The Business of Events can announce Anita Mendiratta, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and Dr Helge A Wurdemann, Professor and Chair of Robotics and Head of the Soft Haptics & Robotics Lab at University College London as the final speakers for the UK Policy Forum, which will take place on 8th November at IET London: Savoy Place.
Mendiratta will deliver the closing address at the UK Policy Forum and Dr Wurdemann will join Stephanie Newton of Marketing Manchester and Laura Wilson of VisitAberdeenshire on the session How Ambassadors Influence Growth.
The forum is an official event as part of the Governments International Trade Week, which takes place from 6 – 10th November 2023. The UK Policy Forum will bring together government officials and political experts from the beyond the events sector with the objective of enhancing communication between the industry and Government, as well as developing a Policy Agenda.
With more than three decades of professional experience, Mendiratta is a trusted advisor to senior leaders in governments, businesses, and international organisations as a strategic partner central to effective ideation, innovation, collaboration as well as conflict resolution.
Since 2020, she has been guiding leaders and educators in sustainable recovery of Travel, Tourism and Aviation in a post-COVID world and was named as one of the ‘Top 25 Inspirational Executives in Travel/Hospitality’ in 2023.
Speaking about the event, Anita Mendiratta said: “Business events are an invaluable driver of growth for the UK economy, providing a critical platform for not only job creation and revenue attraction, but community engagement, innovation, cross-industry cooperation, and national identity building. When successfully mobilised through strong, committed public:private partnerships, they unlock enormous opportunities for advancement in many of the UK’s major sectors as well as stimulating positive change amongst our local communities. I am honoured to deliver the closing address at this important Forum, and look forward to hearing from the other speakers and contributors from across the political and business events sectors.”
Dr Wurdemann has been instrumental in the research and development of several artificial intelligence and robotics projects at the university and has authored more than 100-peer reviewed papers, including top transactions and journals of the IEEE and ASME, and in proceedings of leading international conferences.
He has also supported prestigious robotics conferences including the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) and the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) as an Associate Editor and Associate VP within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Robotics & Automation Society Conference Activities Board.
The full programme for the event can be viewed here. Confirmed speakers for the UK Policy Forum include:
- Martin Green CBE, former MD, Eurovision 2023
- Michael Gietzen, CEO, Identity
- Nick Watt, Political Editor, BBC Newsnight
- RT Hon Theresa Villiers MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Events
- Senthil Gopinath, CEO, ICCA
- Laura Wilson, Head of Convention Bureau, VisitAberdeenshire
- Stephanie Newton, Head of Business Tourism, Marketing Manchester
- Rachael McGuickin, Director of Business Development, Sustainability and Transformation at Visit Belfast
- Paul Black, Head of Business Events, VisitBritain
- Chris Skeith OBE, Chair, UKEVENTS
- Chris Gallon, CEO EMEA, Clarion
- Ian Edwards, CEO, ICC Wales and The Celtic Collection
There are a limited number of spaces for the UK Policy Forum available, if you would like to attend, please contact Martin Fullard on martin@the-business-of-events.com
The Business of Events is supported by VisitBritain | VisitScotland | ICC Wales | RX | IBTM World | The Belfry | Cvent | UKEVENTS | IET Savoy Place | Searcys | 116 Pall Mall
