AIPC - the International Association of Congress Centres, in conjunction with the IMEX Group, has chosen five aspiring convention center managers to receive a scholarship to participate in the 2012 AIPC Academy.

"AIPC sees professional development as a key part of our association mandate, and the investment we have made in creating the AIPC Academy as one of the most highly regarded educational programs in the industry is evidence of this,” said AIPC President Edgar Hirt.

Eleven destination marketing organizations have achieved accreditation from Destination Marketing Association International‘s Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP).

The accreditation program is designed to recognize DMOs that meet or exceed industry standards.

"Congratulations to these eleven destinations for receiving their DMAP accreditation," said James T. Wood, chair of DMAP and president and CEO of the Louisville CVB.

The International Association of Exhibitions and Events is off to a positive start, raising $1 million for its public relations campaign to increase awareness about the long-term benefits of face-to-face exhibitions and events.

The goal of the PR campaign is to tell the industry’s story, as well as give support to continue to bolster the trade show industry’s reputation as the No. 1 place to bring buyers and sellers together to conduct business.

The International Association of Exhibitions and Events has entered into a reciprocity agreement with the Shanghai Convention & Exhibition Industries Association, providing additional global opportunities for IAEE and SCEIA members to connect to develop new exhibitions and face-to-face events.

"We are very enthusiastic about entering into this agreement with our friends and colleagues at SCEIA, and offer a new benefit and community for IAEE members,” said IAEE President Steven Hacker.

The Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute’s Expo Pack Mexico is getting a major vote of confidence from companies interested in the show, with 90 percent of the exhibit space being booked seven months out.

The event will be held June 26-29 at Centro Banamex, Mexico City, and the high demand for the space several months before the show opens “clearly demonstrates exhibitor confidence in the market,” said José Martínez, Latin American office director for show owner and producer PMMI.

The Virtual Edge Institute’s Virtual Edge Summit 2012, on tap Jan. 9-11 at the San Diego Convention Center, has unveiled a robust education program on everything a show organizer needs to know on virtual and hybrid events, with 80 speakers and 30 sessions.

The theme of the summit, “Accelerate: knowledge. strategy. results”, will focus on presenting digital solutions for meetings, events, learning, training and community and feature speakers from companies such as 3M, Cisco Systems, Herbalife, HIMSS, IBM, Intel Corporation, Microsoft, VMWare, and Xerox.

Individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the exhibitions and events industry have been named by the International Association of Exhibitions & Events and will be feted at the organization’s upcoming Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition Dec. 6-8 in Las Vegas.

The IAEE Individual Awards winners includes Gary Sain, president and CEO of Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, who will receive Chariman’s Award, given to someone whose assistance to the IAEE chairman has been meritorious.

The Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show, owned by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and held Oct. 17-20 in Toronto, not only scored a 10-percent increase in attendance, compared with its 2009 event, but it also debuted a larger showfloor, sold out its conference and had 80 percent renewals for the next show.

All of these successes reflect the growing optimism of the Canadian manufacturing industry in general, according to CMTS show organizers.

For the fourth time since its founding in 1925, UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry headed to Valencia, Spain, for its annual Congress.

As a founding member of UFI in 1925, Feria Valencia hosted UFI’s annual Congress in 1933, 1949, 1992 and most recently Nov. 9-12.

The Food Processing Suppliers Association’s 2011 Process Expo closed its show, which ran Nov. 1-4 at Chicago’s McCormick Place, with not only a 14-percent attendance uptick in international attendance, compared with the 2010 show, but also a record-breaker.

The largest overseas delegations came from Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Germany.

It wasn’t just international attendance that saw a spike though, the overall number of attendees and exhibit floor also grew, according to FPSA officials.