IMEX 2024
‘It’s time to make an Impact!’
At IMEX 2023, 11,764 participants from 150 countries attended 57,700 pre-arranged appointments - 57,700 opportunities to talk about impactful events. Photo: IMEX Group
At IMEX 2023, 11,764 participants from 150 countries attended 57,700 pre-arranged appointments - 57,700 opportunities to talk about impactful events. Photo: IMEX Group
"Impact" is the talking point of the IMEX 2024 trade fair. From May 14 to 16, 2024, the focus in halls 8 and 9 at Messe Frankfurt will be on meaningful business events with a positive impact. It is an opportunity for event professionals to get involved. The She Means Business conference is playing its part.
The IMEX Group's guiding theme for 2024/2025 is "Impact". Business events should develop their positive impact in the course of sustainable transformation and event professionals should receive the necessary support for this at this year’s IMEX in Frankfurt from May 14 to 16, 2024. The show offers the ideal platform for this. After all, 11,764 participants from 150 countries met at IMEX in Frankfurt am Main last year. They arranged 57,700 appointments in advance, that's 57,700 planned opportunities for good business and discussions, plus innumerable meetings at the stands and in the corridors of Halls 8 and 9 at Messe Frankfurt.
"By choosing impact as our Talking Point for 2024, we're sending out a timely and important call to our global industry, and we're excited to see how our community will choose to contribute," explains Carina Bauer on the guiding theme for the next two years. The CEO of the IMEX Group adds: "Intention is one thing, but action is everything – it's time to make a bigger, more positive impact." She emphasizes the "act" in "impact". For the trade fair organizer, this is tantamount to a call to the event industry to tackle the major problems facing our planet and our society. To this end, IMEX wants to invite those responsible for events to make an impact through their personal and professional actions.
Foto: IMEX Group
„Intention is one thing, but action is everything – it’s time to make a bigger, more positive Impact.”
Carina Bauer, CEO IMEX Group
New impact formats
As a topic of discussion, Impact will link the 150 sessions of the Education Program and will have its own track alongside the six tracks Business Practices, Event Marketing, Experience Design, Technology & Innovation, Trends & Research and Wellbeing. "Impact is the opportunity to make a difference in what's often a complicated world. The ripple effect of impact can be far-reaching, with results seen immediately or the seeds sown for the future," affirms Tahira Endean, Head of Programming at the IMEX Group. In addition to the "Impact Track" for further training, the new "Impact Zone" in Hall 9 is intended for co-creation. In the Impact Panels, current challenges will be discussed and solutions and best practices identified. Impact keynotes provide impetus for change, while the Tough Talks address taboo topics.
Dr. Michaela Hölz from Hoelz Consulting, for example, will talk about "Shaping the future: IDGs (Inner Development Goals) and holistic sustainability in the MICE industry" and Sabine Böhling from sb2 Concepts on "The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) in event planning!". Karin Ruppert, organizational consultant and CEO of the non-profit association She Means Community, and Carsten Fuchs, Managing Director of Fuchs von Morgen, will talk about "The future is made of courage!".
The impact formats at IMEX 2024
Like last year, the Impact Academy will take place on the day before IMEX, May 13, 2024. Photo: MICE Impact
- Impact Track: Education sessions with presentations and panels on the topic of impact
- Tough Talks: topics that are rarely discussed in public
- Impact Zone: a new co-creation and workshop area in Hall 9
- Impact Panels: Stakeholders discuss challenges, solutions and best practices
- Impact Keynotes: Presentations that broaden perspectives and inspire change
- Young Stars: a new format for the next generation of the industry
On May 13, 2024, the day before IMEX, the second MICE Impact Academy will take place at memox.world at the Taunusanlage in Frankfurt. The exclusive format for event planners will offer an afternoon of education and co-creation. The topics will range from social innovation and the circular economy to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Inner Development Goals. "We shed light on the prerequisites for change – on a social, entrepreneurial and personal level. What drives us? What gives us meaning?" says Tanja Knecht, founder of MICE Impact, describing the concept. These topics will be addressed by various exhibitors, for example at the stand of Wiesbaden Congress & Marketing. "The Sustainable Development Goals provide us with an important framework for how sustainable goals can be achieved," says authorized signatory Christiane Seelgen. At IMEX, the Wiesbaden-based company wants to show how it is implementing individual SDG goals with its sustainability manager at the RheinMain CongressCenter and Kurhaus Wiesbaden, and what significance this has in the event industry. Seelgen: "The implementation of the sustainability goals will be very much in focus for companies and agencies now, especially in view of the EU's upcoming sustainability reporting obligation (CSRD)."
