While combining a world congress with a national meeting may sound like hard work, Eve Propper is one person who definitely thinks it’s worth the effort.

According to Ms Propper, the Event Manager for the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA), staging a joint event can deliver a range of benefits to the host organisation.

Despite the global financial crisis, more than 1,300 delegates from around the world attended the combined Pathology Update 2009 and XXV World Association of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (WASPaLM) World Congress, hosted by the College and held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in March this year.

Ms Propper said the College had been honoured to host WASPaLM, which was last held in Australia in1974.

“Embedding the international event in our own national meeting was an excellent move,” Ms Propper said.

“It really helped us build relations with sister colleges in our field and was very beneficial for pathology dialogue in this region.”

Having held its annual Pathology Update at the Centre every year since 2002, the College was keen to call on the expertise of Centre staff to make the combined event a success.

According to Ms Propper, the Centre’s sales team provided invaluable information about boosting delegate numbers, and worked closely with the association to ensure the expanded event had all the support it required.

Not only were more meeting rooms required to accommodate extra delegates, the event’s exhibition space doubled to 5,000 square metres.

“We had excellent feedback on the venue and the Centre clearly went beyond the call of duty to help us. Their event managers were attending meetings with us at 7am on the weekend just to make sure it all went smoothly,” Ms Propper said.

Ms Propper’s enthusiasm for the venue was shared by the Chair of the Overseeing Committee for the event, Dr Chris Hemming, who said the Centre’s setting was ideal.

“The Convention Centre’s waterside location on the edge of Darling Harbour meant that our overseas delegates could experience Sydney Harbour but still have easy access to shops, restaurants and the city centre,” Dr Hemming said.