Penang, Malaysia will be the destination of the next International Advertising Association (IAA) World Congress, marking the first occasion this event is held in Southeast Asia.
Scheduled to take place from 6 to 8 March 2024 in the host city of Penang, the event is jointly co-hosted by IAA Malaysia, Penang State EXCO Office for Tourism and Creative Economy (PETACE) and Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB).
An official industry networking event hosted by PETACE and PCEB was held at the Amari Spice Hotel on Thursday 15 June. In attendance was The Honorable Yeoh Soon Hin, the State Exco for Tourism and Creative Economy, Ashwin Gunasekeran, the Chief Executive Officer of PCEB, John Doody Chacko, Chairman of the 45th IAA World Congress and members of the IAA Malaysia Executive Committee including Mr. Gray Tay, Head of IAA Digital and Ms Ng Ooi Wah, Director of IAA World Congress 2024, Mr Cheah WY, Project Director, PCO and Congress Secretariat, representatives state agencies, industry experts from multiple industries from Penang.
“With our diverse multi-faceted multi-cultural heritage and culture, Malaysia is a destination that offers much for Business Event visitors, covering pre, during and post event. Indeed, Penang is proud to host the 45th IAA World Congress 2024, for it will further cement the reputation of both Penang and Malaysia as South East Asia’s most advantageous, preferable and safe Business Event destination,” emphasized The Honourable Yeoh Soon Hin.
The Honourable Yeoh Soon Hin in his opening address urged the attendees to give their full support for the Congress. He concluded by saying that your support will ensure that the 45th IAA World Congress will be a world class event and bring international acclaim to Penang as the host.
“As one of the most desirable destinations for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, Penang is aggressively marketing itself through BE in Penang to attract world-class events that funnel high-yield tourism receipts, with knock-on effect across the various sectors of tourism both on the island as well as the mainland,” said Ashwin Gunasekeran, CEO Penang Conference and Exhibition Bureau.
The 45th IAA World Congress is a significant happening in the celebration calendar of the 85th Anniversary of IAA Global and the 30th Anniversary of IAA Malaysia said John Chacko, Chairman of the 45th IAA World Congress.
Chacko proudly declared, “It took over four years of intense effort against other more globally famous destinations and pandemic disruptions before IAA Malaysia emerged victorious in the decision to host the congress in Penang, Malaysia. It proves that the world is growing to recognize Malaysia and Penang as destinations that are not only attractive in thousands of ways, more importantly, are well equipped in all avenues to host events of world-class stature.”
In elevating the mission behind IAA and its core belief that what is good is good for business, the theme of the 45th IAA World Congress 2024 is ‘BRAND RE-CODE: Better World, Better life’, a theme that embodies the challenging times we live in and calls on brands and businesses to fuse creativity and technology to create a better world for all.
“We live in trying times. A global pandemic, wars and conflicts, climate change, natural catastrophes, poverty, inflation, gender inequality, immense wealth and wage gap, mental health crisis and more. The world as we know it is rapidly transforming every single day, and with it our lives, businesses, and relationships, throwing us into an ocean of uncertainty. Re-Code is the new narrative. AI and technology are re-coding everything. And Re-Code we must, our outlook and approaches to build a better future for all,” said Chacko.
The 45th IAA World Congress will probe the all-encompassing quest for a purpose-driven life of brands and businesses to become agents of change. Three impactful days of discussions, learnings, and case studies by leaders from around the world on shaping the future. They comprise the United Nations, Federal and State ministers, government agencies, Global AI experts and mavens, unicorns and changemakers, consulting firms, MNCs, heads of advertising agencies, brand custodians, academicians, students and much more.
Under the Congress umbrella theme of BRAND RE-CODE. Better World, Better Life, each of the 3 days of the congress will be themed, The Future of Brands on Day 1, Technology and Creativity to Shape the Future on Day 2 and conclude on Day 3 with the Future is Female. The IAA World Congress 2024 will shine a major spotlight on the necessity of women’s empowerment and gender equality in the pursuit to re-code and rebuild the future as we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024.
Find out more about Penang as a meeting destination here.
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