The 1st Asia Pacific Virtual Events Conference 2020 (AVEC) co-organised by Taylor’s University and the Asia Pacific Institute for Events Management (APIEM) was an international virtual research conference that aimed to bring together researchers, education providers, students, scholars, and professionals in the events industry from all over the world.
What started as a simple project in fulfilment of the curriculum for second-year students from the Bachelor of International Tourism Management (Honours), Events Management programme, known as the Revive team, eventually became one of the largest events hosted by the school this year. Over the course of 3 months, the students worked tirelessly to design and organise the conference held on 25th November 2020 via Zoom web conferencing. Many meetings and rehearsals were held and even though there were setbacks such as the implementation of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) halfway through the semester, the students pushed through and were more determined than ever to organise the first event of its kind well. Hence, almost 100% of event planning was done while working from home.
The conference began with the welcome speeches by Professor David Hind, President of APIEM, and Dr. Joaquim Dias Soiero, Head of School of Hospitality, Tourism & Events, and featured five keynote speakers: Dr. Rob Harris from Australia, Ms. Dee Dee Quah from Malaysia, Dr. Elena Vassilieva from Russia, Dr. Hsinwen Chang from Taiwan, and Dr. Rob Davidson from the United Kingdom who all gave insightful speeches relating to the topic - “It’s now time to think to the future!” This was followed by presentations by 10 researchers from multiple local and international institutions who presented contemporary findings from their research papers.
The event was attended by approximately 1100 delegates from over 19 countries, including the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Latvia, Malaysia and Taiwan. The delegates also represent close to 40 companies and institutions. The conference gained countless compliments and praises from parties all over the world, making it a highly recognised event. Well done to the team of students under the Events Operations module who were led by the Project Leader, Ms. Nur Adriana binti Moh Amirul Rizal.
