Event 11th International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF) Meeting
Venue Hotel Nikko Kuala Lumpur
Organiser National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia
Delegates 500
Date May 9-12



The brief
The IFKF International Meeting brings together Kidney Foundations from 32 countries to exchange experience and best practices. This year, 500 health and medical professionals, IFKF delegates, patients and their families attended the event at Hotel Nikko Kuala Lumpur.

Challenges
With so many foreign delegates, the hotel front office had to ensure that the room lists were accurate and up-to-date. To facilitate this, arrivals and departures were staggered on either side of the event.

One speaker needed to leave early to attend to an urgent medical case back home, and the hotel and organiser worked together to ensure the doctor caught the next available flight.

Execution
The three-day meeting featured simultaneous workshops, lunches, a welcome reception and dinner, as well as afternoon networking sessions. Tourism Malaysia organised local activities such as a teh tarik demonstration and batik painting. Malaysian deputy health minister YB Datuk Rosnah Rashid Shirlin opened the welcome reception and Chinese banquet.

At the end of day two, delegates sampled Malaysian cuisine and cultural performances at local restaurant Saloma, and enjoyed the special World Kidney Day Poster exhibition.

On the day after the conference, delegates were offered an optional tour of the historical Unesco World Heritage city of Malacca.

Comment
The organisers were happy with the responsiveness of the venue and signalled out the personalised service of the hotel’s MICE sales manager.

Chua Hong Wee, chief executive officer of National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia, says: “The hotel lived up to expectations and the success of this international meeting could not have been possible without it. 

"We are more than happy with the flexibility of the hotel in meeting our requirements and attending to our every need. We are now looking into hosting our next international meeting at this property again.”