When dealing with very large conferences, you can’t simply focus on one area at a time and instead have to deal with multiple areas, such arranging things with stakeholders, handling abstracts, or dealing with VIPs, both Japanese and non-Japanese, at the same time. I’ve helped managed a great many academic conferences and I’m proud whenever I feel that I played a role in ensuring my client had a successful conference.

For international meetings, I interact with our clients from preparing a bid paper for Japan, until after the meeting finishes. Having a successful conference isn’t just about having a lot of attendees or famous speakers. We have to ensure top specialists in the field attend the meeting, so this requires bridging cultural gaps with them and gaps in business norm with sponsors, among others, to plan and manage the meeting. Of course we sit down and discuss with our clients their goals and wishes for their conference, and I feel satisfied seeing those are finally accomplished onsite.

It happens with some conferences where the president, for example, really wants the conference to reflect a special theme, such as the region. I take real pleasure in having to be creative to respond to these requests, in order to meet our clients’ desires. At JCS our specialized project management team support our clients’ conferences from planning to onsite and afterwards.

For some international conferences, we have to start the preparations start 4 years before the conference itself. During this, we work hand-in-hand with our clients to ensure a unique and successful conference for all of those involved. I always use my experience to propose new ideas to ensure unforgettable conferences, and I know that clients and attendees enjoy them as well.