The 2023 ABPCO Excellence
Awards, which took place on Friday 8 December, saw association and not for
profit event professionals gather at P&J Live in Aberdeen to celebrate
success, creativity and excellence across a range of event related award
categories.
The winners were:
- Best Event by an
Association Events Team: RenewableUK
- Best Event by an Agency
PCO: TFI Lodestar
- Best Event by an in-house PCO:
RenewableUK
- Best EDI at a
Conference: Commended - Salvesen Mindroom and EICC
- Industry Supplier of the
Year: Whitespace XPO
- Legacy and Impact: Visit
Belfast
- The Partnership
Award: BritSpine Back Health Day by Mosaic Events, UK Spine Societies
Board, Versus Arthritis and Glasgow Convention Bureau.
- The Rising Star Award:
Malwina Soltys, Alzheimer’s Research
- The Guiding Star
Award: Elaine Miller, EICC
- The Sustainability
Award: British Society for Rheumatology
- Barbara Calderwood, MCI
Group, who was recognised for her Outstanding Contribution to the
Industry.
“As the year
comes to a close, it was incredible to see so much talent and creativity
gathered together in one place to celebrate a fantastic 2023 for the
association event industry,” commented Emma Duffy, ABPCO co-chair. “Each
year these awards grow, not just in size but also quality of entries.
2023 was no exception, creating a real challenge for the judges, who saw a wide
variety of solutions that demonstrated not just excellence but innovation,
professional delivery and collaborative working.”
During the
event, attendees experienced a city tour, venue tour, taste of Aberdeen
networking, and an education session looking at how AI could be integrated into
future event organising. This included special guest, Felipe Meneguzzi,
Professor and Chair of Computing Science at the University of Aberdeen and
Executive Councillor at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial
Intelligence (AAAI). The panel discussion also featured: Samantha Shamkh
from ExCeL London, Adam Parry from Event Tech Live and Adam Baggs from Soaring
Worldwide. Welcome drinks also took place for first timers.
During the
event £1,140 was raised on behalf of industry charity, Meeting Needs.
The 2023 ABPCO
Excellence Awards were hosted by P&J Live who worked closely with Visit
Aberdeenshire to showcase everything the venue and destination have to
offer. Other partners were: ACC Liverpool, Abstract Events, Cvent, ExCeL
London, Full Circle Events and Exhibitions Ltd, Harrogate Convention Centre,
ICC Birmingham, James Hallam, Lime Venue Portfolio, Manchester Central, Memcom,
Northstar Meetings Group, Nottingham Venues, Sage ICC, Soaring Worldwide,
Telford International Centre, Visit Belfast and Whitespace XPO.
Sarah Byrne,
ABPCO co-chair concludes: “This event could not have succeeded without the
support of our sponsors and partners, in particular P&J Live, who welcomed
us to their incredible venue and city. Well done to the winners and thank
you to all those who put themselves forward. Being judged by your peers
is no easy thing but it is a testament to the ABPCO community that so many are
willing to share their successes, best practice and knowledge, allowing the
industry to learn and grow together.”
The 2024 ABPCO
Excellence Award will take place on 13th December in
Blackpool. On 29th and 30th April, 2024 ABPCO will
host its annual Festival of Learning at SEC Glasgow. Further details can
be found via www.abpco.org
