For anyone who has not already heard, MPI (Meeting Professionnals International), which is an international association comprising of 24,000 members in over 60 countries worldwise, has just opened up two branches in the Rhône-Alpes, one in Grenoble and the other in Lyon. The latter is run by Yves Rioton, who organises the Séminaires Business Rhône-Alpes workshop. The other branch has been opened by Maguy Sicuro, founder of the events agency Sicuro Events based in Le Fontanil on the outskirst of Grenoble.

After more than 20 years spent living away from her native city of Grenoble, the events specialist in the medical and scientific industries has returned to her home territory to open an agency. Last September she also established a branch of MPI in the city. MPI has been present for the last 10 years in Paris and, since 2007, in Nice, she notes. Basically it’s an international organisation that is set up in regional chapters and with a membership that includes conference bureaux, events agencies and other suppliers. There is also a branch in Lille and the aim of all these different branches is to recruit new members in order to better promote event organising opportunities in our various sectors .

To achieve this, MPI organises regular get-togethers known as MPI Cafés which are open to both members and non-members. In Grenoble, the first one is planned for January and Maguy Sicuro is planning to organise three or four in 2010. There are 250 MPI members in France, of which three are in the Isère , she states. Membership costs 375 € per month and gives access to all the conferences throughout France and a monthly subscription to One Plus. Members also receive regular emailed studies about how the events market is evolving .

That is not all. Joining MPI also means that members can access specifically tailored training courses, such as the ones offered by the ERAM Business School de Nice, which has become MPI’s training centre for Europe, as well as job offers and special industry days which are organised on a regular basis. MPI allows members to publicise their company profile on its website which is a really useful tool for finding work or partners, concludes Maguy Sicuro. And we manage to get together every year during our European conference which brings together all the biggest names in event organisation. The last conference was held in Turin and the next one is planned for Malaga from 28 February to 2 March 2010 .