Convention

A convention is a membership organisation meeting itself. Delegates from branches or member bodies come together for education sessions, committee meetings, social events and the business of running the organisation, from motions to elections. Registration is complicated by who is allowed to do what: delegates and alternates can vote, guests and partners cannot, and exhibitors need passes of their own, so eligibility has to be settled before anyone's badge is printed.

Convention is US vocabulary, and the US meaning of delegate comes from it: a voting representative, not simply someone who registered. The European equivalent is the congress, and congress registration has the same moving parts under different names; UK associations more often say annual conference. Outside the events world a convention can also be a fan gathering or an international treaty, so expect crowded search results.

Delegates, guests and exhibitors at a convention can each have their own eventcloud ticket group, so voting delegates, partners and stand staff get the right questions, prices and badges.