With the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) less than two weeks away, nominations for the highly coveted AIME Awards will close this week, giving attendees one last chance to nominate potential winners.

Attendees are able to nominate in two categories: Best Environmentally Sustainable Stand and AIME Industry Person of the Year.  Three additional awards will also be judged at the show to acknowledge excellence in design for new exhibiting stands, stands under 36 square metres and stands over 36 square metres.

For the first time, presentation of the awards will take place at AIME’s new Nightcap Networking event, which is taking place from 9pm-11pm on the evening of Tuesday, 21 February 2012 at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) in Southbank.  

Sally de Swart, Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) Director for AIME, said the awards are an important aspect of the show and that great work in the industry needs to be acknowledged.

“This year we’re excited to be presenting the AIME Awards at our new Tuesday night event to ensure presentation of the five awards is a main event in our program,” Ms de Swart said.

“We are welcoming nominations for the Industry Person of the Year award in order for our attendees to have a voice in recognising one person’s best practice, overall commitment and contribution to the industry.  We will also be recognising an exhibitor’s efforts and dedication to becoming environmentally friendly with the Best Environmentally Sustainable Stand award, and are asking exhibitors to nominate themselves and highlight the steps they have gone to, to decrease their stand’s carbon footprint.” 

The awards will be judged by industry specialists Linda Gaunt of Meetings & Events Australia (MEA), Joyce DiMascio of Exhibition & Event Association Australasia (EEAA) and a representative from the International Congress and Conventions Association (ICCA).

The five AIME Award categories are:

    * Best New Exhibiting Stand (all new exhibitors will be judged on-site in this category)

    * Best Stand Under 36 square metres (all stands under this size will be judged on-site)

    * Best Stand Over 36 square metres (all stands over this size will be judged on-site)

    * Best Environmentally Sustainable Stand

    * AIME Industry Person of the Year

Nominate now on the AIME website http://www.aime.com.au/en/exhibiting/AIME-Awards/. The deadline for nominations is Friday, 10 February 2012.

AIME, which is owned by the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau and run by RTE, will take place on the 21 and 22 February 2012 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC).

For more information about visiting AIME 2012, visit www.aime.com.au