I was shocked with news last week that our oldest industry association, Meetings and Events Australia, announced it was going into administration and would be ceasing operation after 50 years. And I also wasn’t.
It continued to operate successfully when the Professional Conference Organisers Association (PCOA) launched over a decade ago, and it appeared likely that it would retain its membership base when the Australian Business Events Association (ABEA) started on July 1, 2023.
Many members stayed. Corporate and government sponsors apparently didn’t. And from a financial perspective, that must have been a big problem.
From what I know, when discussions first surfaced about formation of a new association that would “unite” the entire business events industry, Meetings and Events Australia was invited to join forces with ABEA.
The Association of Australian Convention Bureaux, the Exhibition and Event Association of Australia, and the lesser-known Australian Convention Centres Group, were also invited to join with ABEA, and these three organisations did. Meetings and Events Australia and the PCOA decided to forge ahead on their own.
I expect that COVID-19 and our changing working environment have had something to do with why MEA is very probably going to retire on 50 and never make that century that its founders must have once hoped for. The “new normal” in terms of work combined with a lack of financial support from the big end of town has led to what I feel is a sad day for our industry.
It’s sad because no matter what your recent relationship has been with MEA you have to give the organisation due credit for bringing our industry into the mainstream and making people sit up and take notice of the real value of meetings and events.
It was MEA who created regular networking and educational events for industry members.
It was MEA who got the Federal Tourism Minister Joe Hockey to its conference on Hamilton Island in the early 2000s. His subsequent White Paper included big chunks of the importance of business events to the Australian economy – something no minister to my knowledge had ever done before – and a commitment of government support.
It was MEA who created the first awards program for our industry that provided entrants with an opportunity to challenge themselves and their peers.
I give those who were involved in the early formation of MEA and the many who have continued to fly its flag credit for doing so.
And I wish the new breed – and the new industry body – all the best and hope that it really does create an organisation that we can all be a part of for the benefit of our exceptional sector.
By Russell Peacock