The International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) and Latín American Meetings Industry Federation (COCAL) have agreed to a new 3-year Memorandum of Understanding which will see both organisations’ communities benefit across several initiatives.

At their most recent Meeting, held in Dubai, IAPCO Council unanimously agreed to a new collaboration with COCAL, the first of its kind for both associations. The collaboration will see experts from both organisations share knowledge and educational content through industry events, seminars and webinars, visibility online recognition and business development opportunities.

Ori Lahav, IAPCO President commented: “Given the interest in IAPCO and our activities from the LATAM region and the enthusiasm of COCAL to collaborate with IAPCO, we are confident that through a sharing of educational and advocacy activities, together, we can further develop the professionalism of the meetings and events industry and build upon the existing energy to deliver successful events in the region.”

With a membership retention rate of 100% in 2022, a growing number of new membership applications and continued support from global partners, IAPCO continues to focus its attention on providing added value and new services to its members. The MoU that outlines this Strategic Partnership is another great example of the value that PCOs can expect when they have a membership of IAPCO.

“On behalf of our members, we are thrilled with the COCAL-IAPCO Strategic Partnership for the benefit of our members. This represents a keen focus on knowledge sharing, increasing value-added benefits, and greater visibility for our region, on behalf of our combined members, and for advancing professional developments in support of global clients.

COCAL is committed to working alongside IAPCO though this historic agreement, which represents a huge milestone in the history of the meetings industry. With this agreement, we intend to further inspire, connect, and empower our Latin-American community of professionals in advancing their services and our global events industry”, commented Luis Ricardo Martínez, President of COCAL.
 

ENDS

The International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) is a not-for-profit membership association, registered in Switzerland. IAPCO Members are Professional Congress Organisers (companies, not individuals) that have qualified for Membership under the detailed application process by demonstrating that they consistently deliver PCO services to their clients and partners at high-quality standards. They retain their membership through annual quality checks and reviews by the IAPCO Quality Committee.

The Latin American Meetings Industry Federation (COCAL) is a not-for-profit membership organization that currently represents, educates, and encourages all the stakeholders that make up the value chain of the Meetings and Business Events Industry of Latin America: Organizers, Suppliers, Event Generators, and Academia, grouped either under the figure of individual professionals, corporations, or individuals representing a national industry organization. COCAL promote the competitive level of the Industry in the Latin American region. COCAL membership is through annual membership and all its members are of good standing in the industry.

IAPCO:
Nadeem Ahmad, Marketing and Communications Manager
nadeem@iapco.org

COCAL:
Karina Delmonte, Communications Committee, Board Member, COCAL.
vocal3@cocal.org