
tionwide representation with of-fices in Cape Town, Durban, Jo-hannesburg, and Windhoek.
Claude Vankeirsbilck appointed president of ASATACLAUDE Vankeirsbilck, chief sales and marketing officer of Tourvest Travel Services (TTS), has been appointed president of the As-sociation of South African Travel Agents (ASATA) for a period of two years.
In his acceptance speech Claude thanked the ASATA members for their support and for entrusting him with the presi-dency, and assured them of his commitment to the position and
the industry at large. “While this is a great honour for me person-ally, I believe that this should not just be seen as a personal en-dorsement but rather a vote of confidence by the membership of ASATA in the value that Tour-vest Travel Services can add to ASATA,” he said.
SCC’s Mati Nyazema a finalist for the businesswoman of the year awardMATI Nyazema, executive di-rector of the Sandton Conven-tion Centre (SCC), has been selected as a finalist for the Busi-nesswoman of the Year 2011 Award, hosted by the Business Women’s Association of South-ern Africa (BWASA).
The BWASA is the largest and most prominent association of business and professional wom-en in South Africa, and the voice of women in business.
Mati has a rich history of em-powering women and a person-al passion for advocating wom-en’s issues, mentoring colleagues and raising the profile of women in business. “I am very honoured at being selected as a finalist for this prestigious award. South Af-rican society has progressed far in recognising women, but much advocacy still needs to be done to entrench women in the busi-ness world,” says Mati.
Sally Fink
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
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GENERAL INDUSTRYTHE Safety at Sport and Rec-reational Events Act (SASREA) came into operation on 2 August 2010. In the July issue of The Event we explainied the repercussions of the Act for the events industry. This month we look at its require-ments in terms of insurance.
EVENT insurance specialist, Terry Waller is an under-writer for ARC International,
the insurance firm responsible for arranging cover for the FIFA World Cup opening and clos-ing ceremonies. He explains that now SASREA is in effect, Public Liability Insurance is compulsory for event organisers. Terry was recently in South Africa to raise awareness of Cancellation of Event insurance and Public Lia-bility cover among associations and their members.
“Prior to the Act, it was very challenging to sell an insurance product to event organisers as South Africans are risk averse. There is no problem until a prob-lem happens. Now that the Act is in place event organisers’ focus is on insurance. Associa-tions must be more aware of just how vital insurance cover is for events,” he says.
For example, if a keynote speaker cancels at the last minute or a venue suddenly be-comes unavailable, the organ-iser can suffer huge financial
losses, especially if the event has to be cancelled. “Anything that causes the cancellation of the event that is beyond the control of the event organiser is covered by insurance,” explains Terry.
On the other hand, Enforced Reduced Attendance Cover en-sures that if an event goes ahead and for genuine reasons a large of number of delegates cannot attend, the event organiser will still be covered.
“It’s a common misconcep-tion that Cancellation of Event insurance doesn’t cover natural causes such as volcanic erup-tions. It does. If a natural disaster prevents people from getting to an event we’ll cover it,” says Terry. “However, if the organiser cancels an event because they will not make enough money – that’s not coverable.”
Loss adjustor Peter Dutton from Contingency Film and En-tertainment (CFE) says from a risk management perspective, can-cellation insurance is essential.
“Cancellation of Event in-surance is much more than just that. What more than most peo-ple can imagine can go wrong is covered. Up until recently who would have imagined volcanic eruption resulting in delay in ar-rival of a key speaker, reduced delegate attendance, resched-uling or even complete cancel-lation? A few months ago it was “that’s over there. It will never happen to us”. But just recently it
was happening here because of a volcano in Chile. If you can im-agine it, it has either happened or is going to happen. But with this cover you are, in essence, covered for any event beyond your control.”
In addition, with Cancella-tion of Event insurance, all legal defense costs are covered in full under public liability cover. “If a delegate or member of the pub-lic is injured or inconvenienced in such a way that you have a Public Liability claim on your hands, not only is your legal liabil-ity insured but the legal costs of defending any action is covered too. And what if you had to de-fend yourself in a foreign court?
How are you going to afford that without this cover? This alone could put you out of business for good,” muses Peter.
The health and safety require-ments of SASREA insist that a Risk Management Policy must be in place. This is not only beneficial should something go wrong, but it also helps the underwriter get lower premiums.
The challenge, according to Terry, is to get insurance in early. “Insurance operates on a capacity scale. Cancellation of Event insurance can be pur-chased up to three years prior to the event and doesn’t cost any more. Ideally cover should be in place as soon as the venue
contract is signed. In fact, cover is potentially much wider in op-eration before a pre existing cir-cumstance arises, which can be-come an excluded peril.”
“Underwriters are in the busi-ness of turning a profit like any-one else. When something like the H1N1 virus or swine ‘flu’ hits they will almost certainly place restriction on cover in respect of such events. You would then have to buy the relevant risk at an increased premium. But if your event is say, two years away and you have already insured then underwriters are bound by the existing range of cover and you are not affected,” adds Peter.
Sally Fink
UNDERSTANDING EVENT INSURANCE
Peter Dutton
GENERAL INDUSTRYIF you have any news highlightsto share please visit our web por-tal www.theevent.co.za and loadyour own stories for considerationin next month’s edition.
CEOs Tourism Business Breakfast sets sights on online marketingTHINKING outside the box; run-ning the marathon in the oppo-site direction and adapting to the ever changing landscape of the tourism industry will be the key to getting out of the current slump in visitor numbers to Cape Town and the Western Cape.
These were the sentiments that came out of the sixth CEOs Tourism Business Breakfast held at
the Santè Hotel, Resort and Spa in August.
The breakfast, which is a monthly event hosted by Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU), the Tourism Enterprise Partner-ship and other partners, seeks to bridge the gap between tourism entrepreneurs and es-tablished tourism businesses by providing a platform for these two groups to share knowledge and build relationships.
About 70 tourism entrepre-neurs gathered at the venue to learn more about how they can benefit from online marketing. Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of CTRU impressed upon attendees the importance of being flexible and tailoring packages for all types
of tourists: “Does your product speak to your jetsetter niece; your small town cousin and your city-slicker mother? You need to be innovative, creative and above all else be willing to adapt and respond quickly to issues like the credit crunch, the expecta-tions of tourists, new marketing and communication tools.”
Marisa van der Merwe, eMar-keting manager of CTRU ech-oed these sentiments: “Once we know what our customer’s ex-pectations are, we need to com-municate with them in a way that they are familiar with. Peo-ple around the world are using online mediums more and more to search for information. You need to familiarise yourself with
the online journey that they take in order to book their trips and ensure that you communicate with them via these mediums. Open a Facebook account, start tweeting, ask your clients to add reviews on TripAdvisor and up-date your LinkedIn profile.”
Southern Sun hotels launches Fa-cebook booking service THE days of only booking accom-modation through a travel agen-cy, or through a specific hotel website, are over. Now guests can interact with Southern Sun hotels and book their accommo-dation through the Southern Sun hotels’ Facebook page. An inno-vative first among the large hotel chains in Africa, Southern Sun of-
fers potential guests the opportu-nity to check availability and di-rectly reserve rooms via the com-pany’s Facebook page - without leaving Facebook. According to a study that measured the digital competence of 89 travel brands including hotel, airline and cruise companies, web traffic to travel brand sites fell 8% in March 2011 vs March 2010, but during the same period, visits to Facebook pages jumped 20%.
“Offering a reservation page on Facebook gives us the op-portunity to interact and culti-vate relationships with potential guests in a seamless way, before they have even walked through the doors”, says Graham Wood, managing director Southern Sun.
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
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GENERAL INDUSTRYPROFESSIONALS in the confer-encing and conventions busi-ness are seeking clarity on the role of a new body being formed under the auspices of South Afri-can Tourism.
SEVERAL convention bureaux already compete against each other to attract in-
ternational events to the city or region they represent, and they hope the National Conventions
Bureau (NCB) will act as a rain-maker by drumming up more in-ternational attention.
In theory, the NCB should pro-vide support facilities to the exist-ing bureaux, although there is a concern that it could duplicate or undermine their work by act-ing as a bidding organisation in its own right.
“There have been rumours about it getting involved in the bidding processes, but its role hasn’t yet been clearly defined,” says James Seymour of the Kwa-
Zulu Natal Convention Bureau. Best global practice is for
the national bureau to promote its country as a business tourism destination, raise awareness of the local skills and facilities, and aggressively encourage meeting planners to consider that desti-nation, he says. “Bidding for inter-national meetings is traditionally left to the cities, so the NCB’s role is to provide support to the bu-reau involved in the competitive bidding process.”
