09h45 - 10h30 local time, Thursday, 20 July: "Destination Stewardship in the Face of Climate Change"

Whether it’s more frequent hurricanes or unexpected wildfires, climate change poses a threat to the tourism industry, as well as to the communities and destinations that host visitors. As destination stewards, how can we better futureproof against such volatility? What lessons learned and sustainable practices can we share with one another? In this session, we will explore strategies for mitigating the impact of climate change, including ways to involve local communities and other stakeholders in the process of developing and implementing these strategies, as well as travelers themselves as responsible guests. The goal is to provide practical and actionable insights for destination stewards to help them navigate the challenges of climate change and promote sustainable tourism.

Guy Bigwood, CEO and Chief Changemaker, GDS-Movement, discusses this with Hilina Ajakaiye, Executive Vice President, Meet Boston, Tracy Berkeley, CEO, Bermuda Tourism Authority, and Laura Dannon Redman, Head of Digital Content, AFAR Media.

13h15 local time, Thursday, 20 July: "Accountability and Leadership in Sustainable Destinations"

This is a dynamic and engaging discussion between global destination organisations leveraging the Global Destination Sustainability Index ((GDS-Index). The GDS-Index is the leading sustainability benchmarking and improvement programme for destinations around the world. It is used to assess current social, economic, and environmental performance in a destination, and then to drive progress and change. A discussion with global members will focus on the challenges and benefits of introducing a benchmarking programme like the GDS-Index to a destination marketing organisation.

Guy Bigwood, CEO and Chief Changemaker, GDS-Movement, joins Minto Schneider, CEO, Inter Ocean Inc., Virginie de Visscher, Senior Director of Business Development, Destination Canada, Carolin Lenehan, General Manager, Content, Creative and Corporate Affairs, Business Events Sydney, Melissa Riley, Vice President, Convention Sales and Services, Destination DC.

Changemakers, Alejandra H. Zita, our Latin American (LATAM) representative, and Beatriz Ibanez, our senior Impact and Events expert, and representative of #Meet4Impact, will travel to Guadalajara, México, to participate in Intermoda 2023. These two trailblazers are consulting on the development of Intermoda’s new Sustainability & Legacy strategy.

They'll speak in Spanish about "Sustainability and Legacy: Intermoda's commitment to Transforming the Fashion Industry in LATAM"  on 19 July 2023 at 13h00. 

FIEXPO, Promtur Panama, GDS-Movement, and #Meet4Impact join forces to start the first stage of the Sustainability and Legacy strategy, promoting a more sustainable meetings industry towards regeneration in Latin America, in this new edition.

FIEXPO Latin America is preparing to celebrate a new edition of the most important event in Latin America within its MICE industry. From 19 – 22 June, FIEXPO will receive qualified international associations, corporate buyers, incentive sector members, and exhibitors, from Argentina, Brazil, Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and beyond, in Panama City.

During the event:
- Guy Bigwood, CEO and Chief Changemaker, GDS-Movement, and Genevieve, CEO and Co-founder, Meet4Impact, will speak.
- Our LATAM representative, Alejandra H. Zita, will deliver a workshop on Sustainability with Guy.

For everyone from events newcomers to experienced professionals, "IMEX is where the global business events community comes together for four exhilarating days every year. Where more than 3,000 meeting planners meet with 2,500-plus suppliers from every corner of the globe. This is where powerful business connections that offer real ROI are made."

Catch GDS-Changemakers Janie Neumann, Bella Shahsuvaryan, Milda Salciute, and Guy Bigwood for a chat about ways to step up, speed up, and scale up sustainability management for tourism and events.

Two sessions (same content) with practical approaches to climate action from roadmap to regeneration.

With climate awareness on the increase, and tourism contributing 8% to global CO2 emissions, the tourism and events sector is protecting its own existence when it mitigates its emissions. This challenge gives us every reason to be excited and engaged. In GDS-Movement, we are all agents of positive change, and we are always practical in our support of destination sustainability efforts.

There are many great initiatives and motivations from net zero targets to the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Declaration. But there are many questions to answer before an action plan can holistically address emissions.

- What does regeneration mean in the context of climate change mitigation?
- Does a DMO need to draw down, offset, or inset?
- What is a CVB's role in decarbonisation?
- What can empowered professionals do to better address the complexities and contradictions in carbon calculation?
- How essential is biodiversity for a lower-carbon future built by empowered business and leisure travellers and companies? (hint: highly essential)

Join hostess, Khalisah Stevens, and esteemed guests offering insight and context for a destination's carbon journey. Guest Speakers:
- Janie Neumann, Senior Changemaker, Certifications & Climate, GDS-Movement.
- Mark Stevenson, Co-founder and Chief Impact Officer, CUR8 , Impact Lead at Climate VC, Carbon Removals Ambassador at Client Earth, Author at Profile Books, covers the good, the bad and the ugly of offsets, carbon removals, and net-zero targets.

We look forward to seeing you and co-creating solutions that serve all interested parties (including nature) with you.

Two sessions (same content) with practical approaches to climate action from roadmap to regeneration.

With climate awareness on the increase, and tourism contributing 8% to global CO2 emissions, the tourism and events sector is protecting its own existence when it mitigates its emissions. This challenge gives us every reason to be excited and engaged. In GDS-Movement, we are all agents of positive change, and we are always practical in our support of destination sustainability efforts.

There are many great initiatives and motivations from net zero targets to the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Declaration. But there are many questions to answer before an action plan can holistically address emissions.

- What does regeneration mean in the context of climate change mitigation?
- Does a DMO need to draw down, offset, or inset?
- What is a CVB's role in decarbonisation?
- What can empowered professionals do to better address the complexities and contradictions in carbon calculation?
- How essential is biodiversity for a lower-carbon future built by empowered business and leisure travellers and companies? (hint: highly essential)

Join hostess, Khalisah Stevens, and esteemed guests offering insight and context for a destination's carbon journey. Guest Speakers:
- Janie Neuman, Senior Changemaker, Certifications & Climate, GDS-Movement.
- Mark Stevenson, Co-founder and Chief Impact Officer, CUR8 , Impact Lead at Climate VC, Carbon Removals Ambassador at Client Earth, Author at Profile Books, covers the good, the bad and the ugly of offsets, carbon removals, and net-zero targets.

We look forward to seeing you and co-creating solutions that serve all interested parties (including nature) with you.

The Annual Meeting of ICCA Iberian & Mediterranean chapters for ICCA members to network, and share knowledge and experiences with colleagues from other regions, taking place 19 - 21 April in 2023. GDS-Movement Senior Changemaker, Monica Molina, is participating in the Legacy Case Studies Session, 20 April, 10h00 - 11h00 CET. She presents an introduction to GDS-Movement focusing on GDS-Index. She will also share destination case studies related to the collection and visualisation of data.

11h20 CET - GDS-Movement Changemaker and expert in climate and certification, Janie Neumann, participates in a segment titled, “One-Bite Discussion: From Words to Action”. She discusses the role of marketing, certifications, investments, and where DMOs fit into this with Dr. Ljubica Knežević Cvelbar, Professor, University of Ljubljana, and Rodney Payne, CEO, Destination Think! Bring your burning questions!

*This conference is themed around “the elephant in the room”(those things we avoid discussing or dealing with that can crush us). “Is growth becoming the mammoth of tourism, and is the idea of quality tourism the white elephant of destination management? The City Destinations Alliance conference in Sofia, April 19-22, 2023 explores!”