Milan will host the World Conference on Earthquake Engineering 2024. AIM Group was one of the promoters of the candidacy

A close collaboration and a creative approach between the academic world, engineering companies, the city and the PCO guaranteed the success of this bid.

Milan will host the 2024 edition of the World Conference in Earthquake Engineering (WCEE). This is the most important international scientific conference in the field of seismic engineering which is held every four years with about 5,000 expected delegates in Milan. All of those involved in the Milan bid to host this prestigious event were delighted to hear the news.

From the candidacy to the conference management

It was the real team effort, which determined the success of the bid. Strong synergies were created by bringing together, the two academic associations: Anidis (Italian National Association of Seismic Engineering) and ISI (Italian Seismic Engineering), the corporate sector as well as AIM Group International, that specialises in international conferences management for more than 60 years. The support of the Eucentre Foundation (European Center for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering) was also fundamental, as well as the involvement of the local institutions, MiCo Convention Center, the location which will host the event, and major companies active in the field of earthquake engineering in Italy.

The 59 national delegates of the countries that constitute the IAEE (International Association for Earthquake Engineering) voted online and chose the city of Milan, competing against strong bids from Montreal (Canada), Lyon (France), New Delhi (India) and Auckland (New Zealand). The congress will return to Italy from 30 June to 5 July 2024, 51 years since it was celebrated in Rome in 1973.

A creative approach on conference bid strategy

“We are really happy with this result, which confirms that Italy represents an excellence in the international scientific scenario and a reliable conference destination. We worked with great commitment on this project, designing an innovative and creative bid dossier. Our Group has believed in this ambitious project from the beginning and has invested in a long process that led us to this important acquisition” explains Flaminia Roberti, Global Sales Director of AIM Group International.

“Normally we were due to present our bid during the 2020 edition of WCEE which was due to take place in Japan. Due to the pandemic, that congress was postponed to 2021 and the presentation of the bid was moved online” says Marica Motta, Sales Operation Coordinator of AIM Group International. “We decided to create a website-event www.wcee2024.it to profile the entire project. An emotional and motivational video produced ad hoc explained to the delegation the strong desire of the City to welcome delegates to the city. It also included a series of video support messages from international key opinion leaders and  important institutional endorsements (Lombardy Region, Civil Protection, Mayor of Milan, National Council of Engineers) and a long list of 75 supporting sponsors (representing associations and companies)”.

This communication strategy struck a chord with the IAEE Board. Other distinguishing features included technical visits to the behind the scenes construction of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and to the exceptional Shake Lab of the EuCenter Foundation.

Looking to the future in-person conferences 

“At a time of great difficulty that hit the meetings industry hard, we are concentrating all our efforts on innovation to support companies and associations in the digital transformation that can give continuity to their educational and social initiatives. This victory galvanizes us: we look to the future with optimism, waiting for putting our passion back into the organisation of big events with our cities as the ideal stage” concludes Flaminia Roberti.