A formal appreciation event was held last night at Mövenpick Hotel Tallinn, where the City of Tallinn and the Estonian Convention Bureau announced the recipient of the Conference Achievement of the Year award and recognized the most outstanding conferences held in Tallinn in 2024. Additionally, certificates were presented to 12 new Tallinn Conference Ambassadors.

According to Tallinn Deputy Mayor Margot Roose, conference tourism plays an important role in strengthening Tallinn’s international image, and investments in this sector have a significant economic impact. “International conferences bring a wide range of experts from various fields to Tallinn, providing our researchers and entrepreneurs with opportunities for networking and collaboration. Conference tourism greatly contributes to the year-round success of Tallinn’s tourism sector. I am pleased that, with the support of the city's conference funding program, 24 conferences took place last year, with attendees contributing an estimated €8.2 million to Tallinn. Such excellent results are only possible thanks to the top-level work of Tallinn’s conference professionals and businesses,” Roose affirmed.

The 2024 Conference Achievement of the Year award by the Estonian Convention Bureau was granted to the CIOR/CIOMR/CISOR Summer Congress, organized by the Estonian Reserve Officers Association (EROK). The congress brought over 500 international delegates from 30 countries to Tallinn at the end of August and early September.

According to Ott Sarapuu, Chairman of the Board of the Estonian Convention Bureau, conferences create opportunities for developing cooperation networks and exchanging expertise. “The winning event stood out due to its diverse program, duration (five days), and the number of international participants. The conference was preceded by a 10-day CIOR Language Academy, attended by 141 foreigners. Additionally, the event featured various seminars, meetings, and a military pentathlon, adding to its uniqueness,” Sarapuu explained.

During the appreciation event, 20 international conferences held in 2024 were recognized for their diverse range of topics, spanning from medicine and healthcare to linguistics, social psychology, programming, and engineering education, as well as cultural heritage, beekeeping, and international cooperation in defense, education, and digital fields.

Additionally, special recognition was given to Tallinn’s annual flagship conferences, such as TMW Conference, BananaConf Tallinn, Lennart Meri Conference, Latitude59, The International Conference on Cyber Conflict, Nordic Testing Days, Annual Baltic Conference on Defence, Impact Day, and Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event.

Conference ambassadors, who are members of international networks within their fields, play an essential role in bringing conferences to Tallinn and strengthening the city’s reputation as an international conference destination. At last night’s event, 12 new professionals joined the ranks of Tallinn’s 111 recognized Conference Ambassadors.

Photo credit: Toomas Tuul (Estonian Convention Bureau)


Additional information – recognized conferences:

• Nordic and Baltic Folk Music Conference NORDTRAD
• Burning Man European Leadership Summit 2024
• The 11th Baltic Congress of Endocrinology and ESE Postgraduate Course
• NOPHO 2024 – Annual Meeting of the Nordic Society for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology
• Baltic Conference of Dermatovenereologists
• EBAN Annual Congress 2024
• The 12th International Conference on the Dialogical Self
• XXXV ISPIM Innovation Conference
• The 18th International Conference on Language and Social Psychology (ICLASP18:2024)
• The 10th Eastern European and Mediterranean Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine Conference 2024
• ICALP 2024 – The 51st EATCS International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming
• LICS 2024 – The 39th Annual ACM/IEEE Symposium on Logic in Computer Science (LICS)
• FSCD 2024 – The 9th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction
• The 25th Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS)
• CIOR/CIOMR/CISOR Summer Congress
• Eurbee10 – The 10th European Congress of Apidology
• ICL2024 – Futureproofing Engineering Education for Global Responsibility
• Erasmus Student Network Northern European Platform 2024
• Annual Conference of Directors General of the National Statistical Institutes (DGINS)
• Tallinn Digital Summit

Additional information – 12 new Tallinn conference ambassadors:

• Kadri Saks, Tallinn Children's Hospital
• Kadi Palumaa, Estonian Society of Ophthalmology
• Kristina Isand, Estonian Endocrinology Society
• Jaan Raik, TalTech
• Artur Jutman, TalTech
• Jürgen Merilind, Estonian Young General Practitioners
• Veiko Lillipuu, Estonian Young General Practitioners
• Sergei Nazarenko, Estonian Society for Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics
• Joosep Kepler, Estonian Society for Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics
• Karmo Tali, Estonian Association of Paediatric Surgery
• Iain Bitran, ISPIM – International Society for Professional Innovation Management
• David Lamas, Tallinn University