ICCA contingent discover ‘Incredible India’ is good for English reserve
Normal
0
0
1
223
1071
21
2
1561
11.1282
0
0
0
On
boarding the plane to Hyderabad at the end of October, I found myself in the
company of the UK & Ireland Chapter from the International Congress &
Convention Association, all of us heading to India for the 49th
annual ICCA Congress.
Over
the five days of the conference, I noticed how our collective Englishness is
both an advantage and a hindrance when networking and mixing with
representatives from 83 other countries. Take our politeness for example. It’s
great for over lunch conversations, not ideal for responding to direct business
enquiries and, when it comes to competing in ‘It’s a Knock-Out’-style races, it
lacks a certain competitive edge.
The
UK and Ireland team, which entered these races as part of the second night’s
gala dinner, failed to progress further than the opening heat. Team members
including ACC Liverpool’s Kerrin MacPhie and Excel London’s James Rees paid far
too much attention to the detail of dressing up as an Indian bridal party when
they should have been showing more disregard to the rules of fair play and
focusing on getting over the finish line, no matter what the state of
undress.
By
the final evening of the congress however, the English reserve had all but
disappeared and everyone made a huge effort to look the part in traditional
Indian dress for the gala dinner. It truly was Incredible India.