Ideally the NCB will pro-mote South Africa as a busi-ness tourism destination by ex-hibiting at international shows and trade fairs, and by provid-ing leads and support material to the local bureaus.
“It’s a well-known fact that convention bureaux are critical resources. The concept is still rel-atively new to South Africa, but where they exist they have been very successful with limited re-sources. In the 12 months that our KwaZulu Natal bureau has been in existence we have helped to secure 10 major international events. I’m very optimistic that the NCB will play a vitally impor-tant support role and put South Africa more on the business tour-ism map,” says James.
The Southern African Associa-tion for the Conference Industry (SAACI) has lobbied for the cre-ation of the NCB, says spokes-man Martin van Niekerk. “The NCB’s main aim is to coordinate
the way South Africa bids for events,” says Martin. “Often you get cities bidding against one another which can be counter-productive. Imagine them bid-ding instead with the NCB coor-dinating their efforts and serving as a one-stop-shop for informa-tion about the industry in SA.”
The initiative to bid for an event will still come from a city itself, but the NCB could be particularly helpful if input or en-dorsements were needed from a government department.
In July, Tourism Minster Mar-thinus van Schalkwyk told SAACI the NCB should be active by the end of the year. It will sit within the business tourism division of South African Tourism, which en-compasses events, conferences and incentive travel. The Con-vention Bureaux in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg do not charge for their services, as they are public entities. “Last year the Cape Town and West-ern Cape Convention Bureau submitted 42 bids and has won 12 of those, which together will contribute an estimated R215 million to the local economy,” says Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the destination-marketing organisa-tion for the region.
Once a bureau gets a lead it meets the local organisation that would host the event, as well as the international parent organisation, says bureau man-
ager Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo. It will make arrangements for site inspections, compile a bid document, and present it to the client. Amanda believes the NCB could help in various stages of that process. Some international organisations insist that the city they select for their event has a convention bureau to work with, she says.
The African Bureau of Con-ventions, which launched last year, also hopes the NCB will help to raise South Africa’s vis-ibility abroad. Unlike the city-specific bureaux, this private operation has no regional loy-alty, so it structures packages around whichever venue is most likely to win the bid.
“We developed our bureau in the absence of a convention bureau for South Africa so our role is to secure business for Africa and primarily for South Africa,” says director Sharon Peetz. So far it has submitted 56 international bids, won eight and is shortlisted for three more.
Since South African Tourism already has a business division promoting South Africa for con-ventions, Sharon is not sure how the NCB fits in. “We are all waiting with bated breath to understand the nitty-gritty. It will be a win-win if we can go to the NCB if we need additional support when we are bidding.”
Lesley Stones
IS A NATIONAL CONVENTION BUREAU THE ANSWER?
Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo
SeptemberSAACI Western Cape Branch Committee Meeting1 September, Cape Town, Western Cape
Soweto Wine Festival 1-3 September, The Arena, University of Johannesburg, Soweto, Gauteng
Cape Homemakers Expo 1-4 September, CTICC, Cape Town
Sustainable City Exhibition2 September, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
Gauteng Getaway Show2-4 September 2011, Coca-Cola dome, Johannesburg
Silver Tree Restaurant Winter Concert:Louise Carver3-4 September, Silver Tree Restaurant, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town
Franschhoek Uncorked3-4 September, Franschhoek
Shoprite Checkers Conference4-8 September, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
6th Science Centre World Congress4-8 September, CTICC, Cape Town
Shoprite Checkers Conference4-8 September, ICC Durban
Institute of Retirement Funds Conference5-7 September, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
Global Campaign for Violence Prevention6-7 September, CTICC, Cape Town
IFSEC & Facilities Show Africa 6-8 September, Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand
Spar Trade Show 8-9 September, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
RMB WineX 8-9 September, CTICC, Cape Town
SAPSOL9-11 September, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
Pinotage on Tap10 September, Piggly Wiggly Farm, Lions River, Howick, Kwa-Zulu Natal
Wedding Expo10-11 September, Coca Cola dome, Johannesburg
Hike by the light - Klapmutskop 11 September-10 December, Delvera wine farm, Western Cape
The Premier Corporate Governance Conference13-14 September, The Wanderers Club , Gauteng
Afriwater 13-15 September, Johannesburg Expo Centre, Nasrec
Design in Hospitality15-16 September, Turbine Hall, Newtown
E-Tourism Africa Summit15-16 September, CTICC, Cape Town
Business & Franchise Opportunities Expo (BOFE) 15-18 September, the Coca-Cola dome, Johannesburg
Pick n Pay Taste of Joburg 15–18 September, Montecasino, Johannesburg
Mr & Ms Fitness SA Pageant 16-17 September, Grand West, Cape Town
Loerie Awards16-18 September, CTICC, Cape Town
SA Shoe Expo16-18 September, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
Bone Detectives: Reading the bones of our ancestors17 September, Maropeng, Gauteng
Jacaranda 94.2 Deuriemikke Karnaval 17 September, SuperSport Park Centurion
15th Highway Africa Conference17-19 September, CTICC, Cape Town
Silver Tree Restaurant Winter Concert:Wrestlerish18 September, Silver Tree Restaurant, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town
2nd Africa Workshop for the UNESCO Open Educational Resources (OER) Platform18 September, CTICC, Cape Town
Coal Energy Africa19-21 September, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
Hydropower19-23 September, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
Gideons International in South Africa21-24 September, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
Open Book Festival21-25 September, Cape Town
SA Principals Association Conference22-24 September, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
Joburg Art Fair 22-25 September, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
Working World Extravaganza22-25 September, Graaff-Reinet, Graaff-Reinet
Good Food and Wine Show 22-25 September, Coca Cola dome, Johannesburg
Khoisan Festival22-25 September, Graaff-Reinet, Eastern Cape
Soweto Festival Expo23-25 September, Joburg Expo Centre, Nasrec, Gauteng
SMME Fair23-25 September, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
Cape Town International Boat Show23–25 September, CTICC, Cape Town
National Tourism Careers Expo 23–25 September, Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
Heritage Swartkrans walking tour24 September, Maropeng, Gauteng
Pinotage on Tap24 September, The Cradle Restaurant, Cradle of Humankind, Lanseria, Gauteng
Silver Tree Restaurant Winter Concert:Captain Stu25 September, Silver Tree Restaurant, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town
Telkom Business Michael Fridjhon Wine Experience27-28 August, Hyatt Regency Johannesburg
Afrimold27-29 September. Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
National Association of Social Workers Conference - NASWSA27-30 September, ICC Durban
White Mountain Festival 29 September-2 October, White Mountain Lodge, KwaZulu Natal
SEXPO 29 September 2 October 2011, Gallagher Convention Centre, JHB
RAGE 30 September-2 October, Coca Cola dome, Johannesburg
Baba Indaba30 September- 2 October, Bloem
EVENT LISTINGS
SEPTEMBER
SAACI Western Cape Branch Committee Meeting
1 September, Cape Town
Effective media release writing1 September, PRISA ProComm
House, Ferndale, Randburg
Sustainable City Exhibition2-4 September, ICC Durban,
KwaZulu Natal
Effective Public Relations Planning6 September, PRISA ProComm
House, Ferndale, Randburg
FEDHASA Cape Board Meeting8 September, Cape Town
Creative writing for the media9-11 September, Free State
Professional editing and proofreading
12-13 September, Free State
4th Annual E-Tourism Africa Summit 2011
15-16 September, CTICC, Cape Town
The Loerie Awards 201116-18 September, Cape Town
HASA 201121-22 September, CTICC,
Cape Town
SA Principals Association Conference
22-24 September, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
SMME Fair23-25 September, ICC Durban,
KwaZulu Natal
12th International Housing & Home Warranty Conference
24-28 September, CTICC, Cape Town
How to delegate effectively30 September, PRISA ProComm
House, Ferndale, Randburg
SAACI Western Cape Branch Committee Meeting
1 September, Cape Town
Effective media release writing 1 September, PRISA ProComm House, 108 Bram Fischer Drive,
Ferndale, Randburg
Effective Public Relations Planning 6 September, PRISA ProComm House, 108 Bram Fischer Drive,
Ferndale, Randburg
FEDHASA Cape Board Meeting 8 September, Cape Town
DIARISETaste of Joburg takes place from 15-18 September 2011 at Montecasino
9
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in The Event do not necessarily represent the offi cial viewpoint of the editor or the publisher, while inclusion of adverts/advertising features does not imply endorsement of any business, product or service. Copyright of this material is reserved. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, The Event and/or its employees may not be held liable or responsible for any act or ommission committed by any person, including a juristic person, referred to in this publication. It and they furthermore accept(s) no responsibility for any liability arising out of any reliance that a reader of this publication places on the contents of this publication.
