ACCE News
Bring the world to L.A. in 2011
Alexandria, VA -
During ACCE's convention in Sacramento this year, ACCE President Mick Fleming announced ACCE's intent to make a pitch to bring the World Chambers Federation's World Chambers Congress to the United States, specifically, Los Angeles, California, in 2011. Eventhough the event is four years away, elements of the proposal to bring the Congress to the United States are already being put in place now.
ACCE and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce are working together with all the key players, including the United States Council for International Businesses; L.A. Inc., the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau; and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to present an impressive bid to the World Chambers Federation. The most recent Congress, held in Istabul this year, was already the largest chamber meeting in history, but the 2011 host committee plan calls for making it even bigger by combining the WCF event with the ACCE annual convention.
The bid process involves many steps, including a preliminary meeting with the Board of Directors of the World Chambers Federation in November 2007 and the formal bid presentation in the spring of 2008. By winning the bid for 2011, the combined conference will attract an expected 3,000 delegates from all over the world, with independent and overlapping programming of the two organizations spread over five days. It will be an unprecendented opportunity for the best minds to learn from and influence the business and community leaders with eyes, ears and voices in markets large and small.
What is needed to make a strong bid?
- Resolutions from chamber of commerce boards committing to support and attend the joint conference, along with letters to government agencies urging cooperation
- Pledges of support from major corporations (specific levels of commitment are not required until after the selection committee decision)
- Letters from governmental entities pledging their support
- Creative ideas for making a North American version of the conference especially appealing
- Volunteers to serve in a wide range of roles, ranging from program development to regional "captains" working on attendance and corporate support
Look for more details coming soon on how chambers can get involved in helping make this vision a reality.
Source: ACCE
Publication Date: September 26, 2007