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She Means Business: SDG 5
The United Nations' sustainability development goal number five is gender equality – but no country in the world has yet achieved it. It will take another 169 years to close the gap in economic participation and opportunities, writes the World Economic Forum in its current Global Gender Gap Report 2023. The accompanying conference "She Means Business – A conversation for all", an event organized by the IMEX Group and tw tagungswirtschaft with the support of MPI – Meeting Professionals International, is all about diversity, gender equality and female empowerment.
She Means Business 2024 (Oecan room, inspiration hub, hall 9)
- 14 May 2024, 11:30hrs: AI: Women unlock new dimensions, supported by CCH – Congress Center Hamburg
- 14 May 2024, 15:00hrs: Equal pay for equal work – women need to negotiate!
- 14 May 2024, 16:00hrs: #Pinkhour, a reception for females only at tw booth G510, supported by Messe Stuttgart
- 15 May 2024, 11:30hrs: Ladies’ choice: Women seek conversation with men about diversity and gender equality, supported by NürnbergConvention
- 16 May 2024, 11:30hrs: Climate change: Women fighting carbon emissions, supported by Stuttgart Convention Bureau
As diversity and gender parity can only be achieved together, in the session "Ladies' choice: women seek conversation with men about diversity and gender equality" Oana Cipca, Senior Business Development Manager at MECC Maastricht, will be in conversation with Wolfgang Marzin, President and CEO of Messe Frankfurt, and Inge Huijbrechts, Global Senior Vice President Sustainability Security and Corporate Communication at the Radisson Hotel Group, with Neil Heinisch, Co-Founder and CEO of PlaytheHype, HypeMakers. The session will be moderated by Karin Ruppert from She Means Community and sponsored by NürnbergConvention. "Equal pay for equal work: Women need to negotiate" will be discussed by Regina Mehler from 1st Row & Women Speaker Foundation and Fay Sharpe from Fast Forward 15 with Pia Such, Event Manager at Blue Scope Berlin.
“I am speaking at She Means Business 2024 because I firmly believe that achieving gender equality and embracing inclusion is not just a moral imperative but also an economic necessity.”
Oana Cipca, Senior Business Development Manager at MECC Maastricht and Founder of Women in Exhibitions
Two topics where women belong at the table are artificial intelligence and climate change. In the panel "AI: Women unlock new dimensions", Felicia Asiedu, Marketing Director at Cvent and Co-Founder Diverse Speaker Bureau, Sina Bünte, Hybrid and Digital Events Expert, IUCN, Tabea Glindemann, Intelligence Architect at Birds on Mars and Jessie States, Vice President of the MPI Academy, will make this clear. The session is supported by the CCH – Congress Center Hamburg. In the panel "Climate change: Women fighting carbon emissions", Claudia Krause, Head of CSR and Account Director at Vok Dams, Prof. Dr. Kim Werner, Professor of Event Management at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, and Samantha Glass, Director of Corporate Affairs, Communication and Sustainability at ICC Sydney, will discuss with the audience and Kerstin Wünsch, Editor-in-Chief of tw tagungswirtschaft and Co-Founder of She Means Business.
I am speaking at She Means Business 2024 because …
Felicia Asiedu
Marketing Director for Europe at Cvent and Co-Founder, Diverse Speaker Bureau, speaks in the session “AI: Women unlock new dimensions” on 14 May 2024 at 11:30hrs. “I am speaking at She Means Business 2024 because I am passionate about bridging the gap between representation and leadership roles, ensuring that women have equal and equitable opportunities to lead. Through allyship and advocacy we can drive positive change; cultivating a culture of support and inclusion, set new industry standards and create pathways for women to lead.”
