Attended: Malaysian Association neXt (MyNext)

Attendee: Dr. Umi A. Hasran (Assistant Secretary of MAHE; Research Fellow from the Fuel Cell Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)

Hi Everyone,

I'm Umi and these are my notes during the MyNext event that I attended. Thanks to MyCEB and BeSpoke Marketing for this opportunity.

Venue: One World Hotel, Petaling Jaya


The organizers are:

• Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB). CEO: Datuk Zulkefli Hj. Sharif
• Malaysian Society of Association Executive (MSAE), which was officially launched at the start of the event.  President: Dato’ Dr. Zaliha Omar.

Octavio ‘Bobby’ Peralta, Chief Executive Officer/Founder, Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE).

Transformation in Association

The world is moving and shifting fast and the association industry is no exception. Every day, association is trying hard to catch up with the change of the environment, technology innovation, social media and more. Learn how associations grow, remain relevant and be the leader of their industry in this session.

I like these lessons from Lego:

We had a Relevance Exercise:


The marks I gave for our association is 73 (quite optimistic), and Bobby showed us where we are on the Relevance curve:


This is where MAHE currently is, according to the marks I gave it:


We had a Success Exercise:


And, I'd say the scale I got for our association is right on the mark.


11:25 – 12:25

This slot is a parallel session, and I chose to attend the one given by:

Jane Vong-Holmes, Senior Manager – Asia, GainingEdge

Incredible Impacts: The Power of Associations
Far from being just ‘groups with special interests’ associations can be the bedrock of local communities. Among many benefits, associations can set technical standards, protect consumers through codes of best practices, promote innovation and be the authoritative voice of their industry. In this session, Jane Vong Holmes will case study a few associations who have left legacies through their events and conventions.

There are more Association Key Contact people in Singapore than in Malaysia and more of us in Malaysia than in Indonesia, so size (of the country) doesn't matter in this case.

Some interesting networking points to note:

• ICCA offers Incredible Impacts Grant to communicate the value of your association meetings (link) 
• BestCities is the host partner for this year’s Global Forum from 4-7 December 2017 in Tokyo (link) 
• Asian Federations Roundtable will be held on 16 October 2017 at Marina Bay Sands Singapore (link) 

13:40 – 14:40

Dare to Think Big: Impact of Globalisation on Your Association

• Datuk Ir. (Dr.) Abdul Rahim Hj Hashim, Vice chancellor, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
• Dr. Saunthari Somasundaram, President and Medical Director, National Cancer Society Malaysia
• Datuk Dr. Abd Aziz Yahya, Consultant – Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur and Prince Court Medical Centre

Globalisation – a stage where organisations are developing international influences to stay competitive. In this session, the presenters will share with you their experience involved in organising international events and being part of the international committee, what was their contribution towards the growth of the international associations. How these impact the local associations? Presentation followed by round table discussion.

Some advice from Datuk Ir. (Dr.) Abdul Rahim & team:

• For international work, initially under the big umbrella for the association, e.g. IAHE
• Networking in a big event to plan for the association's event in the future 

14:40 – 15:40

This slot is a parallel session, and I chose to attend the one given by:

Cynthia Martin, Director, Bespoke Marketing Sdn Bhd

Managing Events with Limited BudgetMost of the time, we are facing challenge of raising enough fund for events and have to deal with small budget. It doesn’t mean you have to compromise with qualities and standards but you still can make a strong impact and achieve the objectives. The Speaker will share some of the experience and case studies how you can overcome it.

Sources for funds:

• Government grants (work at bid stage with e.g. MyCEB, etc.) 
• Delegates Fee 
• Sponsorship 
• Merchandising Sales 
• Online Ads 
• Pre & Post Tours (e.g. Spouse Program, etc.) 

Sponsorship value to entice the bottom line:

• Engagement 
• Branded Media 
• Food (e.g. food trucks, etc.) 
• Thought Leadership 
• Showcase 
• Experience 

Promotion: social media, email, virtual events, hybrid event (with a mix of live and recorded events, etc.)

16:10 – 17:10

Jane Vong-Holmes, Senior Manager – Asia, GainingEdge

Creating Legacy to the Destination
It is easy to take a conference to any destination, but often we overlook the objectives of the conference. Have you thought of creating legacy and leaving these marks to the local community?

A case study sharing session followed by group discussion with final presentation on your ideas.

Our group representative, Dr. Syahidah from The Oral Health Division (Ministry of Health), presented our ideas on creating legacies for an association. We chose the topic given by the organizer, i.e. "MasterChefs World Congress"


The judges for the presentation are the speakers for the MNext event.

Our group didn't win, but we really enjoyed the session. The event wrapped up nicely around 5.30pm.