Conference & Meetings World Issue 110 | Page 3

Let us concentrate on the skill of listening

Leader

New beginnings

Managing editor , Paul Colston
Many of us are , I am sure , looking to 2021 to bring a rebirth for our industry following what has been a terrible nine-month pregnancy with Covid and all the complications it has brought . I am not alone , I know , in shouting ‘ Out with the old ’ year with some gusto and turning to pin big hopes on the revitalisation of our industry in 2021 , or at least the beginning of that process .
As I accompanied my mother in December to the clinic where she was one of the first to receive a coronavirus vaccine in the UK , the light at the end of the Covid tunnel seemed to become more visible , although just how long that tunnel actually is remains a sixty-four thousand dollar question .
As ever , our industry professionals work well under pressure and are always innovating , even in the harshest of creative environments . We can take major positives from having
forged a more sharply defined industry , explaining to power what it contributes and our real value to economies . Most politicians around the globe , I am confident , now get the important distinction between business meetings and events on the one hand , and random uncontrolled mass gatherings .
We lament our colleagues who have fallen out of the industry during these sad times and we must soon face the task of filling many roles anew and upskilling to meet a whole range of new challenges .
That is where one of the other positives of this dreadful situation will come to our aid : the new technology and digital techniques developed as we have struggled to keep our communities in contact and in tact .
In the process of being tempered by this Covid trial , we have drawn much closer to our professional communities and the shared threat to our livelihoods has undoubtedly forged a much tighter knit sector and one better attuned to others ’ needs and requirements . Let us concentrate , however , not just on the technology of communicating but on the skill of listening .
Health and safety must continue to be our watchword so that we may spread the real rings of confidence in events and their efficacy once able to do so fully . Our cover story from Singapore is a great illustration of just that .
Once people can travel without quarantine , we can run our international events again .
May 2021 bring a rebirth of our and , indeed , many other industries , so that we can help drive our economies out of the mud and into the fast lane of development once more .
MANAGING EDITOR PAUL COLSTON pcolston @ mashmedia . net
GLOBAL ACCOUNT DIRECTOR IAIN STIRLING istirling @ mashmedia . net
GRAPHIC DESIGNER KATERYNA SMIRNOVA ksmirnova @ mashmedia . net
PORTFOLIO DIRECTOR SIMON FARNFIELD
GLOBAL ACCOUNT DIRECTOR JON HOWELL
FEATURE WRITER STUART WOOD
PRODUCTION CONTROLLER SABRINA BOUCHER
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ISSUE 110 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 3