The beautiful open spaces of Perth in Western Australia give delegates room to think, be inspired, connect with their colleagues and be rewarded. The waterside environment is breathtaking, the warm Mediterranean-style climate is inviting, and beyond the sparkling capital, Western Australia offers an extraordinary diversity of experiences in pristine, natural landscapes. Talk to the experienced team at the Perth Convention Bureau about giving your next conference the space to connect.Perth Convention Bureau - European Office (London), T: +44 (0)207 240 2881 E: rethi@wago.com.uk W: www.pcb.com.au4HYRL[MVYJL7*)<Bring a fresh perspective to your next conference.

April 2011Conference+Meetings World www.c-mw.net9Fiona PelhamPresident of association Meeting Professionals International (MPI) UK and IrelandChapter shares her experience of the association's recent European Meetings and Events Conference(EMEC) in Dusseldorf.MPI takes time to focusEach year MPI holds a EuropeanMeetings and Event Conference(EMEC) and this year's event wasin Dusseldorf, Germany at the CongressCentre Dusseldorf (CCD). The theme ofthe event was 'focus'. As we all know, working in the eventsector can often mean struggling to findthe time to focus. MPI attempted toprovide some answers, delivering a three-day conference which provided tools andpractical expertise to attendees to learnhow to decide what their own, personaland professional focus should be. From day one of the conference over300 planners, suppliers, speakers,students and guest attendees wereinvited to start thinking about what theywanted their conference outcomes to be,with a session from Jon Bradshaw ongetting in the Meetings Mindset. At thesame time the chapter leaders from the12 European chapters were gathered fora leadership development session withRobin Sharma. The content of theseeducation sessions and unique tools (like the conference iphone application)meant that, before the opening generalsession we were equipped with theattitude and resources we needed to 'focus'.On day two delegates took part in a Flash Point session which included a series of 10-minute presentations withsuccinct take away learnings. Imagine a conference version of watching filmtrailers and you will have an idea of theexperience, as each speaker delivered apractical summary of the sessions theywould be leading over the next few days.This format handed us, the delegates,the opportunity to choose our focus andsatisfy our curiosity on what we weremissing. 'How to get more yes' fromyour stakeholders' and 'A case study onthe success of SAS Customer relations'were among content seminars on offer.Day three of the conference broughtanother new format, one which handedthe decision on focus squarely back tothe delegate. The solution room dividedattendees into groups according to thecomplexity of their chosen challenge.After further divisions everyone wasgiven time to address someone else'schallenge.As this year's MPI UK and IrelandChapter President I have attended a number of EMEC conferences beforeand I am aware this could make meseem biased about the conference andits social events, our closing dinner wasin Dusseldorf's airport terminal with a backdrop of check in desks and a runway, so I gained input from twoother UK and Ireland members; RobEveleigh, Managing Director of Ideas ison the MPI UK and Ireland Board asEvents Chair and received a foundationgrant available for planners to attendEMEC; and Michael Dalton who iscurrently studying for an honours degreein Event, Hospitality and TourismManagement at Dundalk Institute ofTechnology. He is due to complete hisstudies in May 2011 and is a studentmember of MPI.Eveleigh said: "We talk a lot in ourindustry about providing a good level ofROI for events. Of course this not onlyapplies to the financial aspect, but alsoASSOCIATION VIEWFiona Pelham