Unifying the message of advocacy

Short for time? Scroll to the bottom to discover the key takeaways. 

When Mike Fletcher caught up with ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath, he was heading to Abu Dhabi for the International Congress and Convention Association’s 63rd annual congress. 

The four-day event, held at the end of October, brought more than 1,500 delegates together from all over the globe. It featured 176 speakers and 93 sessions and was attended by 11 ministers and government representatives, including UN Tourism Secretary General H.E. Zurab Pololikashvilid. 

“We need more platforms and stages to drive home the message of advocacy on a global scale,” Senthil (pictured left) says. “ICCA is the only industry association to span 102 countries, so it often falls to us to pick up the mantle and find new ways to share best practices, case study examples of impact, knowledge and global insight. But it’s great that international shows like IBTM World and bodies such as The Business of Events support us by driving their own initiatives, such as the Forum for Advocacy.

“We need a common narrative that’s as relevant in the Philippines as it is in Vancouver or Auckland in New Zealand because advocacy varies according to geographical locations. We need to help countries apply a unified message of advocacy according to their local situation.”

In 2022, ICCA formed the Advocacy Alliance, which today has representation from 73 countries. Its objective is to share knowledge and ensure that best practices can be applied and replicated across cultures and regions.

“Southern hemisphere countries for example tend to focus on the financial impact of business events before considering social impact,” Senthil explains. “They partner with convention bureaux and venues to lobby and liaise with drivers of the local economies, such as politicians, municipalities or the mayor. 

“Across North America and Europe however, greater economic stability means the focus shifts to how business events can positively impact social or environmental progress. More mature MICE markets are exploring the broadest impact.”

In the past year, Senthil has himself met with almost 50 ministers around the world to discuss the impact of business events and help governments create strategies that will drive growth in different business segments. 

With so many elections held in 2024, he is acutely aware that as governments change and politicians get replaced, there’s never been a greater need to advocate for the business events industry’s role in driving social, environmental and economic change. 

“Wherever there’s a new political landscape, we must be there with our consistent message,” he says. “I’ve already engaged with India’s ministers following their elections and they’re all very keen to understand the benefits of staging business events. I plan to speak with the new Labour Government in the UK in January.

“The message however needs to go beyond the minister responsible for business tourism and events. We must also speak with the ministers for aviation, healthcare and other sectors that need to understand how events impact them as well. They can then impose influence on their tourism ministers to drive budgets for events.”

Senthil will go from spreading the message of a unified approach to advocacy during ICCA’s recent congress in Abu Dhabi to the Catalan capital, where he’ll attend the IBTM World Forum for Advocacy and then be interviewed on-stage at the show the next day by The Business of Events’ Martin Fullard. 

“We can only spread a unified message if we create more forums, stand on more stages, share more case studies, and drive a constant narrative that can be repeated all over the world,” Senthil concludes. 

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