The organisers behind the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) announced the official theme for its annual Knowledge Monday programme for 2027 today, 20th October.
The upcoming event will revolve around the theme AIMEplify: People, Business, and Impact, exploring where human connection meets technology.
The event kicks off AIME 2027 which runs from 15th to 17th February 2027 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and is set to host over 25,000 meetings between over 800 exhibitors and more than 1,600 vetted buyers.
The next edition of AIME will also feature two new industry-led formats and the new Knowledge Monday Programme Committee that will help shape the event’s opening day in Melbourne.
What AIMEplify means in the age of artificial intelligence
As AI changes how events are planned and delivered, AIMEplify asks the industry to identify what is already working and amplify it.
That means the value of its people, the expertise behind its businesses and the impact business events create when people come together.
Curated by AIME in collaboration with BEAMexperience founder El Kwang, Knowledge Monday is an event where industry leaders and subject experts will share collective wisdom and challenge conventional thinking, giving business events professionals practical insights to take back to their own teams and businesses.
According to Kwang,the theme recognises the increasingly important role of human connection and judgement in a world shaped by rapid technological change.
As he put it: “Business events have always been about what happens when people come together with purpose, including the relationships they build, the ideas they exchange and the opportunities they create.”
Kwang added that, as technology takes on more of the execution, the value of the MICE / events management profession sits in the expertise people bring: the experience, judgement and creativity that turn a meeting into a business outcome.
He concluded by saying: “AIMEplify is about recognising that value and amplifying what is already working across our industry.”
A two-arc experience
The full Knowledge Monday programme will follow two arcs across the day, each tied to the AIMEplify theme.
The morning arc focuses on people, through Inspire Me, Motivate Me and Look After Me and My Team.
The afternoon arc turns to business and impact, with Challenge Me and My Team and Show Me What’s Possible exploring how technology can extend what the industry does while human expertise stays at the centre.
Shaping the topics, keynote speakers and overall content is the new Knowledge Monday Program Committee.
Its members come from corporate, agency and consulting businesses, reflecting the depth and breadth of the business events industry.
Working with input from curated focus groups, the committee has built a programme around the topics the industry asked for.
Committee members are as follows:
- Ashleigh Cooper, Group Event and Engagement Manager, Charter Hall
- Darren Chuckry, Founder and Managing Director, HK Initiative
- Janene Wardrop, Director, Ascot Event Collective
- Michelle Sargent, Managing Director, Events Beyond
- Petrina Goh, Regional Account Director, BCD Meetings & Events
- Sarah Markey-Hamm, Founder, SMH - Event Industry Consulting
Led by the Knowledge Monday Program Committee, Knowledge Monday 2027 will bring a fresh approach to event design, building on its established keynote program with two new formats that give the industry a bigger role in the room.
