Chambers of commerce from all parts of the globe are to come together later this year for the first-ever World Chambers Congress to be held in Marseille, France.
The Premiere Congress is being organized by the oldest chamber in the world, Marseille, which this year celebrates its 400th anniversary, together with the International Chamber of Commerce.
The congress aims to provide a dynamic forum for chambers to exchange ideas on the services they can provide and on best practice. Among the many issues addressed by speakers will be the new financial, managerial and service structures available to help chambers of commerce maintain a balanced budget; how to keep up with the information technology revolution; and the role of local chambers in the global marketplace.
Organizers of the congress are determined that it should provide real assistance to chambers of commerce as they strive to meet the ever-changing needs of business. Towards this end, IBCC’s chambers of commerce network at city and national level, was given a say in the choice of topics for the two-day congress through a member survey.
As part of its brief, the end-September congress is expected to ratify a Charter for Chambers in the Next Millennium, an action plan to be devised by chambers for chambers. "There is no other charter like this in existence. This will be the first global strategic plan for chambers of congress to continue their relevance into the next century," said Anthony Parkes who manages the ICC International Bureau of Chambers of Commerce (IBCC).
To ensure the participation of delegates from less developed c ountries in the Premiere World Chambers Congress, IBCC is in discussion with aid agencies to arrange for any necesssary funding. Interested chambers should contact both their local aid agencies and IBCC.
There are currently 10,000 chambers of commerce contained in the IBCC’s World Chambers Network Chamber Registry (WCN), many of whom are expected to send delegates to the Premiere Congress. Congress registration will begin in April.
