The Hong Kong Chapter of IFMA is to co-host the first ever IFMA World Workplace held in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Chapter of IFMA is to co-host the first ever IFMA World Workplace held outside the USA on 21st and 22nd June 2011. The event will be held at the Cyberport Conference and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong, China.

The Hong Kong Chapter of IFMA has a reputation for staging excellent conferences. Their Integrate series of conferences has been held every year since 2006 and prior to this was the Transform conference held in 2005 (again at Cyberport). In earlier years conferences were generally held annually under the banner of the Hong Kong Chapter of IFMA, either in conjunction with other facility management associations or as a stand-alone Chapter event.

The 15th anniversary of the Chapter in 2007 saw the conference expand to a two day event with breakout sessions to accommodate the range and number of speakers. This was also the first year of the conference annual dinner, an event that has since been continued each subsequent year and is now a tradition for the Chapter.

This year sees a further advance in the Chapter’s reputation for excellent conferences as it co-hosts the first ever World Workplace conference and exhibition to be held outside the United States.

IFMA’s World Workplace Conference & Expo is the association’s signature event and is backed by 30 years of IFMA knowledge, experience and a commitment to quality. The event combines a comprehensive educational program and a diverse exposition with networking opportunities and activities geared toward enhancing knowledge of managing the built environment.

This year, and for the first time, IFMA will host two World Workplace conference and exhibitions, taking the format to Hong Kong, China in June and to Phoenix, Arizona, USA in October. The event in China is significant in highlighting the rise of Asia as a place to do business and the consequent need to effectively manage the built environment for business in the region.

The Hong Kong event will be held at the Cyberport Conference and Exhibition Centre. Set in spectacular surroundings by the shore of the South China Sea, it offers views across the sea to Lamma Island where fishing junks jostle with ocean cargo carriers in this busy stretch of water. The conference and exhibition are teamed with the on site Le Meridien hotel for lunch, whilst the annual dinner will be held at the Happy Valley Race Course, a short bus ride away.

Although racing will not be available on the night, the venue offers a relaxed and informal atmosphere for the excellent barbecue dinner, with views across the racecourse and Happy Valley. Set in the middle of one of the busiest locations in Asia, the Happy Valley race course forms an oasis of green and is the home of Hong Kong horse racing since the first meeting was held on a strip of reclaimed marshland in 1846.

The conference program will be varied and provides something of interest to all involved in facility management and the built environment.

Day 1 starts with a CRE-FM executive breakfast followed by keynote speeches from representatives of the HKSAR Government and IFMA. The day then gets into the detail with presentations by top quality international speakers covering a variety of subjects. There will be ample opportunity to network during the day and at the dinner to be held in the evening of Day 1.

Day 2 provides for more top quality presentations from international speakers, a leadership workshop and education sessions. The day is rounded off with a series of awards for the Best Facility Project. The award winners will be judged by a team of professionals from submissions made by institutions around the region.

Both days of the conference will have access to an on an site trade show with stands for specialists, vendor and product suppliers and service providers. During the course of the exhibition there will be further presentations by industry leaders. The exhibition is open to the general public at no cost and will include a Recruitment Fair.