The Report on the Survey will be presented at the annual UIA Associate Members’ Meeting on 24 November 2023 in Brussels; the Report will then be generally available for download, free of charge, from the UIA website. This comprehensive Report will be available in three languages (English, French and Spanish) and will describe by means of text, graphics and tables the changes associations are making in organizing their events, considering their experience, expectations and needs. No personal or associations’ details will be published in the final Report.

The Survey Report attracts great attention from international organizations and the meetings industry across the world. Good rates of participation mean that not only is the Report valuable to associations but also that sponsorship brings very useful visibility. Sponsors are made known on both the form and the Report as well as the website, and in messages to some 25,000 international associations about once a month until October 2023. To support the Survey with sponsorship, go to Survey Sponsorship 2023.

In 2022 about 1,000 associations responded to the Survey, and 99% of them organize at least one major international meeting a year. 13% of meetings drew 1,001 to 2,500 participants in 2021 (2022 Report) compared with 7% of a similar size in 2020 (2021 Report). This may be a reflection of the members being keen to return to attending meetings in person, with the advantages of networking, making new acquaintances, acquiring and exchanging knowledge in an environment away from their everyday surroundings. But also the increased proportion of larger meetings being reported results from the use of technological platforms for the smaller gatherings, such as committees, in place of physically travelling to meet. Over the past four years the quality and quantity of online provision for discussion have increased by leaps and bounds, and users have become increasingly familiar with the various means on offer, an opportunity which has been grasped by associations. Using technology presented much less of a challenge in 2021 (2022 Report): difficulties reported with hardware and internet speed decreased and 45% of respondents said they had not many problems with technology.

Some associations have taken the opportunity during the quiet times of the pandemic to reorganize their membership into smaller regions or chapters. Some people who could not manage to travel have participated for the first time in meetings just because these were held online, and here the technology has proved a boon. A majority of those contributing to the 2022 Report, as many as 66%, said they intended to continue with online or hybrid meetings, which will involve a considerable investment in time, expense and effort but adds a new dimension to organizing events. Another more recent development in planning of meetings is increased consideration of health and environmental aspects.

Almost half the associations said they did not know of, or did not use, the potential offering of Convention Bureaus, and the same percentage, 46%, did not know about, or did not use, the service of Tourism or Congress Offices.

The UIA was founded in 1907 in Brussels with the aim of researching the life of international associations, regardless of location or field of activities. Today the UIA is the world’s oldest, largest, and most comprehensive source of information on global civil society. The UIA collects, hosts, and provides up-to-date, reliable information on global civil society and maintains the most comprehensive source of information on international associations, their activities and concerns, and their meetings activities. International associations around the world represent many diverse interests of civic, charitable, medical, commercial or industrial nature, but their methods of operation are remarkably similar to each other.

The UIA also promotes the work of international associations by organizing surveys such as this one, and educational activities such as the Round Table. The UIA publishes the Yearbook of International Organizations which includes detailed information on over 42,000 active and approximately 32,000 dormant international organizations from 300 countries and territories. Approximately 1,200 new organizations are added each year.