• PUBLISHER: Film & Event Publishing
• ADDRESS: 57 2nd Avenue, Harfi eld Village, Claremont,Cape Town
• PHONE: +27 21 674 0646 • FAX: +27 21 674 6691
• PUBLISHER: Lance Gibbons (lance@fi lmeventpublishing.co.za)
• EDITOR: Sally Fink (sally@fi lmeventpublishing.co.za)
• COPY EDITOR: Kate Hodges ([email protected])
• ONLINE CO-ORDINATOR: Charl Fourie (charl@fi lmeventpublishing.co.za)
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October booking deadline14 September 2011
October material deadline16 September 2011
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10
VENUES
AS the South African economy is slowly recovering, the Tshwane Events Centre is using the oppor-tunity to regroup and focus on future developments.
“OUR offering of over 82 000 m² covered exhibition space and multi-purpose ar-
eas - all accessible from multiple entrances, certainly makes us the venue of choice for big events and exhibitions,” says marketing manager Ricky Da Costa.
“For this very reason the Black Farmers found us the best venue for their recent expo and work-shop. We ideally suited their ex-hibitor profile of agricultural sup-pliers.”
Ricky says other interesting events include the Apostolic Faith Mission, the Le sjiek Wom-en’s Expo and the World Kick boxing championships.
“On the development front we are installing fibre optic ca-bles and connecting all halls to provide fast and stable internet connectivity. New security cam-
eras will be connected with a complete management system being installed in the halls, which will be controlled from one cen-tre point.”
“When the greening of events centres became the norm, the Tshwane Events Centre took the lead and today we recycle more than 20 tons of waste every year via a four-recycle system. Our greening initiatives are well un-der way. In tight economic times, focusing on one’s core business and planning ahead are essen-tial,” says Ricky.
FULL STEAM AHEAD AT TSHWANE
11
CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
OctoberOrion Gala Dinner1 October, Southern Sun Hotel, Grayston, Sandton
Andy Lund and the Mission Men2 October, Silver Tree Restaurant, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town
Reliability and Maintenance Week3-5 October, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
The Loeries Travelling Exhibition3-17 October, Stellenbosch Academy, Stellenbosch
IT&CMA and CTW 20114-6 October, Bangkok Convention Centre, Thailand
HR Africa Exhibition & Summit 20114-6 October, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
Africa Mining and Marine Conference4-7 October, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
Aardklop National Arts Festival 4-9 October 2011, Potchefstroom
Coldplay 5 October, Cape Town Stadium
Bafunny Bafunny5-6 October, ICC, Durban
Homemakers Fair Expo 6-9 October, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
Johannesburg International Motor Show6-16 October, Johannesburg Expo Centre, Nasrec
Look & Feel Good Expo7-9 October, Coca Cola dome, Johannesburg
Coldplay 8 October, FNB Stadium Johannesburg
Christian Business Expo8-9 October, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
Blossom Festival 8-9 October, Green Mountain Eco Route, Western Cape
Disabled People International World Assembly8-14 October, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
Silver Tree Restaurant Winter Concert:Dan Patlansky9 October, Silver Tree Restaurant, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town
FEDHASA National Imvelo Awards9 October, Johannesburg, Gauteng
Smart Procurement World Conference & Expo11-13 October, Gallagher Convention Centre, JHB
IMEX America11-13 October, Las Vegas
Photo and Film Expo 13-16 October, Coca Cola dome, Johannesburg
Diwali Fair13-31 October, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
Bafunny Bafunny14-15 October, Carnival City, Johannesburg
The Baby Expo MamaMagic 14-16 October, CTICC, Cape Town
Silver Tree Restaurant Winter Concert:McCully Workshop 16 October, Silver Tree Restaurant, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town
Viridis Africa17-18 October, Johannesburg
Bafunny Bafunny20-21 October, Grandwest, Cape Town
Audio Video & Appliance Expo 20-23 October, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
John Cleese Alimony Tour21-22 October , Cape Town International Convention Centre
Pinotage on Tap22 October, Diemersfontein Wine and Country Estate, Wellington, Western Cape
Propak Cape25-27 October, Cape Town Int. Convention Centre, Cape Town
John Cleese Alimony Tour25-29 October, The Teatro at Montecasino Johannesburg
Kings of Leon26 October, Cape Town Stadium, Western Cape
Winex26-28 October, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
SA Menopause Society Congress26-30 October, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
Black Glamour27-30 October, the Coca-Cola dome, Johannesburg
Good Health & Wellness Expo 201128-29 October, Docklands Hotel, Durban
Retirement Expo28-30 October, Coca Cola Dome, JHB
Franschhoek Christmas Market28 October- 06 November, Town Hall, Franschhoek
Kings of Leon29 October, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng
Greyton Rose Fair29-30 October, Greyton, Western Cape
Silver Tree Restaurant Winter Concert:Heather Mac 30 October, Silver Tree Restaurant, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town
Avon Justine Ithemba Crusade of Hope30 October, Green Point Park, Cape Town, Western Cape
Consulting Engineers of South Africa Conference31 October- 2 November, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal
NovemberFNB Whisky Live Festival2-4 November, CTICC, Cape Town
ENCHA Trade Fair3-5 November, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, Gauteng
Julio Iglesias5-6 November, Carnival City, Johannesburg
Julio Iglesias8 November, GrandWest, Cape Town
FNB Whisky Live Festival9-11 November, Sandton Convention Centre, Gauteng
Janet Jackson11-12 November, Montecasino, Johannesburg
Janet Jackson15 November, GrandWest, Cape Town
DIARISESEPTEMBER
Creative writing for the media 9-11 September, Free State
Professional editing and proofreading
12-13 September, Free State
The Loerie Awards 2011 16-18 September, Cape Town
OCTOBERThe Loeries Travelling Exhibition
3-17 October, Stellenbosch Academy, Stellenbosch
IT&CMA and CTW 20114-6 October, Bangkok Convention
Centre, Thailand
FEDHASA National Imvelo Awards9 October, Johannesburg,
Gauteng
IMEX America11–13 October, Las Vegas, USA
SATSA Chapter Meeting13 October, Cape Town
SADTU Conference20 October, ICC Durban
FEDHASA Cape Board Meeting27 October, Cape Town
Retirement Expo28–30 October, Coca-Cola dome
NOVEMBER
The Loeries Travelling Exhibition7–11 November, DV8 Saatchi &
Saatchi, Namibia
WTM7 November, Cape Town,
Western Cape
Chamber Forum24 November, TBC
EIBTM29 November - 1 December
Barcelona, Spain
DECEMBERSAACI Western Cape Branch
Committee Meeting2 December, Cape Town
For more or to add your own: www.theevent.co.za/diarise
charl@fi lmeventpublishing.co.za
Julio Iglesias will be performing in South Africa in November
12
EVENT LISTINGS
GENERAL INDUSTRYTHE Event talked to industry analyst Rob Davidson about what’s happening in the inter-national MICE industry.
What are the global MICE mar-kets doing?IN the US, a key MICE market, the floundering economy and air-fare increases are just two of the factors that are currently causing some concern for the meetings and events industry. In Europe, ongoing government budget cuts are having an impact on the volume of meetings and the revenue generated by this segment of the market. On the positive side for these western hemisphere regions, current and predicted business conditions continue to improve at a faster rate than any time since the end of 2008, and (according to MPI’s Business Barometer for June 2011) actual levels of attendance at meetings and events have risen compared to a year ago.
The Asia and Middle East re-gions are going through a period of significantly increased invest-ment in both MICE infrastructure and MICE marketing. For ex-ample, both Korea and Singa-pore are investing heavily in their meetings industry, with China and India following suit.
My prediction is that African countries, with their high levels of inward investment from China,
will be natural destinations for meetings of the Chinese corpo-rations that have economic in-terests in this continent. And that goes for South Africa too, where China has already overtaken Britain and the US as the biggest single trading partner.
