N o lesser than President Nelson Man dela opened the Durban ICC in Au gust 1997 Since then it has played a pioneering role in attracting inter national events to South Africa says CEO Lindiwe Rakharebe Over the years the cen tre has successfully hosted some of the con tinent s largest and most prestigious events she says And it has been the platform for the discussion of many global issues The top event of this year the World Economic Forum on Africa has just taken place It con vened regional and global leaders from busi ness government and civil society There will also be a few celebrations to mark the anniversary in 2017 such as a me dia campaign in the months up to August culminating in a gala dinner The campaign will commemorate some of the highlights of the past twenty years explains Lindiwe Rakharebe And we want to cast the vision for the next twenty years and beyond for the Durban ICC For this purpose the ICC has aligned a research department and holds meetings with leading academics encourag ing them to join forces and bid for global events to be hosted in Durban The Durban region has a strong economy in sectors like industry trade logistics and tourism that will continue to benefit the ICC in the future Yes it is most definitely an ad vantage underlines Lindiwe Rakharebe The Durban ICC s market is a healthy mix of both local and international clients and the major market segments we attract are the corporate government and association seg ments she explains The key sectors which we focus on include the medical manufac turing ICT construction and financial serv ices sectors The Durban ICC offers a wide range of event types including conferences congresses exhibitions concerts indoor sport ing events and banquets It can cater for in timate meetings of 10 people or more all the way through to major congresses with in the region of 20 000 delegates www icc co za PB 77TradeFairs Internation al 2 2017 INTERNATIONAL SOUTH AFRICA Durban ICC turns 20 The country s first international convention centre was opened two decades ago And the venue is well prepared to face the future In its own uniquely warm African way Lindiwe Rakharebe CEO of Dur ban ICC about major milestones and ground breaking events What were the two most important milestones of the last 20 years It s difficult to choose two milestones over a 20 year period But firstly I would have to mention the opening of the Durban ICC Arena in 2007 The extension of the original facility effectively doubled the available space and helped us attract large global events This also made it possible for us to host multiple smaller events simultaneous ly And the second milestone That would be the successful hosting of the 21st International AIDS Conference in July 2016 This was the largest event of its kind ever to be hosted on the African con tinent Over 22 000 delegates attended the event and it featured 157 sessions and workshops But this is not just about filling the ICC s capacities The AIDS Conference served to discuss the latest HIV science and advocacy issues We relish the opportunity to host these kinds of events as they serve to benefit humani ty and have far reaching ramifications for thousands of people around the world Our team strives to provide this kind of atmos phere for meaningful development in its own uniquely warm African way Meilenstein Seit Eröffnung der Durban ICC Arena können auch ganz große Veranstal tungen angezogen werden Milestone The opening of the Durban ICC Arena helped attract large global events Ph ot o D ur ba n IC C

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