IAPCO names MCI Australia as Collaboration Award winner for International Astronautical Congress at IBTM World

Barcelona, Spain – 18 November 2025  IBTM 2025: The International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) has announced MCI Australia, in partnership with the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA), the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and the Australian Space Agency (ASA), as the winners of the Collaboration Award category of the IAPCO Driving Excellence Awards for their delivery of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2025, in Sydney Australia.

This distinguished award, supported by IBTM, was presented at the Meetings Leadership Network Reception in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday 17 November 2025. It recognises outstanding collaboration that elevates standards and drives excellence across the global meetings industry.  Sissi Lignou, President of IAPCO, congratulated MCI Australia and its partners on their win: “The IAPCO Collaboration Award recognises the highest standard of partnership. The way MCI managed and collaborated with their many partners for the prestigious IAC 2025, is a masterclass in multi-stakeholder governance, data-driven decision making and creative market engagement.”  Ajay Bhojwani, Regional Managing Director, Middle East & Africa, MCI Group, received the award on behalf of MCI Australia, pictured here with IAPCO President Sissi Lignou. The Collaboration Award celebrates strong, dependable partnerships built on trust, shared vision, and a commitment to excellence – the foundations every successful event. It honours organisations that go beyond traditional roles, joining forces to achieve shared goals and meaningful impact.  This year’s winning project, IAC 2025, brought together a complex stakeholder group including SIAA, IAF, ASA, and the New South Wales Government. The team successfully navigated competing priorities to deliver a globally significant event with record-breaking results.  Reflecting on the win, Stephan Wurzinger, Managing Director, PCO Australia & Global Director, Association Relations at MCI Australia, said the team was honoured to receive the IAPCO Collaboration Award.  “As the most stellar event launched in Australia in years, MCI feels honoured to have been recognised by IAPCO for this particular award. Really great collaboration is indeed a force multiplier with a supernova effect – and we could not have achieved the record results for the International Astronautical Congress 2025 without the great SIAA, IAF and ASA teams in our orbit.”  Lignou added: “From record participation and an unprecedented Public Day to strong financial performance and global visibility for Australia’s space sector, this collaboration demonstrates how shared purpose and disciplined execution can drive excellence across our industry. It sets a powerful benchmark for what can be achieved when partners align around impact.”  The IAPCO Driving Excellence Collaboration Award is one of three awards that recognise excellence within the IAPCO community and honour those setting new standards for the global meetings industry.  For more information about the IAPCO Driving Excellence Awards and to view past winners, visit https://www.iapco.org/education-and-training/awards.html  Tags: MCI Group Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA)  IAPCO  Sissi Lignou