CMP Academy: Strategic Preparation for the CMP Exam.
With a registration fee of US$99.00, this interactive session is designed for professionals in the meetings industry who wish to prepare with greater confidence to take the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) certification exam. Recognized as a key credential for event organizers, designers, and strategists, CMP certification allows you to demonstrate professionalism and technical expertise to employers, colleagues, and clients.

Led by Tim Luepke, MA, CTS, CMP, CMM, DES, this class will cover best practices based on the CMP-International Standards (CMP-IS), including proven study methods, knowledge gap analysis, identification of preparation needs, and concrete strategies for successfully tackling an exam that tests logical reasoning and contextual analysis. Participants will gain tools, practical recommendations, and a better understanding of how to interpret questions and answer them with greater insight and confidence.

Registration here: https://web.cvent.com/event/f0981da7-d208-4700-98b4-7f0e4f24aaa5/register

La entrada MPI Certification se publicó primero en Fiexpo Latin America.

The FIEXPO Opening Session Powered by ICCA will mark the beginning of the academic program of FIEXPO Latin America 2026, under the central concept:

Connect to Evolve
From Global Industry Challenges to Conversations That Convert into Sales

This session will open a strategic conversation on the current moment of the global meetings industry, in a context shaped by geopolitical, economic, technological, and social transformations that directly impact how destinations compete, how associations connect, how events generate value, and how professionals build business opportunities.

The opening will combine global vision, strategic perspective, and practical application, connecting the industry’s major challenges with an essential question for all FIEXPO Latin America participants:

How can we transform every conversation, every meeting, and every connection into a real opportunity for evolution, collaboration, and business?

Participants

• Senthil Gopinath
  CEO, ICCA
• Michael Blackman
  Managing Director, Integrated Systems Events
• María Eugenia Oriani
  MICE Director, PROCOLOMBIA
  ICCA Latin America Chapter Chair
• Dennis Speet
  Managing Director, Amsterdam Convention Bureau
  Former Interim CEO, ICCA
• Christoph Tessmar
  Director, Barcelona Convention Bureau
• Arnaldo Nardone
  Director, FIEXPO Exhibitions Group
  Session Moderator

General Agenda

8:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.

Institutional Welcome

Official opening of the academic program of FIEXPO Latin America 2026.

This block will welcome participants and present the conceptual framework of the session: Connect to Evolve, an invitation to understand the global challenges of the industry and translate them into concrete conversations, decisions, and business opportunities.

8:45 a.m. – 9:10 a.m.

State of the Global Meetings Industry

A Strategic Perspective from ICCA

Special intervention by Senthil Gopinath, CEO of ICCA, to present a high-level vision of the current state of the global meetings industry in the face of major international challenges.

The intervention will address how the geopolitical context, global conflicts, trade tensions, economic uncertainty, international mobility, and changes in global collaboration are impacting associations, destinations, and international events.

It will also provide an opportunity to reflect on what the industry is doing — and what it must continue doing — to remain resilient, relevant, and capable of generating value in an increasingly complex world.

9:10 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Global Leaders Panel

How Destinations, Platforms, and Business Opportunities Are Evolving

A conversation moderated by Arnaldo Nardone with international leaders from the meetings industry.

The panel will connect the global vision presented by ICCA with the concrete experience of leaders working across different fronts of the industry: major international platforms, convention bureaux, destinations, associations, and event attraction ecosystems.

The conversation will address topics such as:

• The main challenges destinations face today in competing globally.
  • The evolution of the role of convention bureaux and promotion entities.
  • The relationship between international events, economic development, and territorial impact.
  • The new expectations of associations, organizers, and buyers.
  • The need to move from traditional promotion to more strategic value propositions.
  • The role of collaboration, market intelligence, and long-term vision.
  • How to better prepare teams to generate conversations that become real opportunities.

10:00 a.m. – 10:25 a.m.

From Conversation to Sale

How to Win Clients and Convert Connections into Opportunities

Final block designed to connect the strategic vision of the opening with the commercial action that defines the FIEXPO Latin America experience.

This space will focus on one central idea:

A trade show is not won only at the stand. It is won before, during, and after every conversation.

Participants will receive a practical perspective on how to better prepare for their meetings, understand the client, communicate value with greater precision, sustain more relevant conversations, and transform connections into business opportunities.

The objective will be to activate participants so they begin FIEXPO Latin America with focus, commercial judgment, and a results-oriented mindset.

10:25 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Session Closing

Final conclusions and transition into the rest of the academic and business program of FIEXPO Latin America 2026.

The closing will reinforce the central message of the opening: in an industry shaped by global change, the ability to connect intelligently, evolve with purpose, and convert conversations into opportunities will be a decisive advantage for destinations, organizations, and professionals.

Expected Outcomes

By the end of the FIEXPO Opening Session Powered by ICCA, participants will have explored:

• A strategic reading of the global context impacting the meetings industry.
  • The main challenges and opportunities for destinations, associations, and international platforms.
  • The evolution of the role of convention bureaux and event attraction strategies.
  • The importance of connecting global vision with concrete commercial action.
  • Conceptual tools to transform conversations into business opportunities.
  • A renewed perspective on the value of FIEXPO Latin America as a platform for connection, learning, positioning, and business generation.

