- Chambers from Asia Pacific are already preparing their bids to host the 6th World Chambers Congress when it returns to the region in 2009.

The last WCF congress in the area was the 2nd World Chambers Congress held in June 2001 in Seoul, Korea.

The World Chambers Congress is the only event of its scale and scope to bring together chambers of commerce of all sizes from around the globe. It provides a forum for chambers to share best-practice experience, develop networks and le arn about new areas of innovation from other chambers as they face the challenge of remaining relevant to companies in their region.

Chambers interested in hosting the congress in 2009 need to submit their dossiers to the WCF congress selection committee by the beginning of 2006. The committee will make its final decision later in 2006, allowing the winning host chamber ample time to promote the 2009 event at the 5th World Chambers Congress in Istanbul, 25-27 April 2007.

This year, for the first time, WCF established a selection committee to implement a transparent process for choosing its 2007 host, involving members and past hosts from the global chamber community. Guidelines were also developed to help chambers complete their bid.

The hosting of the 2005 congress attracted three strong bids from Istanbul (Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey - TOBB), Bratislava (Slovak Chamber of Commerce & Industry) and Monaco (Economic Development Chamber of Monaco).

Chamber leaders from India, the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Ecuador, Mexico, New Zealand, Korea, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland, South Africa, Ethiopia and Syria helped make up the congress selection committee that picked Istanbul as the overall winner from the three finalists. Committee members were chosen for their differing perspectives on what they considered to be the key aspects for attracting potential congress participants from their region.

Ever since the first World Chambers Congress was held in Marseilles in 1999, chambers from every continent have lined up as candidates to host this important event.
Chambers from the Americas have also started to contact WCF expressing their interest to host the congress in 2011. This is just one year after the most successful congress to date, held in Quebec in September 2003, attracted chamber leaders and executives from over 91 countries.

The 4th World Chambers Congress is set to take place in Durban, South Africa, 20-22 June 2005.

World Chambers Federation