Aspiring conference organisers in Southeast Asia are to be given a helping hand by the international PCO (professional congress organisers) body. An agreement has been signed between IAPCO, the international association of PCOs, and TCEB, the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau, to provide professional development training for congress organisers in the region.

“We’re excited at the prospect of interacting with industry leaders around Southeast Asia, as one of the world’s fastest-growing economic regions,” said Philippe Fournier, president of IAPCO.  

“We’re also delighted to partner with TCEB, which itself has demonstrated its expertise in driving Thailand’s leadership and standards of excellence in the region’s events industry.”

The agreement will provide and host regional seminars from 2013 to 2015.

Akapol Sorasuchart, TCEB president, underlined the importance of the deal: “We expect the forthcoming economic integration within ASEAN in 2015 to drive a major expansion of the events industry in Southeast Asia and it is therefore crucial to ensure that we start now to develop world-class expertise within the region in order to meet global industry standards.

“We are therefore greatly honoured to have this opportunity to partner with IAPCO, whose world-renowned expertise and leadership in education can now help to develop the potential of conference organisers across the Southeast Asian region - in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

“We expect this partnership to make a major contribution to boosting standards of meetings, conventions, congresses and special events in Thailand and the entire Southeast Asian region.”