AHK Australien develops new virtual formats for business delegations

Delegations

By Max Schnarr, German-Australian Chamber

The year 2020 was not only a very challenging one, but it also generated new forms of international communication. Virtual collaboration has created a bridge between Germany and Australia in the blink of an eye to advance the ongoing relationship between the two countries, even in difficult times.

AHK Australia converted three business trips in the mining, renewables and maritime industries into virtual formats in 2020. And even though we are happy to welcome every delegation member back to Australia after the borders have reopened, the virtual implementation has created many contacts and made future cooperation possible.

Virtual Networking Mode in Remo.

Q&A with renewables industry experts from Australia and Germany. Delegations

The main components of a business delegation – such as the industry conference, site visits and individual business meetings – can be replaced by virtual alternatives, while still retaining the essence of a business delegation trip. In 2020 we were therefore able to welcome 25 delegates virtually to Australia.

Remo was our tool of choice for the virtual conference. Remo allows not only a webinar mode but also a networking mode where each conference participant sits virtually at a table with other attendees and can interact through their camera and microphone, and can also jump to different tables to get to know even more industry experts. Our three conferences were attended by around 200 attendees, creating useful links between Australia and Germany.

Anna Freeman, Policy Director – Energy Generation, Clean Energy Council.

Left: Dr Ing Elisabeth Clausen, Professor & Director, Institute for Advanced Mining Technologies (AMT) RWTH Aachen University. Delegations

Business meetings that would normally have taken place on site at the Australian business partner were replaced by MS Teams meetings that allowed for an easy exchange between the German and Australian counterparts. We were able to set up approximately 90 individual business meetings between the German delegates and Australian stakeholders, all of which were accompanied by a representative of the AHK in order to facilitate communications and to create the best possible outcome for all parties.

The AHK in Australia sets the absolute benchmark for virtual delegations!

Alexander von Sengbusch, CEO J&C Bachmann

The virtual delegations can be considered an absolute success and are a resilient alternative to in-country delegations – at least as a steppingstone until international travel is possible once again and we can welcome German stakeholders to visit Australia and help them build their presence and brand.

JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT VIRTUAL DELEGATION IN AUSTRALIA ABOUT ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND HYDROGEN

Topic: Energy Infrastructure and Hydrogen

When: March 22-26

What: Virtual conference and individual business meetings

Contact us to get involved