Do you forecast a market shift in the near future?THE MICE market is constantly evolving. On the technology side, I’m convinced that we are going to see many more ‘hybrid’ meet-ings – meetings that have both a real-time, face-to-face compo-nent as well as a ‘virtual’ com-ponent harnessing the power of mobile technology and social media. The days when organis-ers would ask the participants to turn off their mobile phones are long gone. In hybrid meetings, these mobile devices can be used to Tweet comments on the conference to the wider world, to send questions to speakers, and even to upload photos and video clips of the event on to Facebook and other social me-dia platforms. Webinars can be integrated into the proceedings and speakers’ presentations can be beamed in, in real time, from the other side of the world using free applications such as Skype’s Internet video conferring service.
This rise in hybrid meetings is closely linked to another key market shift – the arrival of Gen-eration Y participants in meet-
ings. Gen-Yers are so used to using mobile technology and the social media in creating their lives and connecting with peo-ple, that planners will increasingly have to integrate those tools into their meetings – or this young-est generation of potential del-egates will simply vote with their feet and stay away from tradi-tionally-designed events.
One of the biggest challeng-es facing us over the next de-cade is to design events in such a way that Gen-Yers are moti-vated to invest their time and money in participating in them.
Who are the emerging MICE markets?THE greatest growth is coming from the BRIC countries, which now includes South Africa. It’s incredible to contemplate the fact that the BRIC nations, which account today for about 40% of the world’s population and 40% of the world’s annual gross domestic product will, by 2014, account for as much as 61% of the overall growth in the world’s output. Countries such as India and China have fast-growing professional middle classes who have the financial means, the political freedom and the mo-tivation to travel more widely – for business as well as pleasure. That means expansion in the volume of corporate meetings from those countries. On the as-sociation market side, we can
also look forward to expansion, due to record growth rates in the number of new international as-sociations being created. ICCA’s figures show that last year alone there was a jump of around 800 new association meetings held around the world – mainly in the medical sciences sphere.
Where does South Africa fit into the picture?I’M very optimistic that South Africa has an assured future as a destination for conferences and events. The country has an established track record in host-ing major international events and has a solid infrastructure of conference venues of a high international standard in major centres, such as Johannesburg,
Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth – and, most recently, East London. As the economic locomotive of the African continent, South Af-rican businesses, including the meetings industry, also stand to benefit from the rise in general living standards and business prosperity that many believe will follow on from greater inward investment in African countries. Of course, South Africa will have to compete with an ever-grow-ing list of destinations eager to win major international confer-ences. But something in South Africa’s favour, I believe, is the professionalism and dedication of the business tourism team at South Africa Tourism.
Sally Fink
FUTURE TALK WITH ROB DAVIDSON
Rob Davidson
13
ASSOCIATIONSON 31 August 2011 The South African Association for the Con-ference Indsutry (SAACI)West-ern Cape Branch visted two Cape Town-based charirties.
SAACI Western Cape branch recently hosted a member function in aid
of its chosen charity, Nazareth House, at the Cape Town In-ternational Convention Cen-tre (CTICC).
Members of the associa-tion were treated to break-fast courtesy of CTICC while representatives from Nazareth House, the Wheat Trust, and Street Smart, gave presenta-
tions about their organisations. A cheque for R R2000 was then handed over to David Russell from Nazareth House by SAACI member Elmarie Delport.
Nazareth House serves as home for HIV orphans, abused children, the elderly and frail. Each programme is overseen by a religious Sister to ensure that it is run to the standard and within the philosophy of the Sisters of Nazareth.
The Wheat Trust is a fund that supports grassroots wom-en to seek local solutions to local problems, such as edu-cation, training and capac-ity building to foster women’s leadership. The organisation holds regular events to raise
awareness for the cause. Street Smart is a non-profit
organisation that works with local restaurants to benefit or-ganisations that care and pro-vide for street children.
After breakfast, and cour-tesy of Springbok Atlas, SAACI members were divided into two groups and taken to visit two Cape Town based homes for children, Nazareth House and Salesiens House.
For more information about the association visit www.saaci.co.za.
Sally Fink
SAACI WESTERN CAPE BRANCH REACHES OUT
SAACI members outside Nazareth House
14
OPINIONRUMOURS that the US economy is in for a double dip, South Afri-ca’s 25.7 percent unemployment rate, and the hundreds of empty hotel rooms across the country doesn’t bode well for our econo-my. How is this affecting the local events industry?
RASHID Toefy, CEO of the Cape Town Internation-al Convention Centre
(CTICC), says the recent global recession has had a significant impact on the number of meet-
ings and events hosted at the CTICC. “On par with interna-tional trends the growth in the exhibition and consumer shows has been minimal,” he says. “The meetings and events industry is one the sectors that will recover quickly. We have seen a gradual increase in the number of exhibi-tions and consumer shows being hosted. The CTICC has identified this as a niche growth sector and is taking measures to grow this sector further.”
Rashid says 2011 has brought with it a 10% increase in exhibi-tions and trade fairs and that he
is looking forward to a busy 2012. The CTICC has over 150 events on the cards for 2012. He says a key trend is the shift to more ad-vanced technologies. He says nature of meetings and events is changing, and trends like tel-epresence, technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, are turning tradi-tional meetings on their head. Telepresence requires that the users’ senses be provided with such stimuli as to give the feeling of being in that other location. The CTICC has also noticed an increase in short term bookings. Two of its largest events are The Design Indaba Conference and Exhibition and the Cape Home-makers Expo.
Dirk Elzinga offered his opin-ion as Western Cape Chair of FEDHASA and EXSA. “The global recession definitely had an ef-fect on the exhibition and trade fair industry. Normally every year one sees the launch of several new shows, but the past couple of years there were hardly any new shows. Organisers of existing events had to work hard to main-tain the normal levels of exhibitors and visitors. It seems however as if 2011 will see a bit of a change for the better. Several new shows have been launched in Cape Town and other provinces.”
However, Dirk says he doesn’t envision a very busy 2012. “At best we can speak of a slow re-covery from the recession, but it
will take a few years before we will reach the same levels of busi-ness as before 2010.” He says that it’s particularly in the trade fair industry where there’s little movement. “With so many op-portunities in South Africa one would expect that organising companies would be more ac-tive in this market.” Dirk says visitors are becoming more de-manding each year. “They ex-pect that every following version of an exhibition, or trade fair, will bring new products, new services and new excitement. It is a chal-lenge for the organisers to fulfil this expectation, but some do a remarkable job. One can expect more attention for demonstra-tions, shows, conferences, work-shops and contests on the side of the main event.”
He says that organisers in South Africa traditionally go for the ‘low hanging fruit’. “With extra effort and attention, and proper research, a serious num-ber of trade fairs, with AGM’s or other meetings on the side, could be developed. A further consequence of the recession is that the venues in our country are much more willing to negoti-ate with initiators of new business. Also, from the side of the hospi-tality industry there’s recognition that business events like con-gresses and international trade fairs can assist to speed up the recovery from the present low occupancies. Due to this, organ-
isers should be able to benefit from major hotels in the country.”
Julie-May Ellingson, currently acting CEO of the Internation-al Convention Centre Durban (ICC), says, “Over the last fis-cal we have seen a gradual in-crease in the rate of exhibition bookings, with greater interest going forward to 2012. As the re-cession lifts, more organisers are feeling confident about bringing exhibitions back to Durban, with particular interest on the con-sumer trade shows. There was a slight increase in the number of exhibitions from 2010 to 2011.” Are they envisioning a busy 2012? “Definitely,” says Julie-May. “To date we have an increase in the number of exhibitions for 2011, 34, compared to 2010 when we had 27. The ICC loyalty program encourages exhibition organisers to secure events for the next 3-5 years, ensuring a full calendar of diverse events appealing to the Durban consumer.”
Julie-May says clients are looking at partnering with venues and cities to host major events. “The buzz word is ”value based marketing” which is beneficial to both parties. Consumers are looking for shows which are more interactive and entertaining, including experiences for the whole family.”
The ICC’s largest annual trade show is Indaba, a business to business tourism fair, showcas-ing many of the most prestigious
WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE EVENTS INDUSTRY?
