A year and a half ago, some months prior to the first ever International Networking Week, there were merely 24 Google hits pertaining to International Networking Week. Directly following the inaugural celebratory week, on February 14th, 2007, there were over 40,500 hits. This year, on February 4th, the first day of the worldwide celebration, there were exactly 14,000,100 documented Google hits for International Networking Week!!!!! This number is a tremendous testament to the fact that International Networking week is definitely creating a buzz and getting people all over the world interested in business networking and its benefits!
Nearly 100 large-scale events and around 4,000 smaller events took place from February 4th—8th across the globe in observance of International Networking Week; and with the special emphasis that was placed on inviting key community members to participate in these events and learn about business networking, significant worldwide media coverage was devoted to both International Networking week and BNI!
Quite notably, International Networking Week 2008 was listed in the 2008 edition of Chase’s Calendar of Events—the most comprehensive and authoritative reference available on worldwide special events and holidays. In addition, it also gained documented support from several government representatives through proclamations and resolutions declaring the celebratory week as an important asset in helping to preserve, promote and strengthen the health of the global economy. Furthermore, a special flag was flown over the Capitol building in Washington D.C. in the United States from February 4th—8th in order to commemorate International Networking Week.
International Networking Week was recognized by written statements and/or proclamations or resolutions by the following regions and/or branches of government:
The California State Legislature in the United States; the California State Assembly in the United States; the County of Los Angeles, California, United States; the Governor of California, United States; the State of Nevada, United States; the City of Sparks, Nevada, United States; the City of Reno, Nevada, United States; the City of San Antonio, Texas, United States; the City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; the City of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada; the City of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada; the City of Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada; the Board of Commissioners for Broward County, Florida, United States; the County of Allegheny, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States; the City of Seattle, Washington, United States; the State of Maryland, United States; the Congressional Record of the United States of America; the County of Westchester, New York, United States.*
All things considered, we think it’s safe to assume that this year’s International Networking Week was a bonafide international success and that BNI’s annual celebration of International Networking Week is one of the essential ways in which BNI truly is “Changing the Way the World Does Business”!
* If you know of any proclamations, resolutions, or written statements recognizing International Networking Week that are not listed above, please e-mail Erin@bni.com with all pertinent information.
For More information on International Networking Week™, please visit:
http://www.internationalnetworkingweek.com