The FIEXPO Opening Session Powered by ICCA will be the starting point for a week designed to connect, evolve, and turn every encounter into an opportunity for growth for the meetings industry in Latin America and around the world.

La entrada FIEXPO Opening Session se publicó primero en Fiexpo Latin America.

The NextGen Summit is a space designed to inspire, train, and activate the new generations of the meetings industry.

Aimed at final-year students from careers related to tourism, events, hospitality, and related fields, as well as young professionals with less than five years of experience in the sector, this program seeks to help participants quickly understand how the industry works, identify real opportunities for professional development, and strengthen key skills to build a career with greater clarity, leadership, and projection.

The activity will combine industry vision, leadership, personal branding, LinkedIn, teamwork, an applied challenge, and a special participation by IAPCO, which will present a unique opportunity for Emerging Leaders in Latin America.

Activity Leaders

• Álvaro Rojas
  General Manager, Costa Rica Convention Center
• José Alberto Quan
  Meetings industry, LinkedIn, and personal branding specialist
• Macarena Murillo
  Guest facilitator
• Andrés Castro
  Guest facilitator
• Natalia Roblero
  Guest facilitator

Special Participation

IAPCO — International Association of Professional Congress Organisers

IAPCO will have a special space within the program to present a new regional opportunity aimed at the next generations of professionals in the meetings industry.

This intervention will bring participants closer to the international standards of professionalization, quality, and talent development promoted by IAPCO globally.

In addition, the IAPCO representative may participate, together with the activity coordinators, in the selection process of the winners of the final challenge.

General Agenda

3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Welcome and Introduction to NextGen

Opening of the activity and presentation of the program’s purpose: to help new generations understand the industry, develop key skills, and begin building their place within the professional meetings ecosystem.

3:15 p.m. – 3:35 p.m.

Understanding the Meetings Industry

Where You Stand and Where You Can Grow

A quick and clear immersion into the world of the meetings industry: destinations, convention bureaux, PCOs, DMCs, hotels, venues, associations, organizers, suppliers, buyers, and international organizations.

The objective will be for each participant to understand that the meetings industry is not only about event organization, but also a platform for economic development, knowledge, networking, impact, business, and destination positioning.

3:35 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

Leading Before Having a Title

Led by Álvaro Rojas

An inspiring and practical space on early leadership, professional purpose, and the development of human skills.

The session will focus on one central idea: leadership does not begin when a person receives a formal title, but when they develop judgment, responsibility, the ability to learn, a service attitude, and a commitment to generating value.

Participants will reflect on how to stand out in the first years of their career, how to build trust, how to adapt to change, and how to prepare to grow in an increasingly demanding, international, and dynamic industry.

4:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

IAPCO Opportunity for Emerging Leaders

A Unique Initiative for Latin America

Special presentation by IAPCO on the opportunity being developed for young talent in the meetings industry across the region.

This block will highlight the importance of professionalizing from the early stages, connecting with international standards, and opening new pathways for training, mentoring, and professional development.

4:30 p.m. – 5:10 p.m.

LinkedIn and Personal Branding for Young Professionals

Led by José Alberto Quan

A practical workshop to strengthen professional presence on LinkedIn and learn how to communicate personal value more effectively.

The focus will not be a generic social media workshop, but rather a session applied to young professionals who are beginning their careers in the meetings industry and need to build visibility, credibility, and relevant connections.

The session will work on how to improve a professional profile, how to communicate who you are even with limited experience, how to transform studies, internships, volunteer work, and projects into professional value, how to publish with purpose, and how to connect with leaders and organizations in the industry.

5:10 p.m. – 5:40 p.m.

Applied Challenge

My First Impact Project for the Industry

Participants will work in teams to solve a practical challenge linked to the future of talent in the meetings industry.

The challenge will be to design an initiative that helps bring more young people closer to the industry, showing its professional opportunities, its impact on destinations, and its value for community development.

Each team must build a brief, clear, and applicable proposal, considering the problem it seeks to solve, the target audience, the main action, the necessary allies, the communication approach, and its possible implementation within 90 days.

5:40 p.m. – 5:55 p.m.

Proposal Presentations and Selection of Winners

Teams will present their proposals before the facilitators and the IAPCO representative.

The selection will consider the clarity of the idea, its real applicability, connection with the meetings industry, creativity, impact potential, quality of communication, and short-term feasibility.

5:55 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Closing

From Participant to Protagonist

The activity will close with an action-oriented message, inviting young participants to stop seeing themselves as observers of the industry and begin positioning themselves as protagonists of their own professional development.

The meetings industry does not need young people waiting for their turn. It needs young people who are prepared, visible, connected, and ready to contribute today.

Expected Outcomes

By the end of the NextGen Leaders Lab, participants will have achieved the following:

• Quickly understand how the meetings industry works.
  • Identify real career opportunities within the ecosystem.
  • Develop an initial perspective on professional leadership.
  • Strengthen personal branding and LinkedIn positioning criteria.
  • Learn about the regional opportunity promoted together with IAPCO.
  • Work as a team on a practical impact challenge.
  • Leave with concrete tools to apply in their daily professional life.

The NextGen Leaders Lab will be an experience designed for new generations to understand the industry, develop skills, build professional visibility, and begin occupying their place in the future of the meetings industry.

La entrada NEXT GENERATION SUMMIT se publicó primero en Fiexpo Latin America.