International Conference

Global Event Educators Symposium

21-24 May 2014, Indianapolis, USA

Event management is increasingly becoming recognised globally as a distinct occupation though the level of recognition varies between countries.  Practitioners and their representative associations routinely talk about ‘professionalism’ and the importance of a ‘professional workforce’, but these terms are rarely defined clearly.  There is an associated set of techniques advocated by professional associations and large event companies that are becoming sophisticated and designed to ensure that returns on investment accrue to those organising meetings and other planned events.   Moreover, several organisations have mapped the competencies required to be effective as an event manager and offer training programs to develop the skills base.   Little of this has been informed by academic research, grounded in theory, or influenced by the thinking of academics.

Educators have also experienced an explosion of interest from potential students who are keen to gain qualifications to enter this occupation (or profession).  There has been a corresponding expansion of events courses as well as the development of a community of scholars who define themselves wholly or partly in relation to their teaching and/or research on planned events.  In spite of an overt vocational focus, there has been little engagement with practitioners on what might represent a research agenda for the field or how industry might articulate with events educators in other ways.   For many, such conversations would open new avenues of research and strengthen the value of programs.  Others would consider such developments intrusive.  Discussions about the strategic development of the field of study has also been limited; questions about where events should be located within universities, the extent to which new or existing subject associations might better represent the interests of events scholars have not been prominent.  This international conference provides an opportunity to explore these and related matters.

The conference will focus on issues associated with event management education, business engagement and the professionalization of event management in an international context. Topics will include, but not be limited to, the following:

·         Critical perspectives on professionalism and the professionalization of event management

·         Engaging with industry: perspectives and practices

·         Event management education

·         The politics of the events curriculum and its position within universities

·         The skills agenda

·         Finding a voice for events scholars: strategies and tactics

·         Issues of distinctiveness: sports events, cultural events, meetings and exhibitions

·         Examining the relationship between event studies and event management

Please find below the call for papers for  Association of Cultural and Digital Tourism (IACuDiT) International Conference, “Cultural and Digital Tourism”, May 30 to June 1, 2014, Athens, Greece. The deadline for abstract submission is February 23, 2014.

“Cultural tourism in a digital era”, 1^st International Conference on Cultural and Digital Tourism of the International Association of Cultural and Digital Tourism (IACuDiT).

May 30 to June 1, 2014, Athens, Greece

The 1^st International Conference on Cultural and Digital tourism , with the theme “Cultural tourism in a digital era” will provide a timely and interactive international platform for academics and industry practitioners from cultural, heritage, communication and innovational tourism backgrounds and interests to meet, discuss and debate cultural,heritage and other tourism issues that will affect the future direction of hospitality and tourism research and practice in a digital and innovational era.  The Conference is supported by the International Association of Cultural and Digital Tourism.

The Conference focuses on cultural tourism as it develops into the second decade of the new millennium. It intends to offer not only academic research presentations, but also to promote mutual dialog, interaction and understanding of various stakeholders of hospitality and tourism research outputs, including academic researchers and scholars, industry professionals, and government/quasi-government officials and other key industry practitioners who will share and highlight tourism industry trends and research gaps from a pragmatic and applied perspective. In a  globalized , digital era, nations seek to retain a sense of identity through their very unique cultures and history.

The 1^st International Conference on Cultural and Digital tourism aims to be a stimulating, challenging and informative platform, offering information and exchange of ideas about trends in all aspects of Cultural Tourism particularly in an era of major global changes. As such, in addition to academic research presentations, the Conference will feature key industry practitioners who will share and highlight industry trends and research gaps from a pragmatic and applied perspective.