For the first time to be held in the Philippines, the 71st FIABCI World Real Estate Congress, to be on May 26-30, 2020 at Marriott Hotel, Metro Manila, Philippines.
FIABCI means Federacion Internationale des Adminstrateurs de Biens Conceils et Immobiliers, a Paris-based world real estate industry federation of over 100 national associations, 95 public and private academic institutions, 2,300 regular companies, and more than a million associate members representing over 40 real-estate-related professions in five continents comprising 72 countries, including the Philippines.
During the media conference held on February 4, Tuesday at Shangri-La Makati City, Dr. Reghis M. Romero II shared about the 71st FIABCI World Real Estate Congress, to be on May 26-30, 2020 at Marriott Hotel, Metro Manila, Philippines.
The federation is represented in the country by FIABCI Philippines, which is headed by urban masterplanner Architect Nestor S. Mangio as president, environmental entrepreneur and civic-industry leader Dr. Reghis M. Romero II as chairman, and businessman Florentino Dulalia Jr. as chairman emeritus.
Marking the staging of the 2020 congress is the turnover of FIABCI World’s presidency to Dulalia, the first Filipino to ever assume such position, thus catapulting the Philippines to leadership status in the pursuit of the federation’s global socioeconomic and environmental goals.
Enabling FIABCI members to pursue such goals are research and development, technology sharing, continuous education programs, professional networking, printed and online newsletters, sustained inter-chapter correspondence and communications, participation in world councils, and incentives through national and World Prix d’Excellence Awards at the annual World Real Estate Congress, which gathers private firms and agencies, professionals and students, national associations and institutions, and international multi-disciplinary experts and speakers to exchange knowledge, share best practices, and conduct business with each other.
For this year, the congress will be held mainly at the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Hotel, with a total of 10,000 sqms of function space, by far the biggest in the Philippine hotel industry.
Marriott is located in the Newport City, which is just across NAIA Terminal 3 and within walking distance to Resorts World Manila’s Savoy, Hilton and Belmont hotels, where other congress events are slated and many of the delegates are to be billeted.
Constituting the congress are:
- plenary sessions,
- leadership training,
- product and services exhibits,
- general assembly,
- board and professional meetings,
- and such ticketed events as the Prix D’ Excellence, Medal Holder’s Dinner, International Young Members’ Party, Study/Social Tours, and the Gala/Farewell Dinner, each generating business networking opportunities on a global scale for local participants.
To be featured at the plenary as :
- Congress speakers are US-based National Association of Realtors president Vince Malta,
- outgoing FIABCI World president Walid Moussa, global design director Anthony Cuthbertson of Topshop London,
- a representative from Foster and Partner UK,
- president Kevin Tan of Megaworld,
- sustainable design development advocate Daniel Watch of Harvard University, among others.
Congress topics include :
- the future and leadership in real estate,
- township and urban development,
- digital technology’s huge role in transforming cities,
- insights on new and emerging industry prospects,
- investment and business opportunities, among others.
Supported by UN-Habitat, Grant Thornton, Reed Midem, and World Urban Campaign as sponsors, the 71st World Congress is being organized by FIABCI-Philippines (fiabci.phil@gmail.com; www.fiabciphilippines.org) to help put the global industry on the best track for “Urban Revolution” while generating momentum along its course.
More about on FIABCI:
Preceding this event on May 27-31, 2019 was the 70th FIABCI World Real Estate Congress at the World Trade Center in Moscow, Russia, where the local chapter walked the talk by putting up a bio-climatic greenhouse building as its headquarters.
Created in Paris in 1951, FIABCI is the world’s most representative non-political business networking organization that also holds a special consultative status at the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations since May 31, 1996 for overall guidance and coordination on sustainable development, or “to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.
FIABCI is also a global partner of UN-Habitat in implementing the City Prosperity Initiative (CPI) program in 400 cities worldwide through innovative approach to urban measurements, design, and formulation of policy interventions for decision makers.
Just recently, FIABCI held a business summit in Ghent, Belgium where it strongly affirmed its support to the UN for its November 4, 2016 Paris Agreement to “address climate change by keeping global temperature rise at only two percent in this century”.
All such environmental initiatives involve innovative material, structural, geological and urban planning design concepts and measures.
The innovations must be able to resist earthquakes and natural calamities, prevent depletion of natural resources, save energy, reduce carbon footprint, eliminate pollution, cope with rapid urban migration, minimize construction cost, and improve quality of life.
In effect, FIABCI members worldwide will have to bring about an ecologic, economic and ergonomic urban development, which is no less than revolutionary.
Thus, falling squarely on FIABCI’s hands is the responsibility to help make urban development cope with the challenges of climate change, global warming, rising sea levels, carbon footprints, polar shift, volcanic eruptions, splitting and converging tectonic plates, earthquakes, weather calamities, and the socioeconomic pressures from spiraling energy costs, fuel prices, and agro-industrial pollution, all impacting real estate and the quality of city life.
But being situated on the planet’s ring of fire, south of the geologically active Japan Trench and bordering the subducting Pacific plate, the earthquake-prone and volcano-dotted Philippines makes for an ideal laboratory for structural engineering and calamity-related technological studies on human settlements.
And while requiring extensive R&D activities, the same challenges can also lead to the creation of innovative construction materials and methodologies that minimize building cost and house prices, add new products and services to the supply and value chain, generate new businesses, increase real estate’s contribution to the global employment and GDP, and further promote international linkages and sharing of expertise.
