Edmund Wong, Director and Chief Executive Officer of Meridian Concepts Ltd.
Two extremely important professional conferences relative to their fields were hosted in Macao in mid-October and late October respectively. These two conferences were the “28th East Asian Insurance Congress” hosted by the Macau Insurers' Association, and the “Nano-medicine Conference” (IEEE- NanoMed 2016) hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The organizers of these two conferences had declared that they chose Macao to be the host city of the conferences for this year, due in part to Macao’s attractiveness stemming from the interflow between Chinese and Western cultures in addition to Macao’s distinguished cultural outlook. Additionally, the adequacy of the conference facilities allowed the participants to enjoy themselves in a comfortable conference environment permitting many opportunities for exploration. The organizers of these two conferences also praised Macao for its rapid development, indicating Macao’s future possibilities of being chosen as place where more international large-scale conferences will be hosted. A professional conference which was established more than half a century ago Hitherto, the East Asian Insurance Congress has had a history of more than 50 years. It is hosted once every two years, and in each instance one of the 12 member cities in the Asian region is selected to be the Host City upon the assessment conducted by the Executive Committee of the East Asian Insurance Congress. This year the East Asian Insurance Congress has attracted 41 countries and regions, and more than 1,600 executives and elites in the field have participated. In this way, the related field in Macao has benefited greatly. Mr. Chris Ma, Vice President of the Macau Insurers’ Association, and Chairman of the 28th East Asian Insurance Congress Organizing Committee, states that from the successful bid which took place in 2014 to the full conclusion in 2016, the businesses in the field have become more united by jointly organizing the conference, and this unity provides a solid foundation for reciprocal collaboration in the future. Mr. Chris Ma mentions that the first time the East Asian Insurance Congress was hosted in Macao was in 1998, and this year the same event was hosted in Macao again.. The organizing committee has been amazed by Macao’s improvement of infrastructure including conference facilities, hotel facilities, services, and so on. He claims that when the “19th East Asian Insurance Congress” was held in Macao in 1998, the scale of the event was limited by the venue facilities and reception capacity of hotels to a certain degree. Having developed for almost 20 years, Macao’s reception capacity and the scale of venues have extended so drastically that all the participants could have meetings and be accomodated under one roof.. In this way, the cost of transportation and human resources was lowered by a large amount, and thus the participants could spend more time on experiencing leisure and entertainment in Macao. Both Mr. Chris Ma and Zhidong Wang, Chairman of the“IEEE-NanoMed 2016”Organizing Committee, point out that the economic benefits brought up by large-scale conferences can be felt beyond the event itself. Not only have the participants been attracted to spend money in Macao, more importantly the participants will also play a role similarly to that of Macao’s promotional representatives, as they may promote Macao’s distinguished culture and attractions. This will contribute to the progression of Macao’s international image which in turn may improve tourism and economic opportunities within the community. Solid foundation for hosting large-scale conferences in Macao The successful hosting of the two conferences mentioned above is not only contingent upon the venues and facilities provided by international class hotels, but also the professionalism of the exhibition services providers in Macao. Meridian Concepts Ltd., serving as the primary provider of the “28th East Asian Insurance Congress”, has been responsible for jobs such as event planning, advertising, and reception. Edmund Wong, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, states that this professional conference has brought about remarkable effects, and Macao’s hard and soft capacities of hosting large-scale conferences are well proven. He claims that as the SAR government has been making efforts over the years, Macao’s conference facilities and reception capacity have been among the best in the world. Additionally, Macao’s cultural inclusiveness is very strong. The totality of these characteristics are Macao’s distinct advantages which can stimulate further interest in hosting international large-scale conferences. Additionally, he is satisfied with the fruitful results of this East Asian Insurance Congress, as it has not only allowed for the exchange between businesses in the field, but also many participants have even signed contracts after negotiations right in the venue. In this way, the functions of the platform of this event are fully illustrated, and the objectives of the professional conferences have been fulfilled. Large-scale exhibition events coming soon From December this year to January 2017, exhibition events will take place in Macao consecutively as usual. Those events include the “15th Hong Kong Jeunesse University and Greater China Fifth Anniversary Conference”, of which the expected scale covers more than 12,000 people, and several international professional conferences which have decided to host their events in Macao, including the “3rd Cross-strait and Hong Kong and Macao Regional Nursing Summit and Symposium”, “CMS 2016 Annual Business Summary Conference”, and the “10th International Conference on Computational Physics”, etc. For details, please visit the official website of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute: http://www.ipim.gov.mo.
