The Foundation for Professional Development
Who We Are
In 2000, in collaboration with the IAS and Dira Sengwe, FPD brought the largest Conference to the shores of Africa. With 13000 delegates, the 2000 International AIDS conference in Durban was the 1st of the macro events ever held in Africa.
Services We Offer
FPD operates Events Interactive (Ei), acquired from our technology partner, Amlink Technologies based in UK and Australia. This advanced delegate administration software enables FPD to offer the full range of electronic delegate management services to our clients.
We provide a macro meeting and events management service with skilled and experienced staff working on state-of-the-art project management systems.
The organization is well established and recognized in the industry for excellence.
Our service model differs substantially from traditional PCO's, and is unique in South Africa in that:
We support organisations on a strategic level and on an operational level
There are no hidden commissions
We offer cash flow support
AIDS Conference Series which is attended by 5000+ delegates, as well as the SA TB Conference Series and have brought many international association conferences to South Africa.
| Contact Details |
| 173 Struland Office Park |
| Mary Road |
| The Willows |
| Pretoria East |
| +27 (0)12 816 9000 |
Supporting Business Tourism
FPD Conferences and Special Events is committed to the development of business tourism for both the local and international convention markets. As a professional supplier to the convention market, we are confident that there is great potential to develop business tourism within Southern Africa, through joint initiatives involving corporations, associations and government. The convention market is regarded as one of the most buoyant sectors of the tourism industry. The convention industry is globally recognized for its valuable economic contribution to tourism destinations. Major economic impacts of the industry are its contribution to employment and income, at both national and regional levels. Convention tourism is also associated with a range of other benefits (and costs) of a more intangible nature. Benefits include associated social and cultural experiences, the exchange of ideas, the cultivation of business contacts, the provision of forums for continuing education and training, and the facilitation of technology transfers
Our strategic alliances have proved to be valuable and long lasting with a 100% success rate on all of our projects.
Partnering with Associations
FPD belongs to a membership organization and has always believed in forming strategic partnerships as a key success factor. In such partnerships FPD, depending on the type of partnership, often:
Contributes the start up capital for international association conferences, where local societies do not have such resources. Typically a co-funding model is used, whereby both risks and benefits are shared by FPD and the partner in the form of a joint venture. On top of funding we offer partners ongoing support and services throughout the life of the initiative. FPD leverages off its expertise and networks to provide assistance in the following ways:
- helps the association develop and submit successful bids
- provides strategic business planning around all aspects of ensuring the success of the conference. This entails developing fund-raising strategies, marketing plans, support in securing political buy-in when required, security planning and general business advice.
In effect, partnering with FPD allows the association to focus on its traditional strength around setting the content agenda for the conference, while FPD focuses on managing strategy, marketing, finances and all logistical aspects of the project.