THE Australian city of Sydney witnessed a gathering of the world’s foremost researchers and practitioners in data mining, knowledge discovery, data analytics and big data at the 21st ACM Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining conference (KDD15).

The event, co-located with the Big Data Summit, kicked off at Hilton Sydney on Monday and will conclude today.

New South Wales (NSW) Minister for Trade, Tourism & Major Events, Stuart Ayres MP, who was also a guest speaker during the conference, said: “This is the first time Australia has ever hosted this prestigious event and it is only the second time it has been held in the Asia Pacific region. It’s a great opportunity to highlight Australian achievements in big data.”

Ayres shared that the event will inject more than A$2 million (US$1.5 million) to the NSW economy and “support thousands of jobs”.

Business Events Sydney CEO, Lyn Lewis-Smith, said winning the conference for Sydney was a major milestone.

“This conference is usually held in the northern hemisphere and is unlikely to return to Australia for many years,” said Lewis-Smith.

More than 1,000 participants were at the event, according to KDD15 general chair and director of the Advanced Analytics Institute at University of Technology Sydney, Longbing Cao.

Explaining the event organiser’s decision to take the event to Sydney, Cao said: “Sixty-four per cent of the nation’s technology start-ups are based in New South Wales and Sydney is home to more than two thirds of Australia’s ICT headquarters….”

THE Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS) is collaborating with Biji-Biji Initiative, a Malaysian social enterprise that champions progressive ideas and sustainable living through the creative reuse of discarded materials, at this week’s the 16^th International Architecture, Interior Design & Building Exhibition (ARCHIDEX).

Through this MACEOS Green Initiatives programme, all PVC and tarpaulin banners used during the four-day ARCHIDEX will be collected and transformed into fashionable and uniquely designed tote bags. All proceeds raised from the sale of these bags will be channeled to Biji-Biji Initiative.

This programme marks the first Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity undertaken by MACEOS.

Vincent Lim, president of MACEOS and president of C.I.S Network, the joint organiser of ARCHIDEX, said: “Recycling advertising banners into something artistic and wholly practical is the first step we are taking towards creating a more environmentally friendly events industry.”

Matthieu Mertens – Partner, Head of Systems & Electronics, Biji-Biji Initiative, said: “These banner tote bags that we make from discarded advertising tarpaulin offer a creative solution for the global waste problem and each (will have its) own quirky design. These banners have been given a second life, saving them from ending up in the landfill.

“There are countless creative ways we can up-cycle fashionable and useful everyday objects from discarded items. All that’s required is an open mind and a willingness to look at waste from a different perspective.”

At the same time, MACEOS is calling for industry partners including professional conventions and exhibitions organisers, venue owners and operators as well as contractors, to be committed towards reducing carbon footprint during the staging of business and leisure events. An official Green Events logo will be accorded to events that meet the criteria set by MACEOS.

MANILA’S new interactive educational theme park, DreamPlay by DreamWorks, may be built for children but it is taking a serious interest in domestic and Asian MICE markets.

Located in the City of Dreams (COD) Manila, the attraction can accommodate up to 1,200 MICE delegates, and full hire is allowed with a minimum booking for 1,000 participants.

Kevin Sim, COD Manila COO, said DreamPlay by DreamWorks has a “dedicated schedule for MICE participants” during weekday mornings and nights to enable them to experience the venue “without the crowd and it does not infringe on the play space’s ‘adults only allowed if accompanied by a child’ policy”.

“We have been tapping companies for their teambuilding and family day activities; locally, through regular sales calls and sales blitzes and regionally, though tradeshows and sales missions, partnering with wholesale MICE teams, fam trips and offering special rates and concessions for group bookings,” Sim told TTGmice e-Weekly in an interview.

He added that the world’s first DreamWorks-inspired theme park has already hosted a number of corporate events in the past weeks.

It has eight attractions that are suitable for adults, including for teambuilding. Three function rooms including a high-ceiling ballroom can host meetings, workshops, focus groups and product launches.

THE China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Yunnan Sub-Council has signed a number of MoUs to boost the MICE industry in the Chinese province.

Mu Jiansheng, CCPIT Yunnan Sub-Council, Exhibition Department director, said eight MoUs were inked during the 11th China Expo Forum for International Cooperation (CEFCO), which was held in Kunming earlier this year.

CEFCO was co-organised by CCPIT, UFI-the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, IAEE-International Association of Exhibitions and Events and SISO-Society of Independent Show Organizers.

Mu said DCEC, which opened in provincial capital city Kunming in June, was built to serve the whole of China and for Kunming to become the gateway to South-east and South Asia.

“With the opening of DCEC, which is four times bigger compared to the Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Center, we can now raise the profile of smaller events and host mega events for the tobacco, sugar and alcohol industries,” he remarked.

DCEC has staged three large-scale events to date, including the China-South Asia Expo which attracted 80,000 delegates from 20 countries.

Come November the venue will host the China International Travel Mart.

A SERIES of seven new themed coffee breaks is now available to meeting planners who are taking their events to Regal Kowloon Hotel in Hong Kong’s Tsimshatsui.

The seven themes include Tropical Fever, which features tropical fruits dishes and Mixed Berries Smoothie; Vegetarian Refreshment, which offers a refreshing selection of greens; as well as five others that draw inspiration from Hong Kong, Japanese, English, Thai and Singaporean cuisine.

To enjoy one of these fun concepts, meeting planners need only to upgrade their regular coffee break with a top up of HK$60 (US$7.80) per pax. A 10 per cent service charge applies.

Contact rkh.banquet@regalhotel.com.