The Conference Company was established in August 1997 as a professional conference organising company (PCO) to assist corporate, association and government conferences with their event co-ordination.
We have offices in Durban, Cape Town and Gauteng, allowing us to network throughout South Africa as well as in to Sub Saharan African Countries.
We offer a comprehensive service from assisting in the establishment of the Association and its member database to assisting in organinsing the Associations Conference.
From a Destination Management perspective, we are more than capable of managing your “on the ground” needs. Whether the association or company has a Core PCO or not, we would love to assist with your arrangements, from tours to accommodation.
IT systems form an integral part of operations at The Conference Company, in the offices and on site at conferences and are maintained and supported by a local IT Company. The Conference Company has dedicated servers on site that run the Durban, Cape Town and Gauteng office IT requirements and our computer needs are updated regularly according to international standards.
In December 2008 Nina Freysen-Pretorius was invited to serve on the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism Board and is the current Chair for the Marketing Subcommittee. The KwaZulu-Natal Tourism Authority is responsible for the development, promotion and marketing of tourism within KwaZulu-Natal and marketing the region domestically and internationally.
The Conference Company is a member of SAACI and accredited as an International Professional Conference Organiser by Grant Thornton, Kessel, Feinstein. CEO, Nina Freysen-Pretorius is Chair of the National SAACI Board and serves on the KwaZulu-Natal Branch.
The Conference Company is a member of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). In November 2008, Nina was appointed to the ICCA Board as the Africa/Middle East Chapter Representative and was appointed as the Chair of the ICCA Africa Chapter. Nina has since been asked to sit on the ICCA MFC (Management Finance Committee). In October 2010 Nina was appointed 2nd Vice President.
The Conference Company is also a member of the World PCO Alliance. this group was formed by motivated PCO's to capitalize on the efficiency of consolidating regional conference and event services within one network.
WHY THE CONFERENCE COMPANY?
Each association conference that we bid for, or appointed to work with, is taken personally. Each contract is treated as an individual new relationship that needs nurturing, is given personal attention and an individual approach dependent on the group profile and client objectives. Our preference is to work with each association from the bidding stage through to the final account reconciliation.
It is therefore, not unusual, for us to bid at risk with a client for a congress, as this allows us a window of opportunity to identify and understand the actual objectives and innuendos of that particular project. No detail is too small or demanding, as one critical aspect of an entire congress can determine the success or failure.
COLLECTIVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
The Conference Company team is comprised of four sections: marketing, finance and registration, project management and exhibition management. The CEO, Nina Freysen-Pretorius heads each team on each project to work closely with our clients. The project team with their combined expertise is carefully matched to suit the client’s requirements. Our considerable experience of all conferences that we have been involved with, is brought to the fore to give our clients a professional and dedicated service in all aspects of conference co-ordination.
It is imperative to our reputation that our clients are always given the most professional service, at a reasonable rate and that confidentiality is maintained at all times.
2011 Conferences
T-Track - 20-23 March 2011
International Confederation of Midwives - 18- 23 June 2011 www.midwives2011.org
K-Rith - 11 - 15 July 2011 more details to follow
Health Informatics for Southern Africa 24-26 July 2011 www.hisa.co.za
South African Sugar Technologists' Association - 16-19 August 2011 www.sasta.co.za
Sport Physio - Exhibition 9-10 September 2011
Neonatal Nurses Association of Southern Africa - www.nnasa.org.za
Disabled Peoples International 8th world Assembly- 10-13 October 2011 www.dpi2011.co.za
World Mental Health - 17-21 October 2011 www.wmhc2011.com
14th Annual IGPA Conference (Generic Medicines) - 31 Oct - 3 November 2011 www.igpacapetown2011.com
South African Society for Microbiologies (SASM) - 6-9 November 2011 - more details to follow
Diabetes Educators Society of South Africa - 6 - 9 November 2011 - Association Management
PKF - 24 - 27 November 2011 - Email ingrid@confco.co.za for more details
Forest Day 5 - 4 December 2011 - more details to follow
COP 17 -
2012 Conferences
Non Destructive Testing - Durban, South Africa - www.wcndt2012.org.za
WISA - Cape Town South Africa - www.wisa2012.org.za
IAAIS - More details to follow
THE CONFERENCE COMPANY AND BROAD BASED BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
The Conference Company is supportive of the BEE initiative and promotes awareness by using BEE suppliers. We at The Conference Company have achieved a Level 3 rating status and will always try, as far as possible, to use indigenous suppliers to the region the event is held thereby assisting and promoting previously disadvantaged communities and emerging entrepreneurs.
To view our BEE certificate please click here.
World PCO Alliance Spreads its wings to Africa, Europe and the Americas.
The World PCO Alliance, launched last year at IMEX 2009 with seven Asian members, announced that it recently expanded to comprise 15 Professional Conference Organisers (PCO's) of which The Conference Company is one.
Read more: www.worldpco.org
