The Professional Conference Organisers Association challenged the events industry to accept “Anything is Possible” at the 12th annual PCOA conference held at ICC Sydney, December 2019.
Barry Neame, president of the PCO Association said based on delegate feedback so far, the PCOA19 conference was an outstanding success.
He mentioned at the closing session that we “should all be proud” of what we have achieved over the past few days as part of the business events sector that is worth over $38 billion dollars to the Australian economy.
The PCOA19 conference was opened by a very powerful “Acknowledgement to Country” by Kari Group performing two thought provoking aboriginal songs.
In keeping with the PCOA19 conference theme “Anything is Possible”, PCOA did things differently and for the first time featured dual tag-team MC’s. Two of the most accomplished and respected MC / speaker / facilitators on the Australian conference circuit, Amanda Stevens and Andrew Klein. The pair proved themselves to be not only skilful MC’s but also expert presenters with a deep knowledge of the events industry.
The ICC Sydney embraced the theme “Anything is Possible”. The Audio-Visual Services team nailed their delivery of the PCOA19 conference.
The world-class technology that ICC have invested heavily in, and the thoughtful deployment of technology used created a brilliant, seamless theatrical experience for PCOA19 attendees.
Far from a run-of-the-mill program PCOA took an overall more risky approach with a number of “silent session” workshops that saw attendees wearing headphones and having the ability to switch between two speakers talking simultaneously on the same stage.
Andrew Klein facilitated the popular PCOA Think Tank session – ‘Anything is Possible’. In this session we threw out the powerpoint and the speaker! This collaborative session was based around the concept of crowdsourcing and rely on ‘user-generated content’ to design a presentation and set of takeouts that everyone can have input into and benefit from. It was an opportunity for discussion around those burning industry issues!
For the first time a Networking Lunch for only PCO’s & In-House managers was introduced to the conference program. Over 90 attendees were treated to a gourmet lunch while Andrew Klein presented “Life’s a Pitch”.
ICC Sydney continued to wow attendees with their amazing showcase of culinary wonders throughout the three days.
We heard from the likes of opening speaker; Amna Karra-Hassan present The Lived Experience. -Amna’s inspirational story through adversity, hope and achieving the “impossible”.
Tahira Endean, Head of Events, Site Global shared her findings on The Future of Incentives – Trends and research from SITE Global.
One of Australia’s most recognisable media figures, Osher Günsberg shared his journey of overcoming significant challenges around addiction and mental health during his presentation, Anything is Possible – The Inspirational – Back after a break.
The exhibition floor saw the introduction of the Speakers Corner, an area within the exhibition floor space available to Speakers to interact with attendees after their presentation.
Places filled quickly for the opportunity to be a part of one of the two Intimate Group lunch’s hosted on the exhibition floor by featured speakers Cameron Little and Lucy Bloom.
At the conclusion of day one delegates were entertained by Sam Higginson at the Welcome Reception that was hosted throughout the 60-booth trade exhibition space.
Starships proved to be a popular choice for the PCOA networking event on the Monday evening. Delegates appreciated the relaxing cruise on the magical Sydney Harbour while being entertained by a DJ.
Join us for the 13th Annual PCOA Conference and Exhibition, to be held at The Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart, 6 – 8 December 2020
