At the Meeting Professionals International Professional Education Conference-Europe in Copenhagen, association leadership announced a six-part strategy to become a more global organization.
The plan, designed by the Global Strategy Committee of MPI's International Board of Directors and approved by the board in late February, is expected to be executed over the next two years. It includes:
MPI now holds two PECs, one in North America and one in Europe. It plans to launch the PEC-Middle East in April 2008 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The one-day educational event will run the day before Reed Travel Exhibitions' Gulf Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition. MPI's Director of Communications Kathryn Goldstein, says the “next obvious step” will be a PEC for Asian meeting professionals.
MPI announced plans to open more regional offices, starting with a new Singapore office later this year. The Asian office will join MPI's regional offices in Canada and Luxembourg. The organization's international headquarters is in Dallas.
MPI hopes to become a resource for information on international destinations by building out the capacity of its Web site, www.mpiweb.org. Goldstein characterized the new portals as a “one-stop shop” for meeting professionals; the focus of these destination reports has not been set.
The association plans to improve its promotional efforts around CultureActive, a Web-based educational tool that gives MPI members feedback on the personal and business traits of more than 60 cultures, with the objective of developing successful intercultural relationships. MPI launched CultureActive last year but has not seen the adoption rates it was expecting.
MPI's new global strategy also calls for new trade missions to build relationships with meeting professionals around the world, and a Global Workshop Program to bring meeting education to destinations where a PEC cannot be supported.
The association expects to deliver further details on these initiatives at its upcoming World Education conference in Montréal in July.