World Chambers Federation
French chambers showcase excellence
From Southern Canterbury to Dosquebradas, from Fribourg to Red Deer, ICC World Chambers Federation (WCF) showcased chamber programmes from France and afar at the third meeting of France’s leading local and regional chambers (CCIPRO), on 3-4 July.
CCIPRO has been held every two years since it launched in 2004. The event is an invaluable forum for chambers of commerce, particularly those operating under mandatory membership systems, to profile new programmes and services that support the economic development of local businesses and regions.
WCF has supported CCIPRO since the event began, as the two organizations have a common mission of fostering peer learning and promoting chamber best practices.
CCIPRO ’08 attracted over 350 participants, and around 50 chambers of commerce exhibited products, services, practical concepts, processes and toolkits.
This year’s programme included workshops on an array of topics, from international trade to chamber expertise and cooperation.
Anthony Parkes, WCF Director, presented a snapshot of the range of projects undertaken by chambers of commerce that offer international support to companies. Many of the case studies he presented were past entries to the WCF World Chambers Competition, a global awards programme that provides international recognition to projects undertaken by chambers from around the world.
In last year’s World Chambers Competition, a CCIPRO project from the Massif Central Chambers of Commerce and Industry Union was France’s first finalist.
This year, CCIPRO organized its own awards for the best chamber projects in France. CCI Rennes was twice rewarded, for “Innovactiv”, a tool to support transfer of knowledge between chambers, and “Je crée ma boite”, a project to support young entrepreneurs in setting up their own firms. The CCI of Morbihan received an award for “Proforum”, a personalized platform to facilitate the integration of common chamber actions.
During the closing ceremony, Guy Canu, President of CCI Rennes, stressed how important it is for chamber representatives to further develop “collective intelligence” to share ideas, best practices and tools.
Mr Parkes invited CCIPRO to participate in WCF’s 6th World Chambers Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, next year, to showcase their initiatives, and encouraged the local chambers at CCIPRO to submit entries to the World Chambers Competition.
