Meetings can add value!

I have often been told stories about Singapore: the cleanest place on earth with strict laws to maintain a high overall security level. The Singaporean government has been investing in this “Singapore brand” for many decades. A clean, safe city for both leisure and business purposes. The latest new innovations in this area are the integrated resorts in Sentosa and the Marina Bay.

This availability of leisure and business facilities appeals to many businesses and international organisations to hold their conferences in Singapore. This year is the third consecutive year that Singapore has won the award of ‘Top International Meeting City’ handed out by the Union of International Associations. Such meetings are very important for the circulation of knowledge and the improvement of networks. In my opinion there is a strong correlation between the level of international meetings held in a country and its business activity. Let’s do the test: For the last 3 years Singapore is the top city for international meetings and Bloomberg estimated Singapore’s growth in 2010 between 13% and 15%, rating the country as the world’s fastest growing economy. Coincidence?

 Next month there will be another important international meeting, namely the Human Capital Summit 2010 in which many industry experts will discuss human capital management in organisations in order to share best practices and improve organisations. I think that it is very important that the summit is held in Singapore out of all the Asian cities. Think for a second about what the future will be for Singapore. There will be a flatter distribution of global power in which emerging economies will gain economic power at the expense of the regions that are now being considered as the global economic powers. Singapore is a relatively small island with a low level of natural resources. This highlights the importance for Singapore to invest in expertise and knowledge in which human capital is very important.  Therefore it can be understood that keeping chewing gum out of the country has more advantages than just keeping the city clean, it also contributes to Singapore being the top international meeting city.