2014年4月23日 星期三

Professional Conference Organizer (PCO) | 會議管理顧問

Before talking about PCO, you may have a big question mark around your head about the “C”.

What is the difference between a CONGRESS and a CONFERENCE?

We invite the most reputed meeting association - ICCA, to answer!
Please find the definition at ICCA FAQ.
Here are some key points for your quick review:

CONGRESS
- Delegates: regular coming together on a representational basis of several hundreds of individuals
- Purpose: often convened to discuss a particular subject.
- Frequency: either multiannual (more likely international)or annual (rather national)
- Length: often last several days with several simultaneous sessions

CONFERENCE
- Delegates: participatory; not so representational
- Purpose: designed for discussion, fact-finding, problem solving and consultation; smaller in scale and more select in character; tend to facilitate the exchange of information
- Frequency: no special connotation as to frequency
- Length: not inherently limited in time, conferences are usually of limited duration with specific objectives

We would like to add one more C: CONVENTION, which is used interchangeable to Conference, but more “fun” gathering.

I want my conference room to look like this.
Source: hello sandwich 

在我們開始說明PCO之前,你或許會對"會議"的英文名稱感到些許困惑。

到底Congress跟Conference有什麼不同呢?

我們有請國際有名的會議協會 ICCA 來回答,在他們網站的FAQ中有清楚的說明。摘錄如下:

CONGRESS 代表會議
- 參加者:經由成千上百的個人推選出來的代表,定期出席
- 目    的:通常都是針對特定主題作討論
- 頻    率:多年一次 (通常是國際性的) 或是 每年一次 (通常是全國性的)
- 長    度:持續幾天,且同時有多場會議一起進行

CONFERENCE 會議
- 參加者:自由參加的;沒有代表性
- 目    的:可以是討論、發掘事實、解決問題、顧問性質;規模上較小,也會協助訊息的交換
- 頻    率:沒有定期
- 長    度:基本上沒有時間限制,但通常特定目的都是有期限的

另外,我們也想再分享另一個會議CONVENTION,這跟Conference其實算是同義字,但通常指的是主題較為輕鬆的會議。


Now, you know what you are after and then, usually, an international-level or even national-level conference with 100 persons above will demand a PCO, us!  We are intermediaries working on behalf of buyers -- you! PCOs are known as independent, specialist meetings planners who work on a consultancy basis, being temporarily hired by associations and companies to organize a specific event or series of events.

現在您了解了會議的不同,接著您就需要我們這樣的PCO,尤其是國際性甚至是全國性一百人以上的會議。PCO是站在買家 – 也就是您的立場做一個媒介;是獨立、專業的會議策劃者,可說是為特定事件或一連串活動而被協會或公司所臨時雇用的顧問。

Conneq Boardroom Australian Interior Design Awards                                  TECHO
Source: gallery

Not only conference planning or executive does a PCO matter, but well connections to venue, facilitation, travel agent, or so suppliers would make a PCO more valuable to your events. This is important because the details of an event are far more than everyone can image but only a PCO with more good connections can assist you in these aspects in a more efficient and economic way. Furthermore, in our experience, choosing a PCO is like choosing a partner. The chosen PCO will do better and the association and company will satisfy if their backgrounds and tastes can match each other. In other words, you may find disappointed when a PCO experienced in fashion show cannot catch your event demand for scientists.

除了會議規劃與執行,PCO跟其他供應商 (如場地、設備、旅行社等) 的關係越好,越能對您的活動提供價值。這很重要是因為一個活動的細節比一般人想像的還多,但擁有更多合作關係的PCO可以在這些問題上用更有效率且經濟的方式協助。此外,我們的經驗告訴我們,選擇PCO跟選擇另一半很像,如果PCO的背景與調性符合該協會或公司性質,通常PCO的表現都比較好,協會/公司也會更滿意。換句話說,如果一個專長在時尚秀的會議顧問,可能無法滿足參與者是科學家的活動。

 solar energy, solar eco-skin, taichung convention center, taichung, convention center, taiwan, MAD architects, natural ventilation, natural daylight
Source: inhabitat 

※ Reference ※
Conferencing & Business Events, Malcolm Auld Direct 2001.




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