European Association Summit: A Two-day Conference in Brussels, Global Capital of International Associations

On Thursday 27 and Friday 28 April, representatives of international associations will gather for the 11th edition of the European Association Summit. It will take place in Brussels, where more than 2,400 associations have their headquarters. On Thursday evening, the Brussels Meetings Ambassadors will be honoured.

Much of the focus this year is on networking. After COVID-19, there is a clear need to get to know industry colleagues and exchange ideas. This is much easier now that participants can meet offline.

European Year of Skills

This EAS-edition will focus on young members. What is the best guidance you can provide for young members? What about training and retraining opportunities? Several sessions will be dedicated to professional development and preparing the new generation of association professionals. This is fully in line with the European Year of Skills 2023.

EAS is organised by visit.brussels in collaboration with ESAE (the European Society of Association Executives), FAIB (the Federation of European and International Associations based in Belgium), UIA (the Union of International Associations), ASSOCIATIONWORLD and GAHP (the Global Association Hubs Partnerships).

Brussels Meetings Ambassadors Night

A number of event and meeting organisers will also be honoured on Thursday 27 April. This will happen during an evening on invitation of the Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region Rudi Vervoort. For the first time, this annual VIP event will coincide with the European Association Summit.

This year, the spotlight will be on 12 organisers who successfully set up a meeting with international appeal in Brussels for at least 500 participants in 2022. From now on, they will bear the title of meetings ambassador and be included in the Brussels Meetings Ambassadors programme of visit.brussels. This is all about promoting Brussels with business events all over the region. The ambassadors are organisers who help put Brussels on the map as a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) destination. This is the seventh edition of the evening and this year's theme is gastronomy.

Brussels, business capital

With more than 2,400 setting up their headquarters in Brussels, the number of international associations in our capital continues to rise. This puts Brussels in first place as a hub for international associations. And this is no coincidence. At the heart of Europe, more than 200 locations offer the space and opportunity to organise events with international appeal. Moreover, during the pandemic, Brussels profiled itself as a hub for hybrid events. So, it is only logical that the EAS should take place in our capital.

Brussels can also call itself the world's leading destination for international association congresses. It has climbed to first place in the UIA's world rankings.

The EAS will be held at Sparks in the city centre, near Brussels Central Station. Sparks is the prototype of a contemporary meeting centre with lots of rooms for different types of meetings. The Brussels Meetings Ambassadors Night will be held at the KBR, a little further down the Mont des Arts-Kunstberg. The KBR is the national scientific library, a museum and a meeting centre.