A more interactive conference with members putting forward their views rather than listening to “industry experts” is being planned by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE)
for its London global conference. One of the innovations is the idea of a Moot Court - a mock court where people argue the pros and cons of an issue - at which members could debate topical matters affecting travel management.
Susan Gurley, ACTE's executive director and a former assistant dean at Georgetown University Law Center, told BTE the Moot Court concept “would help travel managers present their case and make them able to influence more aggressively their corporate.
“Our aim is to give the travel managers the tools to influence higher levels in their corporate.”
Ms Gurley who joined ACTE in April said the three-day event, Beyond Barriers - Creating Solutions on October 23-25 at the Hilton Metropole London would also look at penetrating new markets and corporate social responsibility.
On the first issue, Ms Gurley said sessions would look at “how to grow the market in a new area, the legal issues, the cultural norms you would have to look out for , regulatory issues and any other the differences.”
Markets likely to be looked at include the Middle East, China and Eastern Europe. The people presenting these talks are likely to be those who have worked in these areas and who pass on the lessons they learned including both their successes and their mistakes.
Ms Gurley said corporate social responsibility was one of ACTE's three task force initiatives (the others are security and contagion). She said it was the subject that members most raised with her without her having to bring it up.
She said the idea was that ACTE could create a data bank of corporate social responsibility where members could see what other companies had done and what was best practice.
“People feel isolated on this issue. They don't know if it will be accepted by their shareholders. They need the support of other companies,” Ms Gurley said.
About 800 people are expected to attend the event next month with an estimated 55% from Europe, 30% from North America and up to 15% from Asia and Africa.