AIBTM, The Americas Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (www.aibtm.com), has released full details of their Education Day program, which will include 30 hours of CEU-accredited sessions. The program offers over 30 different sessions that are designed to support meetings industry professionals in “defining the future of meetings… together.”

J. Walker Smith, principal of The Futures Company, will kick off the show with a keynote address discussing the demonstrable value of face-to-face relationships in the current ‘kinship economy’, despite an increasingly digital age. Walker Smith will present at 11:30am on Tuesday, June 11th at AIBTM’s welcome luncheon.

The sessions following the keynote will continue its momentum by focusing on the prevalence of technology within the industry. Session titles include “What’s Your Sway Factor? Learn the Art of International Social Networking for Career Success” (Tuesday, June 11th at 9am), delivered by Sima Dahl, Founder of Parley Communications. Dahl will present a three-step Sway Factor system for social networking success based on a framework designed to aid the creation of a strong personal brand, raise visibility and uncover career opportunities.

The second keynote session, “Rocking the Workplace: Managing and Leading the Four Generations” (Wednesday, June 12th at 8.30am), will be led by Seth Mattison, expert on the Millennial generation and featured speaker with BridgeWorks. Mattison will present fresh research and case studies that highlight what it takes to attract and retain the best and brightest talent of every age as well as sharing information on managing the differences between younger and older generations.

AIBTM will also run a dedicated education stream examining the relationship between meeting productivity and food. Rebecca Katz, Executive Chef at The Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s Food As Medicine Training Program will lead “Brain Food” (Tuesday, June 11th at 10am), which will educate attendees on how to make smart choices to promote brain health, enhancing memory and mood. This will be complemented by “Brain Power” (Tuesday, June 11th at 2pm), an interactive session led by Dianne Devitt, President, the DND Group and advocate for creativity and wellness in events and meetings and Cynthia Ackrill, M.D., Human Performance Consultant, Coach, and Speaker President of WellSpark, looking at how effectively styled meetings and events experiences can enhance brain power.

Another key theme for AIBTM 2013 is event architecture, which will incorporate topics such as promoting attendee engagement at events, and what the future holds for meetings. PCMA’s “The Corporate Meeting Planner of the Future” (Tuesday June 11th, 10am) will explore ways to enhance strategic value as a meeting planner in a corporate environment, followed by Greg Fuson, Principal of Artful Engagement leading “The Art of Engagement,” sponsored by etouches, who will look at ways in which engagement can be built into meetings through purpose and personality.

AIBTM works with a range of association partners who each contribute to the education program. ACTE will kick off the association education sessions this year with “How to Navigate the World of Global Travel Management” (Tuesday, June 11th at 9am), a workshop designed to explain the complex world of global travel management.

ICCA will then begin their sessions with “Understanding the North American Meetings Buyer” (Tuesday, June 11th at 9:30am) featuring a ‘crowd panel’ of U.S. meeting planners and ICCA members who will lead discussion on working in the North American market. The second ICCA session, “Going Global – Answers to North American Planners Toughest Questions” (Tuesday, June 11th at 2pm), will also assume an interactive format with round-table discussions between North American planners and international suppliers.

SITE will host “Buying the World: Finding and Qualifying Service Providers” (Tuesday, June 11th at 9:30am), a session exploring the issues related to entering relationships with business suppliers, and “Hosting Incentive Events at Sea - How a Cruise Ship Can Provide the Ultimate Experience” (Tuesday, June 11th at 10:30am). 

“Get Stakeholder Commitment and Measure the Business Value of Your Meetings” (Tuesday, June 11th at 10am) will be the first MPI session, looking at best practices for demonstrating the value of a measurement program, followed by “Wheel of Fortunes” (Tuesday, June 11th at 2pm), a discussion on what meetings will look like 30 years from now. 

PCMA will combine forces with the Healthcare Convention and Exhibitors Association (HCEA) to share key findings from the organization’s State of the Industry report, offering insight for medical convention organizers and exhibit marketing personnel in a session titled “Healthcare Convention Trends – What Medical Meeting Planners Need to Know” (Tuesday, June 11th at 2pm). The final PCMA session will be “Conferences and Trade Shows On the Go” (Tuesday, June 11th at 4pm). 

“Global Healthcare Compliance: The Impact on Planners and Suppliers” (Tuesday, June 11th at 4pm), sponsored by Puerto Vallarta, discusses changes to the way in which healthcare meetings planners manage data following the imposition of the Physician’s Sunshine Act.

Finally, IAEE, who is partnering with AIBTM for the first time, will host “Key Value Propositions of Exhibitions in the New Economy” (Tuesday, June 11th at 2pm), which looks at 13 future trends identified by IAEE’s Future Trends Committee. The association element of the education program will wrap up with the AIBTM “Great Association Debate” (Tuesday, June 11th at 4pm), an interactive panel debate on the future of the meetings industry moderated by Christine Duffy, CEO of CLIA. Participating in the debate will be a powerhouse line up of association CEO’s including Paul M. Van Deventer, President and Chief Executive Officer of MPI, David Dubois, CEO, of IAEE, Martin Sirk, CEO of ICCA, Deborah Sexton, President and CEO of PCMA, John Graham, CEO of ASAE, and Allison Summers, CEO of SITE.