Rashid Toefy
15
travel destinations in Southern Af-rica. Julie-May says Durban has become synonymous with the hosting of Indaba - the third larg-est travel fair in the world. The House & Garden show, a con-sumer trade fair, has been held at the ICC for the last thirteen years and she says it is growing due to client demand and that the organisers are constantly developing new and interesting ideas which keeps the patrons coming back.
“The challenge with Durban,” says Julie-May, “is that the pub-lic can be fickle. If the weather is good they would rather be on the beach and the consumer-ism is definitely not as advanced as one would find in cities like Cape Town and Johannesburg. Whereas in Durban the number of shows being held at any one time is limited not only due to the footfall but also to venues. Both Cape Town and Johannes-burg have a range of places to host fairs in, along with a larger crowd to draw from. Many or-ganisers would like to partner with the venues in order to share the risk and I believe that in terms of growing the market this is the way to go. Of course one has to do the relevant market research in order to establish which are the best shows to bring to this city, not only for the economic impact to the city, but also for the patrons.”
Carol Weaving, managing
director of Thebe Exhibitions & Projects, says that since the suc-cessful staging of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, interest in the events market has boomed. “That includes special events like product launches, confer-ences, exhibitions – both trade and consumer - and sporting events. However, this does not necessarily result in actual bookings. The events industry is still feeling the effects of the economic recession. Exhibitors want more value for the same price, which requires exhibition organisers to be a lot more in-novative than before. Visitors to consumer shows also hold on to their purses more.”
Carol says it has been more challenging to secure exhibi-tors this year. She says although companies still consider exhibi-tions as an integral part of their marketing mix, they consider par-ticipation far more carefully than before. “If they do exhibit, they expect qualitative feedback in terms of return on investment. They also have greater expecta-tions in terms of value-adds and event marketing by organisers.”
She says there are signs that the economy is picking up, “but we are not out of the doldrums yet. We will have to work very hard, and smart, to make 2012 busier than this year. Currently the events market is probably just as challenging as any other. Budg-ets are tight and yet people are
expected to constantly up their game. This is not only negative, as we have to be more innova-tive and original, which definitely gives us the competitive edge.”
She says that nowadays peo-ple expect to see the latest tech-nology in action, whether by illus-tration, or applied in the logistics behind the staging of an event.
Thebe’s flagship consumer expo, Decorex SA, continues to take place in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. “We also have new projects such as the first Retirement Expo which will be held in October,” she says.
Carol agrees that there are mixed feelings about the state of the industry. “Huge interna-tional events are still coming into the country, such as the United Nations climate change confer-ence in Durban in November, as well as international association conferences. Corporates have generally cut down on events though, and the industry is feel-ing it. Some organisers have not survived the credit crunch, while those that continue to reinvent themselves are still around.”
Craig Newman, CEO of the Johannesburg Expo Centre, says that as a result of the FIFA World Cup and refurbishment at the centre, there has been a vast in-crease in the number of enquiries received. “We are now reaping the rewards of our investment which is evident in the increas-ing number of enquiries for ex-
hibitions and events already re-ceived and still coming,” Craig explains. “Interest has grown from exhibitions, conferences, year-end functions and con-certs. We always foresee better and busier years to come. 2012 looks very promising.”
Craig says a new trend is that events are managed ‘on the go’ through the use of smart phone technology allowing for quicker response time. “The use of social media tools for marketing also aid businesses in generating aware-ness of their events and encour-ages attendance to them. There
is a more focused and person-alised orientation by organisers on their target audience, which is very different to the old and traditional view of using generic mass mails and notifications.” He says they are looking forward to hosting the Soweto Festival for the first time at their venue. “That will be followed by the Johannes-burg International Motor Show. In 2012, we see the return of the Rand Show. The second Africa Health Exhibition and Congress is next followed by Electra Mining later in the year.”
Astrid Stark
Julie-May Ellingson
15
travel destinations in Southern Af-rica. Julie-May says Durban has become synonymous with the hosting of Indaba - the third larg-est travel fair in the world. The House & Garden show, a con-sumer trade fair, has been held at the ICC for the last thirteen years and she says it is growing due to client demand and that the organisers are constantly developing new and interesting ideas which keeps the patrons coming back.
“The challenge with Durban,” says Julie-May, “is that the pub-lic can be fickle. If the weather is good they would rather be on the beach and the consumer-ism is definitely not as advanced as one would find in cities like Cape Town and Johannesburg. Whereas in Durban the number of shows being held at any one time is limited not only due to the footfall but also to venues. Both Cape Town and Johannes-burg have a range of places to host fairs in, along with a larger crowd to draw from. Many or-ganisers would like to partner with the venues in order to share the risk and I believe that in terms of growing the market this is the way to go. Of course one has to do the relevant market research in order to establish which are the best shows to bring to this city, not only for the economic impact to the city, but also for the patrons.”
Carol Weaving, managing
director of Thebe Exhibitions & Projects, says that since the suc-cessful staging of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, interest in the events market has boomed. “That includes special events like product launches, confer-ences, exhibitions – both trade and consumer - and sporting events. However, this does not necessarily result in actual bookings. The events industry is still feeling the effects of the economic recession. Exhibitors want more value for the same price, which requires exhibition organisers to be a lot more in-novative than before. Visitors to consumer shows also hold on to their purses more.”
Carol says it has been more challenging to secure exhibi-tors this year. She says although companies still consider exhibi-tions as an integral part of their marketing mix, they consider par-ticipation far more carefully than before. “If they do exhibit, they expect qualitative feedback in terms of return on investment. They also have greater expecta-tions in terms of value-adds and event marketing by organisers.”
She says there are signs that the economy is picking up, “but we are not out of the doldrums yet. We will have to work very hard, and smart, to make 2012 busier than this year. Currently the events market is probably just as challenging as any other. Budg-ets are tight and yet people are
expected to constantly up their game. This is not only negative, as we have to be more innova-tive and original, which definitely gives us the competitive edge.”
She says that nowadays peo-ple expect to see the latest tech-nology in action, whether by illus-tration, or applied in the logistics behind the staging of an event.
Thebe’s flagship consumer expo, Decorex SA, continues to take place in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. “We also have new projects such as the first Retirement Expo which will be held in October,” she says.
Carol agrees that there are mixed feelings about the state of the industry. “Huge interna-tional events are still coming into the country, such as the United Nations climate change confer-ence in Durban in November, as well as international association conferences. Corporates have generally cut down on events though, and the industry is feel-ing it. Some organisers have not survived the credit crunch, while those that continue to reinvent themselves are still around.”
Craig Newman, CEO of the Johannesburg Expo Centre, says that as a result of the FIFA World Cup and refurbishment at the centre, there has been a vast in-crease in the number of enquiries received. “We are now reaping the rewards of our investment which is evident in the increas-ing number of enquiries for ex-
hibitions and events already re-ceived and still coming,” Craig explains. “Interest has grown from exhibitions, conferences, year-end functions and con-certs. We always foresee better and busier years to come. 2012 looks very promising.”
Craig says a new trend is that events are managed ‘on the go’ through the use of smart phone technology allowing for quicker response time. “The use of social media tools for marketing also aid businesses in generating aware-ness of their events and encour-ages attendance to them. There
is a more focused and person-alised orientation by organisers on their target audience, which is very different to the old and traditional view of using generic mass mails and notifications.” He says they are looking forward to hosting the Soweto Festival for the first time at their venue. “That will be followed by the Johannes-burg International Motor Show. In 2012, we see the return of the Rand Show. The second Africa Health Exhibition and Congress is next followed by Electra Mining later in the year.”
Astrid Stark
Julie-May Ellingson
16
ASSOCIATIONS
THE Technical Production Ser-vices Association (TPSA) held its annual awards at Mediatech this year. The awards encourage re-spect between members for the work that they do.
THERE were approximately 16 categories which refl ect the various disciplines within the
industry. Members were able to vote for anyone in the industry providing they were deserving of the award and this then went to an adjudicating committee who oversees that the awards were selected fairly and repre-sent the votes received.
