Back to major, engaging face to face meetings

Several big annual conferences – such as SIFO, World Routes, SIAARTI ICare, SIOT Special Issue -were realised full in person, marking how F2F meetings are valued by participants and sponsors.

Several annual scientific congresses are planned for the last part of the year in full open or hybrid format. Some of them have been recently held registering success in attendance, in sponsorship but overall in the satisfaction of speakers and attendees to meet face-to-face again.

The SIFO National Congress 2021 (the Italian Society of Hospital Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Services of Healthcare Companies) was successfully held as much awaited in person event in Rome from 14 to 17 October. The response was beyond expectations with over 1,500 participants, a large presence of young professionals, +100 sponsors, an exhibition area of ??over 700 square meters with over 50 stands and excellent media presence. The 4-day scientific program was rich in content with 8 main sessions, 16 focus sessions in 6 parallel break-out rooms, 23 sponsored symposia, 270 speakers, 570 e-posters, not to mention 3 webinars, organized in the run up to the event between June and July. A moment that will enter the annals of the scientific society was the Papal Audience at the Clementine Hall in the Vatican.
“A year ago when I considered proposing an in person National Congress to the Board of Directors, some thought I was a dreamer. Seeing you here today I know that we have made the right choice” said SIFO President, Dr. Arturo Cavaliere, during the Inaugural Ceremony. (read the full article)

With World Routes 2021 aviation takes off from Milan. MiCo Convention Center in Milan hosted World Routes 2021 which gathers airlines, airports and tourism organizations from all over the world, making it one of the largest events in the world for the development of air routes. Postponed from 2020, it was finally held from 10 to 12 October 2021 in Milan and was a huge success. Overall results exceeded expectations, it brought together 1,500 participants with over 5,500 one-to-one meetings being held. AIM Group has has been involved at every stage of the project providing consultancy and project management from the conception of the event in 2018 when Milan was put in the running as the host city. The focus of the three-day event, attended by 125 arilines, was on the actions to be taken to accelerate the recovery in aviation. AIM Group also managed the social program which included the Welcome Reception in Piazza Città di Lombardia, the spectacular Networking Evening in the beautiful courtyard of the Castello Sforzesco. (read the full article)

For the 75th National Congress ICARE 2021, SIAARTI (the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Intensive Care and Resuscitation) held one of the biggest scientific events with an impressive in-person audience in grand style in the beautiful city of Rome. AIM Group, which has been collaborating with the scientific association for several years, managed the entire organization of the event held from 14 to 16 October. The spacious and cutting-edge Rome Convention Center La Nuvola, hosted the in-person event which had a record turnout of +2,900 participants far exceeding expectations. These attendance levels were 70% more than those estimated, confirming that anaesthesiologists and resuscitators, who are at the forefront of the pandemic, had a great need to come together and value face-to-face discussions. Over the three days, 306 speakers delivered rich scientific content. Many themes were related to the Covid experience, presented in a vast array of different formats including: 10 keynote lectures, 66 parallel sessions, 5 interactive workshops, 13 meetings dedicated to postgraduates and new specialists, 12 meet-the-expert sessions and 42 sponsored symposia. All the content of the scientific sessions was published on the platform to be consulted on demand. (read the full article)

The annual congress of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics (SIOT) usually attracts a large number of participants, over 3,000 which is quite a high number during a pandemic with all the distancing requirements involved. It was decided to postpone the national congress to 2022 and create a special compact in-person event for 2021.

The 4-day meeting was maintained but the format was simplified concentrating the discussion on the most important and current issues in a single plenary room, instead of the 9/10 parallel sessions held in breakout rooms. It also involved online streaming of the sessions.

The response was enthusiastic: 1,400 in-person participants registered in Rome which was far above the expected 700. This reflected the desire of physicians to meet again and to discuss face to face. With the realisation of a large exhibition area and 45 sponsors, companies were also very satisfied. (read the full article)