The Palais des congrès de Montréal honours 18 Ambassadors who generated $73M for the economy

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 8, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - During their Recognition Award Gala of November 8, the Palais des congrès de Montréal marked the invaluable collaboration of 18 Ambassadors who helped bring 12 international conferences to Montréal. These major events represent over $73 million in economic benefits for Montréal and Québec, and will draw more than 32,000 delegates to the city. "Montréal hosts more international events than any other city in the Americas, an honour vastly attributable to our Ambassadors and their commitment to advocating for their city and their scientific fields all over the world," mentioned Robert Mercure, President and CEO of the Palais des congrès de Montréal. "The Recognition Award Gala recognizes the undeniable contribution and leadership of these Ambassadors, but also the role played by our industry partners, especially Tourisme Montréal and the Hotel Association of Greater Montréal," he added.

Mr. Robert Mercure, President and CEO of the Palais des congrès de Montréal, at the 2018 Recognition Award Gala where 18 Ambassadors have been honoured. (CNW Group/Palais des congrès de Montréal)

"For over 30 years, the Club's Ambassadors have helped to make Montréal the city that hosts the greatest number of international events in North America. They include dedicated individuals who, through their efforts to attract thousands of convention delegates to Montréal, are enabling Québec to take advantage of a striking showcase among international clienteles", noted Minister of Tourism Caroline Proulx.

327 INFLUENTIAL MEMBERS
The Recognition Award Gala shines the spotlight on the exceptional work of these dynamic and influential women and men who, on top of their regular careers, actively involve themselves in the process of attracting international conferences to Montréal, and the Palais. This year, 16 new well-known figures joined the Ambassadors Club, while two existing members confirmed their Emeritus Ambassador status for delivering a second international conference in the case of Professor Fabrice Labeau, and a third conference for Professor Hany Moustapha, who is also the Club's President. "Since 1985, the passion that drives the 327 members of the Club has helped attract nearly 250 major events, which have contributed $1.1 billion to the city's and province's economy, plus significant intellectual wealth," said an enthusiastic Professor Hany Moustapha, President of the Ambassadors Club.

Ambassadors APPOINTED IN 2018

• Professor Shirley Lehnert and Professor Jan Seuntjens17th International Congress on Radiation Research – ICRR 2023, September 2023
• Professor James J. Clark18th International Conference on Computer Vision – ICCV 2021, October 2021
• Professor Joelle Pineau and Professor Doina Precup30th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence – IJCAI 2021, July 2021
• Professor Yola Moride33rd International Conference on Pharmacoepidemiology & Therapeutic Risk Management, August 2017
• Professor Wahab Almuhtadi and Mr. Ibrahim J. Gedeon42nd IEEE International Conference on Communications – ICC 2021, June 2021
• Professor Denis deBlois and Professor Lyne Lalonde7th FIP Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress, May 2020
• Professor Ali Hafez9th International Congress on Glaucoma Surgery – ICGS 2018, September 2018
• Professor Hany Moustapha, Emeritus Ambassador Global Power & Propulsion Society Conference, GPPS 2018, May 2018
• Professor Karim Benyekhlef and Professor Fabien Gélinas21st Annual General Meeting – Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - ICANN66, November 2019
• Professor Fabrice Labeau, Emeritus AmbassadorIEEE SENSORS 2019 –  The 18th IEEE Conference on Sensors, October 2019
• Mr. Dominic BruneauWorld Robot Olympiad – WRO 2020, November 2020
• Dr. Susan Kahn and Dr. Marc RodgerXXXI ISTH Congress with 69th Annual SSC Meeting – International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, June 2023

EMERGING RESEARCHERS RECOGNIZED
During the evening, tribute was also paid to three winners of the Fonds de recherche du Québec Relève étoile award for emerging researchers. They are Catherine Bélanger, Maude Brunet and Kha Han Lisa Dang. This competition makes it possible to recognize the excellent research being conducted by young researchers and to foster research careers within Québec universities.

Also, the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail saluted the work of Franck Sgard and Jérémie Voix, recipients of the very first IRSST – Ambassadors Club award, for bringing the 26th International Congress on Sound and Vibration – ICSV26 to Montréal.

A SPECIAL EVENING TO MARK THE 35 YEARS OF THE PALAIS
Hosted by Pierre Chastenay, the evening also showcased the culinary talents of Capital Catering and the city's seven major hotels: the Delta Hotel by Marriot Montréal, Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, Marriott Château Champlain, Westin Montréal, Sheraton Centre Montréal, InterContinental Montréal and Hyatt Regency Montréal. Produced by the Palais des congrès, the 2018 Recognition Award Gala was made possible thanks to some outstanding support, especially from Freeman Audio Visual Canada:

"A Canadian leader in high-tech innovation, Freeman Audio Visual Canada is proud to once again this year be the major sponsor of this remarkable event saluting the significant role the Ambassadors play," mentioned Bernard Carignan, Regional Director – Eastern Region.

The Palais' production partner, Idées au cube, also had a hand in the evening's success:

"Idées au cube was proud to lend its creativity and knowhow to this prominent event. This year, we challenged ourselves to showcase the architectural elements of the Palais as a way of staging the content in a lively and inventive manner, and ultimately create an exceptional event," explained Nathalie Gélinas, Producer.

RESERVING A SPOT FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Together with GDI, the Palais des congrès once again proudly gave the flowers from the event a second life by donating them to the residents of the Centre d'hébergement Manoir-de-l'Âge-d'Or. An original way to spread happiness while fostering the social aspect of the Palais' longstanding sustainability plan!

For complete details on the event, go to congresmtl.com/gala.

ABOUT THE Palais des congrès de Montréal
Recipient of the highest quality standards certification in the industry, the Palais des congrès de Montréal attracts and hosts conventions, exhibitions, conferences, meetings and other events. It generates major tourism revenues and intellectual wealth for Montréal and Québec, while also contributing to the international reputation of Montréal, the top host city in the Americas for international events. To learn more, visit congresmtl.com.

NB We will post pictures of the event on November 9 on our Flickr page at Flickr congresmtl.com. High-res versions may also be obtained upon request.

SOURCE Palais des congrès de Montréal

For further information: Source: Chrystine Loriaux, Adm. A., B.A.A., Director, Marketing and Communications, Société du Palais des congrès de Montréal; For information: Renaud Martel-Théorêt, Advisor, Communications and Public Affairs, Société du Palais des congrès de Montréal, [e-mail], Phone: [phone], @Palais_Montreal