This year’s winners were:
Best Newcomer – Lighting De-signer Robert GroblerAward Sponsored: Dwr Distribu-tion
Best Newcomer – Sound Engi-neerGomolemo Maduma Award Sponsored: Sound Head-quarters
Best Newcomer – Av EngineerButi Mabunda Award Sponsored: Showgroup
Favourite Marquee Rental Com-pany OasysAward Sponsored: Garona Communications & Projects
Favourite Av Rental CompanyAv Unlimited Award Sponsored: EXSA
Favourite Sound Rental Com-panyMatrix Sound Award Sponsored: Vusa Truss
Favourite Lighting Rental Com-panyGearhouse Award Sponsored: Showgroup
Favourite Technical VenueSandton Convention CentreAward Sponsored: Lucidity
Favourite Special Effects Com-panyLaser X Award Sponsored: Jdm Unlim-ited
Favourite Set & Stage Company Dream Sets Award Sponsored: Tungsten SA
Favourite Backline CompanySa Backline Award Sponsored: Av Systems Favourite Technical Staging CompanyGearhouseAward Sponsored: Events & In-stallations
Best Set Designer Of The YearDewet MeyerAward Sponsored: Vusa Truss
Best Rigger Of The Year Kendall Dixon Award Sponsored: Av Systems
Lighting Designer Of The Year Hugh TurnerAward Sponsored: Dwr Distribu-tion
Av Engineer Of The YearJohn Reinders
Award Sponsored: Led Vision
Sound Engineer Of The YearMarius MaraisAward Sponsored: Sound Head-quarters
Production Manager Of The YearSam Mcgrath Award Sponsored: Events & In-stallations
Hall Of FameGerda Kruger
The TPSA is an association of members who operate within the Live Entertainment / Events Industry and forms part of the Services SETA Events Industry Board.
For more information about the TPSA visit www.tpsa.co.za.
Sally Fink
ALL THE TPSA AWARD WINNERS
Best Set Designer Of The Year Dewet Meyer Favourite Marquee Rental Company Oasys
Favourite Set & Stage Company Dream Sets Av Engineer Of The Year John Reinders Favourite Technical Venue Sandton Convention Centre
We’re distributing 4 000 copies a month free via bulk distribution at event industry organ-isations and associations; key industry meeting points like convention centres, hotels and rental houses; and at key industry events. This means we’ll remain the most read events industry trade publication.
After seven years of carrying the cost of mailing another 4 000 copies direct to everyone else, we’re asking for subscriptions to help us cover our rising distribution costs.
Subscribe now for just R22.80 pm to keep receiving your copy, delivered to your door every month.
Please contact us for a subscription debit order form: nadia@fi lmeventpublishing.co.za or 021 674 6691.
17
THE Event Newspaper is excited to bring you the Services SETA Events Chamber Strategic Plan for 2011-2012.
HEADED by Chamber Manager Priscilla David, the Events Chamber Board is committed
to developing skills training and devel-opment within the industry.
The Board was established to instil in South Africa’s working communities a tangible, trainable, certifi able and accountable measure of service excel-lence, which it is proud to measure against comparable international stan-dards of service.
One of its major objectives is the provision and maintenance of quality learning throughout the sector and to promote the internationally recognised competence levels required for the global village.
The Event Chamber Strategy for 2011-2012 outlines eight objectives in line with the Services SETA’s National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS).
1. NSDS objective 1TO establish a credible institutional mechanism for skills planning.
This objective will be achieved through the development of a labour market information system which as-sists in:• Drawing up of an informed Sector Skills Plan(SSP)•Determining real scarce and critical skills•Identifying occupations which are potential large scale employment growth areas•At least fi ve International Standards Organisations (ISOEs) established in provinces led by further/higher educa-tion institutions and industry experts •Determining industry needs to the Further/Higher Education and Train-ing (FET/HET) institutions in terms of off erings•Developing relevant Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs for in service workers•Determining the skills level in the events industry
Skills development and train-ing interventions are related to au-thentic research and statistics. The impact will be measured in terms of job placements, job mobility, gradu-ate placements and quality audits of the Workplace Skills Plan (WSP). Partnerships with higher learning in-stitutions to be forged, secured and sustained.
2. NSDS objective 2TO increase access to occupationally directed programs.
This will be achieved through:
•Interrogation of the Labour market Information Systems (LMIS) for mid-dle level skills required by industry•Above information to be distributed to all stakeholders for verifi cation •High level meetings to be set up with Heads of the FET and Universities of technology and industry experts countrywide for discussions and deci-sions regarding their program off er-ings.
3. NSDS objective 3TO promote the growth of a public FET college system that is responsive to sector, local, regional and national skills needs and priorities.
This objective will see:•FETs capacitated to conduct Rec-ognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for learners with the requisite experience •Fund the training of Assessors/Moderators/ Verifi ers•Public/Private partnership estab-lished between Events Associations, their members and Public Institu-tions for the placement of learners for practical experience and for industry captains to assist in program delivery•Link to SSETA/Canadian partner-ship which is an online assessment for acquisition of the qualifi cation and or designation. Project proposal to utilise resources at FET/HET level and to partner these with the Profes-sional Body.
The outcome of this adjective will provide tracking via National Learner Database as indicated above. RPL Centres will be accredited and as-sessors/moderators/verifi ers will be constitutionally registered. Provin-cial representation from FET/ HET sectors will be represented on the Events Industry Committees.
4. NSDS objective 4ADDRESSING the low level of youth and adult language and numeracy skills to enable additional training
This objective will entail:•School learnership project will in-troduce Event qualifi cation as an op-tional 7th. Subject at Grade 10 level to be completed in Grade 11. Practi-cal component to be completed at school where sports events, con-certs, fundraising events are used to gain experience. • Off er fl exi work opportunities to young people for conferences, exhi-bitions, festivals etc. where credits are gained against relevant skills programmes or qualifi cations by the submission of proof of work com-pleted successfully•Off er voluntary work opportunities for events organised by Non-govern-mental Organisations (NGOs), Com-
munity Based Organisations (CBOs) with the proviso that this translates into credits towards a qualifi cation or skills program.
The outcome will see learners exit school with an additional vocational qualifi cation at level 2 and track their progress i.e. progress to high level vocational qualifi cation, employment or movement into HET Sector.
Employer Associations must set up tracking mechanism via payroll or other to gather information on fl exi workers progress through at-tainment of credits through an RPL process. This will result in sustain-ability of jobs through retention of same fl exi workers/ volunteers until the young person reaches a point of certifi cation.
5. NSDS objective 5ENCOURAGING better use of work-place-based skills development.
This stage of the strategy will en-tail the following:•Coaching and Mentoring Project – retired or semi- retired persons are used to conduct skills transfer at diff erent levels of competency in the workplace linked to succession plan-ning and or job mobility and articula-tion. Companies will be paid a special grant which would help compensate them for the honorariums they would pay the coach/mentor.•RPL applied thereafter where SSETA provides bursaries for such including gap training and the payment of As-sessors/Moderators•Canadian /SSETA partnership project
By this stage of the strategy learn-ers will have attained a qualifi cation and conferred with a designation. The learner’s enterprise develop-ment progress will be monitored.
6. NSDS objective 6ENCOURAGING and supporting co-operatives, small enterprises worker initiated, NGO and community train-ing initiatives.
Activities will include:•At least fi ves Provincial Roadshows for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)•Development of an SME strategy •Development of a strategy for train-ing and skills initiatives and capacita-tion of this sector. Discretionary fund bursaries will be off ered. Number to be linked to targets.•Business clusters established in both rural and peri-urban areas where co-operatives could access business services e.g internet, faxing, printing , marketing services etc. • At least 200 New Venture Creation (NVC) bursaries off ered to women
running home based events business-es in both rural and peri-urban areas.
By this stage an SME strategic plan will have been produced and endorsed by all stakeholders. A partnership with NGO body will be formalised, and the implementation monitored and tracked. NGO/CBO/Cooperatives re-ports will be submitted to The Events Chamber Board.
7. NSDS objective 7INCREASING Public Sector capac-ity for improved service delivery and supporting the building of a develop-mental SSETA state. This will fall under Special Projects
The outcome of this project will be a detailed impact measurement report.
8. NSDS objective 8TO build career and vocational guid-ance. The fi nal stage of the Event Cham-ber Strategy will develop an integrated
career pathway for all qualifi cations in the Events industry.
This will necessitate participation in career weeks/exhibitions held at FET/HET institutions as well as ca-pacitation of Guidance Educators at Secondary Schools.
A poster campaign of the Career Pathway will be displayed at all pub-lic and school libraries. Lastly, the objective will see the dissemination of a career guide to all Associations for their members.
The outcome will be target driven to measure the impact of the number of schools/learners /workers reached via the intervention.
If you have any questions about the Events Chamber Strategic Plan please contact chamber coordinator Shafi eka Khan at: Shafi [email protected].
