The major investments made in 2005 by Saint-Étienne’s conference centre, which offers an 800-seat amphitheatre, 17 break-out rooms and an exhibition space measuring
3000 m², have paid off. In fact its business activity has grown by 12% last year with a total of 195 events organised of which almost half were either national or international in character ; 115,031 visitors ; 82,208 delegate days and a total of 472 booked days throughout the year, due in part because several events can be held at the same time.

Some of the highlights of 2006 include the Congrès National des Officiers de Réserve ; the Congrès de la Fédération Française de Judo ; the Congrès Incom, an international technical and scientific event ; the Congrès National des Jeunes Dirigeants d’Entreprises involving 800 participants; the Rencontres Piscines Desjoyaux held over one week involving 150 different delegates every day; the Clextral company’s international conference; the Congrès National d’Hémostase et Thrombose and the Rencontres Textile-Santé.

And it looks like Saint-Étienne will continue along the same path in 2007, having started the year at top speed with, notably, the organisation of the 1^st International Forum on Broadband which was held on 7/8 February.

At the beginning of March it was the turn of AIMV (an organisation dealing with loneliness, illness and age) which chose Saint-Étienne to celebrate its 50^th anniversary in front of 800 participants. Between 23 and 25 March, the Salon de l’Immobilier et de la Maison Individuelle should also attract a good number of visitors, likewise for the La Vogue du Net show, open to the general public, from 11-12 May.

Other highlights will include: the Journées Annuelles de la Société Française de Métallurgie et de Matériaux (30 May to 1^st June); the 2^e Forum de la Kinésithérapeuthie et Fitness (2 June); the Congrès National de la CFDT Retraité (5- June); the Congrès National de la Jeune Chambre Economique (8 and 9 June); the 45^e Congrès International Francophone de Médecine Légale involving over 400 participants (13-15 June); the 54^e Congrès du Conseil National des Economies Régionales (20 and 21 September); the 11^e Congrès de la Société Française de Génie des Procédés (9-11 October) and the Rendez-vous de l’Offre d’Emploi on 14 December.

In order to attract companies, Saint-Étienne has just invested in a videoconferencing system. Thanks to this new technology, we hope to be able to appeal to local
Saint-Etienne-based and regional companies that are looking to organise meetings and conferences over long distances, enabling them to link three sites simultaneously, explains Chrystelle Bonnefoy, spokesperson for the conference centre. It’s possible to have just two speakers or even several hundred participants, and we offer both packages and made-to-measure. Since we launched this service, four companies have already used it. It’s worth noting the Épora and the Set Forges conference, the latter based in Roche-la-Molière where the company directors were able to talk with the managers of their branch located in India . The other new feature for 2007 is the installation of fibre optic broadband connections together with wireless technology. This enables event organisers to offer an internet connection that is 50 times faster than ADSL!