A roundtable with ministers, Franciscan clergy, international heritage experts and EU institution representatives in the same room demands a specific level of preparation. Every detail needs to be aligned in advance. Protocol must be respected throughout. The technical setup must work without interruption. And the whole event should feel as though it came together naturally.
MICE.BA organised this event. This is what we delivered.
Event Details
Client: Office for European Integration, Government of West Herzegovina County
Event Roundtable: “Preservation and Promotion of Franciscan Tangible and Intangible Cultural and Historical Heritage through the Development and Promotion of the FRANCISCANA Cultural Route”
Framework: Third International Conference on Digitisation, Archiving, Preservation and Promotion of Intangible Cultural Heritage, under the patronage of the UNESCO Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Type: Interactive roundtable with keynote address, panel discussion and project presentation
Venue: Academy of Fine Arts, Široki Brijeg
Date: 19 October 2023
Participants: Over 90, including Franciscan clergy from Bosnia and Herzegovina, government representatives from three countries, cultural heritage experts and tourism sector representatives
Funding: Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, Republic of Croatia, Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina Cross-Border Cooperation Programme
The Participants
The roundtable brought together a genuinely diverse group of stakeholders. On one side of the table were Franciscan friars from across the region, including the Provincial of the Franciscan Province. On the other side were government ministers, representatives of EU institutions and international experts in cultural heritage and tourism.
Coordinating this kind of group requires careful advance communication, clear protocol sequencing and the ability to manage a formal programme that serves very different institutional interests in the same room.
What MICE.BA Delivered
Venue selection and preparation: We selected and prepared the Academy of Fine Arts in Široki Brijeg as the venue. The space provided a setting that matched the cultural and institutional weight of the event.
Technical management: We managed sound, projection and programme recording throughout the event.
Guest reception and participant coordination: We coordinated the reception of all guests, managed seating arrangements and prepared participants for the programme sequence.
PR and media promotion: We prepared and distributed press materials before and after the event and managed media communication throughout.
Photography: We engaged a professional photographer to document the key moments of the roundtable.
Post-event lunch: We organised a shared lunch with local cuisine following the conclusion of the programme.
Why This Reference Matters
Organising a roundtable under UNESCO patronage with over 90 participants of high institutional standing is a different kind of work from a standard conference. There is less room for error and more weight placed on every detail.
Events like this one sit at the intersection of heritage, diplomacy and policy. The organiser needs to understand the context, manage competing protocols and deliver a programme that runs without interruption and leaves the right impression on everyone present.
For international agencies looking for a PCO partner in Bosnia and Herzegovina who can handle this level of complexity, this case study is the most direct answer we can give.
Planning a Roundtable, Forum or Conference in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
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Author: Josipa Terzić – Rezić, CIS and CCMEP Certified Professional Event Organiser
CIS – Certified Incentive Specialist (certified by SITE – Society for Incentive Travel Excellence)
CCMEP – Certified Congress, Meeting, and Event Professional (certified by the HCCP – Croatian Association of Congress Professionals)
mice@mice.ba | GSM: +387 63 408 597 | www.mice.ba