Sally Fink
Customer [email protected]
Head Offi ceTel: 011 276 9600Fax: 011 276 9623
BloemfonteinTel: 051 430 6223Fax: 051 430 8771
Cape TownTel: 021 425 0417Fax: 021 425 1575
DurbanTel: 031 207 1761Fax: 031 207 1766
East LondonTel: 043 743 5410Fax: 043 722 9587
KimberleyTel: 053 833 7447Fax: 053 833 7452
NelspruitTel: 013 752 2207Fax: 013 752 6434
PolokwaneTel: 015 296 4858Fax: 015 296 4729
Port ElizabethTel: 041 582 2033Fax: 041 582 2040
Training and education highlights
www.serviceseta.org.za
SERVICES SETA EVENTS CHAMBER BOARD SURGES AHEAD
SSETA Events Chamber Manager Priscilla David
16
ASSOCIATIONS
THE Technical Production Ser-vices Association (TPSA) held its annual awards at Mediatech this year. The awards encourage re-spect between members for the work that they do.
THERE were approximately 16 categories which refl ect the various disciplines within the
industry. Members were able to vote for anyone in the industry providing they were deserving of the award and this then went to an adjudicating committee who oversees that the awards were selected fairly and repre-sent the votes received.
This year’s winners were:
Best Newcomer – Lighting De-signer Robert GroblerAward Sponsored: Dwr Distribu-tion
Best Newcomer – Sound Engi-neerGomolemo Maduma Award Sponsored: Sound Head-quarters
Best Newcomer – Av EngineerButi Mabunda Award Sponsored: Showgroup
Favourite Marquee Rental Com-pany OasysAward Sponsored: Garona Communications & Projects
Favourite Av Rental CompanyAv Unlimited Award Sponsored: EXSA
Favourite Sound Rental Com-panyMatrix Sound Award Sponsored: Vusa Truss
Favourite Lighting Rental Com-panyGearhouse Award Sponsored: Showgroup
Favourite Technical VenueSandton Convention CentreAward Sponsored: Lucidity
Favourite Special Effects Com-panyLaser X Award Sponsored: Jdm Unlim-ited
Favourite Set & Stage Company Dream Sets Award Sponsored: Tungsten SA
Favourite Backline CompanySa Backline Award Sponsored: Av Systems Favourite Technical Staging CompanyGearhouseAward Sponsored: Events & In-stallations
Best Set Designer Of The YearDewet MeyerAward Sponsored: Vusa Truss
Best Rigger Of The Year Kendall Dixon Award Sponsored: Av Systems
Lighting Designer Of The Year Hugh TurnerAward Sponsored: Dwr Distribu-tion
Av Engineer Of The YearJohn Reinders
Award Sponsored: Led Vision
Sound Engineer Of The YearMarius MaraisAward Sponsored: Sound Head-quarters
Production Manager Of The YearSam Mcgrath Award Sponsored: Events & In-stallations
Hall Of FameGerda Kruger
The TPSA is an association of members who operate within the Live Entertainment / Events Industry and forms part of the Services SETA Events Industry Board.
For more information about the TPSA visit www.tpsa.co.za.
Sally Fink
ALL THE TPSA AWARD WINNERS
Best Set Designer Of The Year Dewet Meyer Favourite Marquee Rental Company Oasys
Favourite Set & Stage Company Dream Sets Av Engineer Of The Year John Reinders Favourite Technical Venue Sandton Convention Centre
We’re distributing 4 000 copies a month free via bulk distribution at event industry organ-isations and associations; key industry meeting points like convention centres, hotels and rental houses; and at key industry events. This means we’ll remain the most read events industry trade publication.
After seven years of carrying the cost of mailing another 4 000 copies direct to everyone else, we’re asking for subscriptions to help us cover our rising distribution costs.
Subscribe now for just R22.80 pm to keep receiving your copy, delivered to your door every month.
Please contact us for a subscription debit order form: nadia@fi lmeventpublishing.co.za or 021 674 6691.
17
THE Event Newspaper is excited to bring you the Services SETA Events Chamber Strategic Plan for 2011-2012.
HEADED by Chamber Manager Priscilla David, the Events Chamber Board is committed
to developing skills training and devel-opment within the industry.
The Board was established to instil in South Africa’s working communities a tangible, trainable, certifi able and accountable measure of service excel-lence, which it is proud to measure against comparable international stan-dards of service.
One of its major objectives is the provision and maintenance of quality learning throughout the sector and to promote the internationally recognised competence levels required for the global village.
The Event Chamber Strategy for 2011-2012 outlines eight objectives in line with the Services SETA’s National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS).
1. NSDS objective 1TO establish a credible institutional mechanism for skills planning.
This objective will be achieved through the development of a labour market information system which as-sists in:• Drawing up of an informed Sector Skills Plan(SSP)•Determining real scarce and critical skills•Identifying occupations which are potential large scale employment growth areas•At least fi ve International Standards Organisations (ISOEs) established in provinces led by further/higher educa-tion institutions and industry experts •Determining industry needs to the Further/Higher Education and Train-ing (FET/HET) institutions in terms of off erings•Developing relevant Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs for in service workers•Determining the skills level in the events industry
Skills development and train-ing interventions are related to au-thentic research and statistics. The impact will be measured in terms of job placements, job mobility, gradu-ate placements and quality audits of the Workplace Skills Plan (WSP). Partnerships with higher learning in-stitutions to be forged, secured and sustained.
2. NSDS objective 2TO increase access to occupationally directed programs.
This will be achieved through:
•Interrogation of the Labour market Information Systems (LMIS) for mid-dle level skills required by industry•Above information to be distributed to all stakeholders for verifi cation •High level meetings to be set up with Heads of the FET and Universities of technology and industry experts countrywide for discussions and deci-sions regarding their program off er-ings.
3. NSDS objective 3TO promote the growth of a public FET college system that is responsive to sector, local, regional and national skills needs and priorities.
This objective will see:•FETs capacitated to conduct Rec-ognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for learners with the requisite experience •Fund the training of Assessors/Moderators/ Verifi ers•Public/Private partnership estab-lished between Events Associations, their members and Public Institu-tions for the placement of learners for practical experience and for industry captains to assist in program delivery•Link to SSETA/Canadian partner-ship which is an online assessment for acquisition of the qualifi cation and or designation. Project proposal to utilise resources at FET/HET level and to partner these with the Profes-sional Body.
The outcome of this adjective will provide tracking via National Learner Database as indicated above. RPL Centres will be accredited and as-sessors/moderators/verifi ers will be constitutionally registered. Provin-cial representation from FET/ HET sectors will be represented on the Events Industry Committees.
4. NSDS objective 4ADDRESSING the low level of youth and adult language and numeracy skills to enable additional training
This objective will entail:•School learnership project will in-troduce Event qualifi cation as an op-tional 7th. Subject at Grade 10 level to be completed in Grade 11. Practi-cal component to be completed at school where sports events, con-certs, fundraising events are used to gain experience. • Off er fl exi work opportunities to young people for conferences, exhi-bitions, festivals etc. where credits are gained against relevant skills programmes or qualifi cations by the submission of proof of work com-pleted successfully•Off er voluntary work opportunities for events organised by Non-govern-mental Organisations (NGOs), Com-
munity Based Organisations (CBOs) with the proviso that this translates into credits towards a qualifi cation or skills program.
The outcome will see learners exit school with an additional vocational qualifi cation at level 2 and track their progress i.e. progress to high level vocational qualifi cation, employment or movement into HET Sector.
Employer Associations must set up tracking mechanism via payroll or other to gather information on fl exi workers progress through at-tainment of credits through an RPL process. This will result in sustain-ability of jobs through retention of same fl exi workers/ volunteers until the young person reaches a point of certifi cation.
5. NSDS objective 5ENCOURAGING better use of work-place-based skills development.
This stage of the strategy will en-tail the following:•Coaching and Mentoring Project – retired or semi- retired persons are used to conduct skills transfer at diff erent levels of competency in the workplace linked to succession plan-ning and or job mobility and articula-tion. Companies will be paid a special grant which would help compensate them for the honorariums they would pay the coach/mentor.•RPL applied thereafter where SSETA provides bursaries for such including gap training and the payment of As-sessors/Moderators•Canadian /SSETA partnership project
By this stage of the strategy learn-ers will have attained a qualifi cation and conferred with a designation. The learner’s enterprise develop-ment progress will be monitored.
