MIPIM Cannes 2017|||
The property world descends on Cannes once more this March, including money men with the fiscal power to fund masterplans and stakeholders from local authorities to architects networking to make their projects a reality. We ask MIPIM’s Ronan Vaspart for his top tips.
What’s new for this year?
We are delighted to be welcoming a number of new countries and cities to MIPIM this year including Iceland, Kenya, Buenos Aires and Turks and Caicos. MIPIM truly is the assembly point for the international real estate industry every year and there is a genuine need for us at MIPIM to provide a matchmaking service for our attendees, in order for them to get the most out of their visit to MIPIM as possible.
If visitors are looking for trends about offices and office developments and masterplans where should they head?
Workspace: the office revolution is a session to note in the agenda (March 14th, 12:30-13:15). During this session, occupiers and asset managers are re-evaluating how workspace is used. On March 15th, 14:00-14:45 we will see more great office-led discussions in the panel session. It will explore how changes in the office workplace environment are impacting workers. Other questions include: what do workers expect from their workplace? And future generations? What are the latest ways to retain employees? Yannick Villar, CEO, Wx, Larry Malcic, Design Principal, HOK and Kati Barklund,Sr. Solution Specialist Modern Workplace, Microsoft will be on the panel.
What questions will the session on how young people explore cities explore?
We wanted to shake up things by giving the floor to a representative of the younger generation who can provoke property professionals and make them think. Twenty-year old Adora Zvitak, a young American writer and lecturer engaged in the cause of young people, will speak at the MIPIM opening conference at 2pm on 13 March 2018, challenging property professionals about tomorrow’s cities and urging them to pay attention to the expectations of the younger generation.
Brexit was a hot topic last year – to what extent will people be talking about this, this year?
Last year at MIPIM, we were on the cusp of a new era with the then recent Trump election victory and Brexit result. The UK delegation at MIPIM remains out in force at MIPIM to campaign for international investment post-Brexit, namely through the return of DIT (Department for International Trade) with a dedicated stand and robust programme. I feel that this year the subjects of Brexit and Trump will keep being discussed in the alleys of the Palais.”
What do you anticipate to be the other hot topics for 2018?
For MIPIM 2018 we have come up with the theme of Mapping World Urbanity (urbanity being defined as the quality of character of life in a city or town). This rise of connected-urban areas is reconfiguring the map of world urbanity, and in many cases positioning the city as the economic powerhouse rather than the state. Sustainability has been really pulsating throughout the conversations about real estate across the globe. Concerning sustainability and innovation, the key point to remember is that today, is the absolute norm for developers to construct buildings that are green and sustainable.”
And finally any top tips for making the best out of MIPIM this year?
Preparation, really is the key to getting the most out of MIPIM. MIPIM provides attendees with a great tool to organize their meetings in advance: the online database where you can find all the names and contact details of all participants. We also have an in-depth MIPIM First-Timer programme which ensures that first-time attendees to MIPIM are catered for in absolutely the best possible way.
