The 2nd joint AFE-APCE Conference was held from 3 to 6 July at Bilbao Exhibition Centre. Organised by the Spanish Trade Fair Association (AFE) and the Spanish Conference Centre Association (APCE), in collaboration with BEC, it was attended by around 240 participants.

The 2nd AFE-APCE Conference, under the slogan ’Legacies that transform; Conferences and trade fairs: the impact beyond the event’, brought together representatives from the trade fair sector and conference centres, mainly from Spain, to create synergies, stimulating the strengthening of the industry and developing strategies to achieve a greater economic impact. The content programme included key topics such as: the economic and social impact of MICE, what customers value when choosing a venue or conference centre, Artificial Intelligence, integrated marketing management, talent management and retention, leadership, sustainability and, procurement and contracting as strategic factors.

The event also included spaces for networking, collaboration and business generation, as well as an outstanding social programme on each of the days, which the attendees highly valued: a guided tour of the San Mamés stadium and welcome cocktail, a guided tour and official conference dinner at the Guggenheim Museum, a boat trip through the centre of Bilbao, from the City Hall Bridge to the Zorrotzaurre waterfront and dinner at the Iruña café,  and as a post-conference activity, a guided visit to the Bizkaia Bridge, Herri Kirolak (Basque rural sports) exhibition at the Andra Mari Fronton in Algorta (Getxo) and lunch at the La Ola restaurant on Ereaga beach, also in Getxo.

The APCE and AFE awards were presented at the official conference dinner at the Guggenheim Museum. The APCE award went to AECOC (Spanish Commercial Coding Association), received by its Development Director, Jordi Cuatrecasas. The AFE award was presented to the Marva Group, a company celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The award was received by its managing directors, Ignacio and Joaquín Cabral. Both associations also presented a plaque to Xabier Basañez, the General Manager of BEC, in recognition of the work of the entire team for the success of the conference and for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of its current exhibition centre.

In relation to the conference claim, Legacies that transform, a donation of 2,000 euros was made, contributed voluntarily by the conference participants and by APCE and AFE, destined for the La Cuadri del Hospi Association, for parents of children who have undergone an oncological process in the Children’s Oncology Unit of the Cruces-Barakaldo University Hospital.

By way of a summary and assessment of the formal content of the conference, the following should be noted:

  • Regarding the legacy of the events, Oliver Wykes, COO of WindEurope, focused on the importance of the wind industry as a sustainable sector and its focus on training and innovation for a greener future.
  • On the economic and social effect of MICE, in addition to having a direct, indirect and induced impact during events, it also transforms the destination in the long term.
  • The roundtables on ‘What does a conference organiser value when choosing a conference centre’ and ‘What does a trade fair organiser value in relation to a trade fair venue’, it can be said that they value flexibility, good communication and the ability to transform the attendee’s experience that can be offered, as well as the infrastructure and costs. But other factors such as sustainability, are also gradually being incorporated.
  • In relation to AI as a disruptive change factor and opportunity for the sector, it was seen how artificial intelligence presents disruptive opportunities for the industry, improving data management and optimising processes for the organisation of events.
  • Several examples of the use of AI at trade fairs and conferences were presented at the conference. AI could be used in both cases to improve productivity, manage capacity, provide virtual assistants and optimise organisation and security.
  • Under the title ‘comprehensive marketing management of a sports entity’, Jorge García, marketing and commercial director of Valencia CF, highlighted the importance of data management for personalisation and indicated that the sports club’s strategy was based on three pillars: the Mediterranean lifestyle, the academy as a reference and entertainment. He also offered keys to good sponsorship management.
  • Amparo García, CEO of Zeus, spoke about the importance of attracting, managing and retaining talent, providing examples from her company related to the unique working conditions and the relationship and involvement of human resources in her company.
  • The panel on ‘What are we doing in terms of sustainability’ showed that we are an aware sector and that we are carrying out many actions. However, there is still a lot to do. Both APCE and AFE have set up working committees, and progress is being made on issues such as sustainability training and self-assessment, which should enable us to aim for achievable and concrete goals.
  • With regard to the round table on ‘purchasing and contracting as a strategic factor’, the importance of purchasing and contracting as a competitive factor for trade fair organisations and conference centres and for offering good services to internal and external clients was highlighted. Different aspects were analysed from a legal approach according to the profile of the organisation.
  • Pedro Pablo Ramos, a trainer specialising in the development of people, teams and organisations, detailed the keys to leadership for the proper functioning of companies, focusing on 7 key concepts.
  • Finally, Maitena Salinas, master of ceremonies of the conference, together with Sylvia Andrés, president of APCE, and Xabier Basañez, president of AFE, summarised the most relevant conclusions of the event, closing the programme of conferences and round tables.

Sponsorship and institutional support

The event was sponsored by different companies and institutions. In the Platinum category: ASCÉNDER, BOSCH, FLUGE Audiovisuales, Grupo MARVA, Montoro OR, Ondoan, On Site, S.L. and Panasonic Connect. In the Gold category: AURMAN, BIDICO, Extreme Networks, IberStand, Grupo Iruña, Master Silla, Premium and Telesonic. In the category of collaborators: CONTRASTE, Grupo Alse, Grupo Intermedio, IDOM, ISS, Kaiku Café Latte and Xeria. The media partners of the event were Grupo Punto MICE and Eventoplus. The conference also had several institutional sponsors: the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, the City Council of Bilbao, the City Council of Barakaldo and the Chamber of Commerce of Bilbao.

Information on the conference is available on the website www.congresoafeapce.com including the programme of contents, parallel activities, forms of participation, sponsorships and practical information, among others.

The Spanish Conference Centre Association (APCE) was founded in 1995 to implement common actions aimed at enhancing the value of Conference Centres as a physical space and organisational structure, which acts as the backbone of conference and meeting tourism in Spain. It also seeks to enable the exchange of experiences and ideas, as well as to draw up proposals and agreements with the administrations. They are currently members of the Association of 33 Conference Centres.

The Spanish Trade Fair Association (AFE) is a non-profit organisation that was established in 1964, currently has 39 associate members and represents the trade fair sector in Spain and internationally. In terms of trade fair activity, Spain is among the leading countries in Europe, along with Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.