Oana Cipca
Senior Business Development Manager at MECC Maastricht and Founder of Women in Exhibitions International, speaks in the session “Ladies’ choice: “Women seek conversation with men” on 15 May 2024 at 11:30hrs. “I am speaking at She Means Business 2024 because I firmly believe that achieving gender equality and embracing inclusion is not just a moral imperative but also an economic necessity. It's crucial for fostering innovation, driving productivity, and creating a more just and inclusive society where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive.”
Claudia Krause
Head of CSR & Account Director at Vok Dams Group, speaks in the session “Climate change: Women fighting carbon emissions” on 16 May 2024 at 11:30hrs.
“I am speaking at She Means Business 2024 because equality is a crucial factor for success, especially in our MICE industry. The exchange on a professional and emotional level in our daily environment is based on an unconditional, barrier-free mindset. To be perceived by a wider audience, we need platforms like She Means Business. A perfect stage to serve as a role model for others.”
The sessions in the Ocean Room in the Inspiration Hub are open to all participants. Men are expressly invited – with the exception of the "Pink hour" at the tw tagungswirtschaft stand G510 in Hall 8. The networking event is reserved for women who want to meet "among themselves" and wear a pink accessory. Messe Stuttgart supports the Pink hour "because it's a great campaign," explains Stefanie Kromer. The Director of Communications and company spokesperson adds: "The event industry is predominantly female. This is also the case at Messe Stuttgart. The Pink hour makes this visible – visually and thematically." She knows that women are among the top hosts for people from all over the world, but female qualifications still receive too little attention. Messe Stuttgart is working to change this. "We recently appointed an Equal Opportunities Officer who is specifically tasked with encouraging women to take up management jobs," informs Stefanie Kromer. She and her colleagues would like to discuss their initial experiences and how things are going in other companies with other participants.
Pathway to a positive impact
“Our sustainability efforts at IMEX Frankfurt and also at IMEX America are part of our wider strategy to achieve a more positive impact”, classifies Carina Bauer the topic of impact. “As we make more progress over time, success comes from focusing on some of the fine details while looking at every decision we make through a green, lower carbon lens.” Just in time for the show in Frankfurt, the IMEX Group has published its second Sustainable Event Report to record and share its progress. “It’s an opportunity to share our successes and our challenges with the wider industry so that they can take what we’ve learned and weave these into their own events,” Bauer underlines.
For example, water consumption at IMEX 2023 increased by only one percent compared to 2022, even though 26 percent more visitors attended. This result is a success of Messe Frankfurt's sustainable operations management. "Messe Frankfurt's binding ecological goal is to be climate-neutral at its home venue by 2040 at the latest. By this we mean greenhouse gas neutrality and the establishment of sustainable water management," explains Wolfgang Marzin, President and CEO of Messe Frankfurt. Four fully electric buses transported visitors from Messe Frankfurt to Frankfurt Central Station, saving around 103 kilograms of CO2. At the trade fair, IMEX invested in date-free signage, which will be used again this year. Wherever possible, digital displays replaced printed signs. The result is 85 percent fewer printed products compared to 2022. Progress can also be reported in the food and beverage (F&B) areas. At the trade fair's food court, 58 percent of the food sold was vegetarian or vegan. There was a significant decrease of 38 percent in disposable, build & burn stands at the exhibition compared to 2019. The IMEX team is promoting this development as part of the Better Stands initiative by classifying the degree of reuse of stand materials. As a signatory to the industry-wide Net Zero Carbon Events (NZCE), the IMEX Group has now presented its Net Zero Roadmap and set itself the goal of net zero by 2030, 20 years ahead of the initiative's target date. Carina Bauer: “This roadmap is just one element in our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy, and an expression of our vision: a thriving global events industry focused on positive change.”
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