IAAM Launches European Academy for Venue Management
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 7/10/2006
The Intl. Assn. of Assembly Managers is planning the September launch of a European venue management academy modeled on its North American Public Assembly Facility Management School in West Virginia.
IAAM unveiled the plan at its first European meeting in Vienna, Austria, April 19–20. The group hopes the European Academy of Venue Management will attract students and make IAAM more prominent in Europe.
According to Carl Martin, IAAM director of European services, the academy will offer a two-year certificate and be limited to 20 to 35 students.
The association plans to offer the course Sept. 3–7 in Basle, Switzerland. Martin said the first-year curriculum would cover venue and client contracts, event production, human resources, booking and scheduling, financial management, emergency preparation, marketing, advertising and public relations, professionalism, crowd management, box office management, stage operations, preventative maintenance, food and beverage service, and merchandising.
The proposed cost, including lodging, will be €1,500 ($1,900) for IAAM members and €1,800 ($2,292) for non-members. Full details about the course will be published in the next few weeks.
Bob Mayer, IAAM past president and retired director of the Tulsa Convention Center in Tulsa, Okla., said management professionals from European public assembly facilities will teach the classes, for the most part.
The curriculum will be similar to first-year classes at the West Virginia school, but adapted to the culture and practices used in European arenas, congress centers, stadiums and theaters.