6. NSDS objective 6ENCOURAGING and supporting co-operatives, small enterprises worker initiated, NGO and community train-ing initiatives.
Activities will include:•At least fi ves Provincial Roadshows for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)•Development of an SME strategy •Development of a strategy for train-ing and skills initiatives and capacita-tion of this sector. Discretionary fund bursaries will be off ered. Number to be linked to targets.•Business clusters established in both rural and peri-urban areas where co-operatives could access business services e.g internet, faxing, printing , marketing services etc. • At least 200 New Venture Creation (NVC) bursaries off ered to women
running home based events business-es in both rural and peri-urban areas.
By this stage an SME strategic plan will have been produced and endorsed by all stakeholders. A partnership with NGO body will be formalised, and the implementation monitored and tracked. NGO/CBO/Cooperatives re-ports will be submitted to The Events Chamber Board.
7. NSDS objective 7INCREASING Public Sector capac-ity for improved service delivery and supporting the building of a develop-mental SSETA state. This will fall under Special Projects
The outcome of this project will be a detailed impact measurement report.
8. NSDS objective 8TO build career and vocational guid-ance. The fi nal stage of the Event Cham-ber Strategy will develop an integrated
career pathway for all qualifi cations in the Events industry.
This will necessitate participation in career weeks/exhibitions held at FET/HET institutions as well as ca-pacitation of Guidance Educators at Secondary Schools.
A poster campaign of the Career Pathway will be displayed at all pub-lic and school libraries. Lastly, the objective will see the dissemination of a career guide to all Associations for their members.
The outcome will be target driven to measure the impact of the number of schools/learners /workers reached via the intervention.
If you have any questions about the Events Chamber Strategic Plan please contact chamber coordinator Shafi eka Khan at: Shafi [email protected].
Sally Fink
Customer [email protected]
Head Offi ceTel: 011 276 9600Fax: 011 276 9623
BloemfonteinTel: 051 430 6223Fax: 051 430 8771
Cape TownTel: 021 425 0417Fax: 021 425 1575
DurbanTel: 031 207 1761Fax: 031 207 1766
East LondonTel: 043 743 5410Fax: 043 722 9587
KimberleyTel: 053 833 7447Fax: 053 833 7452
NelspruitTel: 013 752 2207Fax: 013 752 6434
PolokwaneTel: 015 296 4858Fax: 015 296 4729
Port ElizabethTel: 041 582 2033Fax: 041 582 2040
Training and education highlights
www.serviceseta.org.za
SERVICES SETA EVENTS CHAMBER BOARD SURGES AHEAD
SSETA Events Chamber Manager Priscilla David
18
EVENTS PREVIEWASIA’S only doublebill event in MICE and Corporate IT & CMA takes place from 4-6 October 2011 at Bangkok Convention Center, CentralWorld, Bangkok
COMMITTMENT to grow the event’s delega-tion of corporate travel
managers has paid off with over 100 professionals regis-tered to date. This includes first-time participants across a variety of industry sectors from
Germany, Italy and China.The growing list of participat-
ing delegates include corporate travel buyers, influencers and decision makers from close to 50 corporations such as Accenture Service Pvt. Ltd, Agilent Technol-ogies, Coach Shanghai Ltd, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Cummins Power Generation(s) Pte Ltd, Deakin University, Emerson, Fidel-ity Business Services India Pvt Ltd, General Electric Int. Inc, HRG Sita (India) Pvt Ltd, Mazda Motors of New Zealand Ltd, Mercedes Benz, Sephora Cosmetics China,
Standard Chartered Bank, Sy-mantec Asia Pacific Pte Ltd and Australia, Tata Capital Limited and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Results have been credited to engagement efforts that earn the support of these cor-porate travel managers. In ear-ly March, the first-ever Advisory Planning Committee for Cor-porate Travel World (CTW) was launched in Singapore, with the objective of driving CTW’s programme content and build-ing the network of international
travel managers. The commit-tee comprises of influential trav-el managers from the banking, IT, entertainment and govern-mental sectors.
“CTW 2011’s programme has been crafted to the needs and objectives of today’s corporate travel managers. We want to continue establishing CTW as an industry-driven conference that the community wants to attend on an annual basis.” explained Darren Ng, managing director of TTG Asia Media – organiser of IT&CMA and CTW.
Efforts to attract association buyers have also been ramped up this year. This includes a mul-titude of activities conducted by associations such as Aus-tralian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE), Canadian Society of Association Execu-tives (cSAE), International Con-gress and Convention Asso-ciation (ICCA) and The Asian Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus (AACVB). The IT&CMA MICE Exhibition this year will offer a huge array of convention venues, hotels, des-tination management compa-nies (DMCs) and convention bureaus that will be of interest to Association Buyers who are looking to organise Association Meetings & Congresses. Many of the networking functions of-fered at IT&CMA and CTW 2011 also welcome the attendance of these Association Buyers.
Industry engagement efforts were continued at the Preview Reception on 29 July 2011 at the newly inaugurated St. Regis Hotel in Bangkok. The exclusive preview and networking event brought together local Associa-tion Buyers, MICE buyers and cor-porate travel managers.
Registration for MICE buyers are also in line with expectations. More than 450 MICE buyers have already registered till date. 50% of them are new registrants rep-resenting six new countries: Ban-gladesh, Cambodia, Denmark, Latvia, Lebanon and Turkey.
On the IT&CMA exhibition front, more than 75% of the ex-hibition space has been sold. New comers include Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hyderabad International Convention Cen-tre, HPL Hotels & Resorts, Cox and Kings India, Park Hotel Group, Diners Club HK, Cara-velle Hotel, Furama Resorts, UVI Holidays India, Wuzhen Tourism and Mission Hill China.
IT&CMA and CTW 2011 have drawn the attention of media from around the world. Media registration have crossed the 100 mark, re-affirming this IT&CMA and CTW as the perfect platform for MICE exhibitors to gain inter-national exposure.
For more information visit www.itcma.com.
Sally Fink
MORE ASSOCIATIONS EXPECTED AT IT & CMA
IT & CMA 2010
GENERAL INDUSTRYIF you have any opportunitiesto share with the events indus-tryplease visit our web portal www.theevent.co.za and fol-low the easy instructions to up-load your press releases.
UCT launches Events Manage-ment courseOVER the past few years, the South African events man-agement industry has grown tremendously and organising events has become a popular career choice for many. The UCT Events Management course is the first of its kind to result in a university-accredit-ed qualification.
The highly practical 10-week UCT Events Management course provides students with a comprehensive grounding in the development and man-agement of small to large-scale events. The course teaches practical skills and techniques, and illustrates important con-cepts through the use of case studies. Some of the most popu-lar course modules cover the design, planning, marketing and management of events, as well as risk management and fi-nancial administration.
The content applies both to those who organise events themselves, and to those who occasionally need to oversee subcontracted event man-
agement companies as part of their job. The course convener is Mandy Ross, an experienced events manager who has worked in the industry in both Los Angeles and Cape Town. SPECIAL OFFER: In associa-tion with The Event, save R500 when registering for the course before 15 September 2011. Quote “The Event” as your pro-motional code when register-ing. Call Kerry on 021 447 7565 or visit www.GetSmarter.co.za
South African Service Awards Competition LaunchesThe 2011 South African Service Awards are now open for vot-ing by the South African public. The competition will put com-
panies and brands against each other in the first such competition that goes directly to consumers to highlight the providers of superior service.
Customer satisfaction is rec-ognised as the only measure of the quality of economic output.Companies will be rated by their customers - not judges - on a standardised survey that will be accessible on the Inter-net and Facebook.
The competition runs from 1 September -30 November 2011. Voter registration is currently open. Smoke Customer Care Solutions, who are spearhead-ing the competition, have committed to give away one iPod Touch per week and one
iPad 2 each month for the du-ration of the competition.
For more information visit www.saservice.co.za or www.fa-cebook.com/SAServiceAwards.
Special hotel rates for LoeriesTHE Townhouse Hotel in Cape Town is offering The Event News-paper readers a special deal on accommodation during the Lo-erie Awards.
Rates are inclusive of Break-fast, 1% Tourism and 14% VAT: Single - R695.00 or Double - R990.00.
For more information of the hotel please visit www.town-house.co.za.
Sally Fink
OPPORTUNITIES
19
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