Prague once again praised congress events and their ambassadors
After the forced pause due to the coronavirus, Congress Prague once again honored important Czech scientists, professors, doctors and other top experts for their contribution to the congress industry in the Czech capital. The Prague Convention Bureau, the umbrella organization for the Prague convention industry, recognized the efforts of convention ambassadors in the previous three years as part of the 11th Ambassador Awards Evening this year. The ceremonial presentation of a total of 11 awards took place on September 6, 2022 in the Residence of the Mayor of the capital city of Prague.
Ambassador Awards night took place under the auspices of the mayor of the capital city of Prague Zdenek Hřiby, who also attended in person together with other representatives of the city and the Ministry for Regional Development. At the mayor’s gala evening, he personally presented the award for 2019, the awarding of which had to be postponed due to restrictions on mass events during the pandemic. There was also a presentation of extraordinary awards for the support of the congress industry during the pandemic period, i.e. in 2020 and 2021.
For 2019, the following ambassadors and events were awarded in the following six categories:
2019 Congress:
- Lectured by MUDr. Jan Starý, DrSc. for the 1st Annual Meeting of European Pediatric Oncology (SIOP Europe)
The first annual meeting of the society was attended by almost 1,500 delegates, among whom were also cured child oncology patients and their parents. The photo exhibition My New Life was dedicated to them.
Congress of up to 500 participants in 2019:
- Jan Drahoňovský and MUDr. Radek Chvátal for the 5th European Congress on Endometriosis
The European Endometriosis Congress 2019 became the most modern organized congress in the history of these events. It also included live broadcasts from operations in France, Italy and Japan.
Candidature of 2019:
- Martina Lehmannová for the 26th General Conference of the International Council of Museums ICOM
The event was successfully brought to Prague for the year 2022 after initially losing its candidacy to rival Alexandria. This August, Prague thus welcomed more than 3,000 museology experts to a conference in which more than 150 museums across the country are participating.
Corporate events of 2019:
- Mr. Ron Bakker and Tomáš Ouředníček for the Conference of System Designers
This event takes place once every two years in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and appeared for the first time. 350 experts from all over the world took advantage of the conference, where audio-visual technology was reduced.
Inspiration of 2019
- Terezie Sverdlinová moves Prague for the TERIBEAR event
A ten-day non-stop happening with the participation of almost 21,000 participants, who aim to walk or run as many kilometers as possible. Thanks to the partners, these are subsequently transformed into financial aid for abandoned children. The biggest contribution of the project is not only financial support, but also spreading awareness about the issue of children growing up in institutional care. TERIBEAR is a project of the Tereza Maxová Foundation and is currently the most important charity event of its kind in the Czech Republic.
Long-term benefit to the convention industry:
- Lectured by MUDr. Jan Bětka, DrSc. FCMA, Emeritus Head of the Department of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery, 1st Faculty of Medicine, UK and FN in Motola
Professor Jan Betka is a completely extraordinary figure in Czech otorhinolaryngology and also a supporter of Prague as a congress destination. In the past, Professor Betka has played a key role in the organization of a number of scientific events, such as the 3rd year of the European ENT-HNS Society or the annual congresses of the Czech Society of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery.
“The congress industry, which normally generates multiples of over 260 billion crowns per year in sales, has almost sunk to rock bottom in the past two years due to the pandemic. The number of events in Prague decreased by more than 79% in 2021 compared to 2019,” he says Roman Muškadirector of the Prague Convention Bureau, and adds: “I am all the more pleased that this year we were able to present not only the well-deserved awards for 2019 with a delay, but at the same time to also appreciate the congresses and conferences, the organizers decided on their events despite the situation despite the situation realize.”
Metrostav received an extraordinary award for supporting the congress industry in 2020 and 2021 for an event marking its 50th anniversary for more than 7,000 current and former employees (Ing. Jaroslav Heran accepted the award). Most conferences and congresses took place during the pandemic in a virtual or hybrid format, which is available to delegates to choose whether to participate in the event in person at the venue or remotely via online platforms. Two of the exceptionally awarded events took place in a hybrid way. The first of them was the World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC, the award was accepted by doc. PhDr. Jan Činčera, Ph.D. and doc. Mgr. Bohuslav Binka, Ph.D.).
The second awarded hybrid congress was the International Congress of the Crystallographic Union (IUCR, the prize was accepted by Prof. RNDr. Radomír Kužel, CSc.). The International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS, awarded by Ing. Libor Přeučil, CSc.) had to be moved to a completely virtual form, whose ambassador took home another of the extraordinary awards. The last prize was taken by prof. Lectured by MUDr. Ivan Rychlík, CSc., FASN, FERA, for his candidacy for the congress of the European Renal Association, which should take place in Prague in 2025.
“The ERA Congress is the largest congress of nephrologists in Europe and more than 10,000 delegates attend every year. We have been working on the candidacy for 2025 for more than 6 years, and at the peak stage, actively prepare for the candidacy, including the gentleman who personally met with the president of ERA to demonstrate the suitability of Prague as a destination for the congress. Getting the ERA Congress for Prague is one of the imaginary peaks in the field of the congress industry,” Professor Rychlík added to the candidacy.
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