Prague Convention Bureau for the seventh time in a row awarded the Congress Ambassadors for their contribution in the field of congress tourism. Ambassador Awards Evening ceremonial presentation, part of the Prague Convention Bureau’s Ambassador Program, took place on the premises of The Residence of the Mayor of Prague on 7th June. The event was held with the support of the City of Prague, represented by the Mayor – Mrs. Adriana Krnáčová, and the Ministry of Regional Development, represented by Minister Mrs. Karla Šlechtová. The gala evening was moderated by Veronika Paroulková.
Prague Convention Bureau has been awarding Congress Ambassadors with the greatest credit for the development of congress tourism in Prague in the previous year since 2010. The aim of the event is to award renowned Czech scientists, top experts, professors and doctors who represent the Czech Republic in international professional associations, actively lobby in favor of Prague and then participate in the preparatory work of scientific, program or organizing committees of international congresses held in Prague. The awards are also given in the category “Corporate Event of the Year”. For 2015, following Ambassadors were awarded:
- in the category “Congress of The Year 2015” – Vladimír Čermák, DrSc., Institute of Geophysics of the CAS, for 26th General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG 2015);
- in the category “Congress of the Year 2015 – less than 500 attendants” – prof. MUDr. Julius Špičák, CSc., Head of the Hepatogastroenterology Department at the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Prague, for 16th International Celiac Disease Symposium (ICDS 2015);
- in the category “Candidacy of the Year 2015” – doc. MUDr. Petra Tesařová, CSc., Oncology Clinic of the General University Hospital in Prague, and prof. Florian Lordick, MD, University Cancer Center Leipzig, for International Gastric Cancer Congress which will be held in 2019;
- in the category “Corporate Event of the Year 2015” – Saint-Gobain 350th anniversary of the Saint Gobain Czech Republic and Slovakia;
- in the category “Long-term Contribution to Congress Tourism” – prof. MUDr. Vladimír Tesař, DrSc., MBA, FERA, FASN, Head of Department of Nephrology at the General University Hospital; in Prague and the 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague;
- special prize of the Prague Congress Centre – prof. MUDr. Jan Betka, DrSc. FCMA, Head of Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and Motol University Hospital, for 3rd Congress of European Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS 2015).
“Congress tourism is one of the most profitable segments of tourism industry in the Czech Republic and thus represents a priority for us. Prague as a host city of many conferences, as well as other towns proved their educational potential on numerous occasions. Congresses also provide opportunities for getting to know the destination and tourism activities which the towns and neighbouring regions offer. Thank you all for your excellent work and for promoting the Czech Republic all around the world,” said Karla Šlechtová, Minister of Regional Development.
“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the winners and thank all of the Congress Ambassadors, who decided to devote their time to organizing congresses, and thus contributed not only to a promotion of their fields of study and researches in the world, but also supported our capital. Thanks to their effort, the 123 association meetings were held in Prague in 2015 according to the ICCA ranking, which is 4.2% more than in the previous year,” said Roman Muška, Managing Director at Prague Convention Bureau.
An independent Committee, composed of key tourism, academic as well as public sector representatives, decided about the winners in each category. The invitation to the committee was accepted by: prof. MUDr. Tomáš Zima, DrSc., MBA, Rector of the Charles University in Prague; doc. Ing. Monika Palatková, Ph.D., General Manager at CzechTourism; PhDr. Nora Dolanská, MBA, General Director at Prague City Tourism; Ing. Marta Nováková, President at Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism; and Roman Muška, Managing Director at Prague Convention Bureau.
