Our increasingly adverse international climate has significant implications for the level of security that conferences and congresses must afford their attendees and other stakeholders. The World PCO Alliance believes that it is incumbent on PCOs to assume the responsibility of minimizing such risks to the events under their care.
The Alliance partners therefore jointly commit to the Alliance’s Duty of Care Commitment and to implementing rigorous initiatives to manage security risks on behalf of their clients.
Alliance partners make it a policy to initiate a dialogue with each of their clients on the topic of security, and ensure that appropriate measures are enacted by all parties involved in the organization of an event, including representatives of destinations, venues, suppliers and public personnel. In addition to designing risk management strategies for their clients, partners also advise them in communicating critical information to their attendees.
Under the Alliance’s Duty of Care Commitment, partners address the following event security provisions:
- A formal event risk assessment
- A customized crisis plan that considers event partners such as venue/destination security
- Discussing and securing the most appropriate insurance policies
- Determining whether private security is necessary and undertaking the task of engaging any such personnel
- Ensuring that all staff assigned to the event are adequately trained in spotting, averting and/or managing any security risks
- Special measures for any attending high-level government officials or Heads of State, including travel or the coordination of airport /transportation arrangements and on-site security screenings
- A venue safety and emergency procedure that includes key information such as the location of emergency exits
- An official statement (if necessary) to attendees leading up to the event, and the security guidelines/emergency procedures on-site during the event.
- A post-mortem report within the framework of each client contract to send forward to the next edition of the event
In applying their Duty of Care Commitment, Alliance members ensure their clients’ peace of mind in knowing that adequate security measures have been implemented for their events in the current international climate.
