The International Special Events Society officially changed its name to the International Live Events Association (ILEA), via a video broadcast, presented by international president Jodi Collen CSEP.
The name change is said to reflect the global nature of the association and the more relevant term of “live” used by its members to describe the range of events delivered. It will begin with immediate effect.
A wider roll out of the brand will be carried out over the coming months to encompass a new logo, website and other marketing collateral. In addition, the association will be transitioning its existing social media presence to create new names and pages where necessary.
“The world has changed phenomenally since the International Special Events Society was founded in 1987 and our industry has always kept up and changed with it,” Collen said. “This is the culmination of a process that began several years ago and that will continue as our association continues to evolve.
“We are known by our global members and partners as the live events industry. ‘Live’ is quite simply the best way to express and communicate in one powerful word the fantastic energy and clarity that live events, no matter what kind, bring to human communication.
“The change from ‘Society’ to ‘Association’ is equally as important—it is the crux of what ILEA is about. We’re more than a ‘Society’, we’re a close-knit ‘Association’ of likeminded people working together through trust and commitment to purpose. This is a massive opportunity for us as an association.”
In an interview with CEI Asia, VP of membership and incoming president of ILEA’s Hong Kong Chapter Robert Rogers noted that the name change was also a necessity due to the similarities between it and the acronym used by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)—which admittedly turned some heads.
Rogers told CEI Asia that the Middle East chapter “opened about five years ago, and at the time it was calling itself ‘ISES Middle East.’” This chapter has been known as ILEA Middle East for about two years.
ILEA works to join event and meeting professionals to focus on the "event as a whole" rather than its individual parts. ILEA has grown to involve more than 5,500 members active in 52 chapters.
The new ILEA website is now active at www.ileahub.com.
