The Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE) successfully held its Associations Summit 7 (AS7) at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on November 27-28, 2019. Attended by more than a hundred delegates, it got excellent ratings for content programming and delivery. For the first time, the Summit featured an “ASAE Edu-Day” organized by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).
The event was co-presented with the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) and was supported by the PICC, the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP), and the ASAE as well as by many other sponsors and supporting organizations.
The theme for this year’s Summit was “Fast to the Future” which gathered together thought leaders and executives in the association world to share their insights, knowledge, and success stories in two plenary sessions, best-practice presentations, and other learning sessions.
The programme was opened by Atty. Renato B. Padilla, PICC General Manager, and Ms. Ma. Carla Remedios E. Miranda, TPB Acting Head of M.I.C.E. Department. An opening remarks on video of Ms. Greta Kotler, ASAE’s Chief Global Development and Credentialing Officer, was also shown to the audience.
The event was also an auspicious occasion to launch the new PCAAE brand identity which also drew good remarks from the attendees. It was followed by a keynote presentation on “The Future of Associations” by ASAE’s Ms. Amy Hissrich, Vice President for Web Strategies and Communications.
Two plenary sessions ensued and covered stories and case studies where a panel of speakers representing various sectors of the association community presented their respective organizations’ challenges, both internal and external, and the solutions they have managed to undertake.
The moderators and panelists who shared their expertise and experience during the plenary sessions were: Mr. Jesse Francis N. Rebustillo, President, Philippine Association of Professional Speakers and PCAAE Board of Trustee; Mr. Gerardo A. Plana, DPM, President, People Management Association of the Philippines; Ms. Mary Faith B. Abaño, CPM, President, Philippine Marketing Association; Atty. Paul Angelo A. Santos, Chairman, Philippine Retailers Association; Ms. Ma. Rojarlyn Gaid, SEIPI Business Lead, Semiconductor & Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc.; Ms, Ma. Luz “Yayu” Javier, Chairperson, Global Compact Network Philippines and President/COO, Avanza, Inc.; Ms. Ritzi Villarico Ronquillo, Adviser, International Association of Business Communicators Philippines and Philippine Chair, Gold Quill Awards Blue Ribbon Panel; Atty. Manuel James K. Raterta, National President & Chairman, iHome Inc. and President, iHome Greater Metro Manila; Mr. Orlando Ballesteros, Head, Education Committee, Philippine Association of Convention/Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers, Inc.; and, Architect Benjamin K. Panganiban, Jr., National President, United Architects of the Philippines.
In between these two panel sessions was a special presentation on “Reinventing Associations in the Age of Disruption” by Ms. Maria Victoria Espano, Chairperson and CEO of P&A Grant Thornton.
Four special-sharing lectures on “Future Proofing Associations” were also held which covered topics on future proofing membership development strategies conducted by Ms. Amy Hissrich of ASAE; future-proofing your governance system handled by Mr. John Peacock, CEO of Associations Forum Pty. Ltd. (Australia); future proofing your revenue sourcing conducted by Mr. Noor Ahmad Hamid, Regional Director, Asia-Pacific of the International Congress and Convention Association (Malaysia); and, future-proofing your technology handled by Mr. Eric Schmidt, Co-founder and CEO, EventBank. The sessions were facilitated by Ms. Gwen Albarracin, Immediate Past President, Asia Marketing Federation and PCAAE Board of Trustee.
The purpose of PCAAE is to advance the association management profession and to make associations well-governed and sustainable. It is dubbed as the “associations of associations” in the Philippines. For more details about PCAAE and its annual association summit (AS), please email sandylim@adfiap.org.