Live events are life changers
AIPC CEO SVEN BOSSU SAYS , WITH LIVE EVENTS COMING BACK , ORGANISERS SEEK , MORE THAN EVER , TO CREATE UNIQUE EXPERIENCES WHICH TRIGGER LIFE IMPACTS AND DEMONSTRATE THE CORE VALUE OF LIVE EVENTS
E vents change our lives . To quote Gabriel Radvansky of the University of Notre Dame : “ Events are what happens to us , what we do , what we anticipate with pleasure or dread , and what we remember with fondness or regret . Much of our behaviour is guided by our understanding of events . We perceive events when we observe the world unfolding around us , participate in events when we act on the world , simulate events that we hear or read about , and use our knowledge of events to solve problems .”
Professor Radvansky of course refers to events at large , but all the elements he refers to also apply to organised live events where – during a limited amount of time – a bubble is created in which you will share specific experiences with other persons who you might never have met . Making those experiences impactful is the key challenge event organisers have , as they represent the core value of live events .
At AIPC , we are fortunate enough that we do not need to convince our members of the importance and value of live events . At the same time , as event organisers , we want to offer unique experiences to our members – which is not easy with an audience who has already seen everything . A first test case was the Operations & Facility Summit we held at the end of last year at the CCIB in Barcelona . Instead of a set of lectures , we put the participants to work for the full day in small groups and made them share outputs on a regular basis . Result at the end of the day : an exhausted and inspired group of convention centre leaders who continued the discussions during the closing cocktail .
Above : Sven Bossu CEO of global venue association AIPC
This made us re-think our other events as well , especially the AIPC Annual Conference . Last year – in close collaboration with the host venue ( Swiss Tech Convention Center ) – we already put a lot more focus on interaction and inspiration from other industries . This year , at Hungexpo in Budapest , we will continue on this track , with an architect , a top vintner , a serial entrepreneur and a former IBM executive on stage to provide inspiration and with a Lego Seriously Play session to facilitate discussion – all with the ambition to have a lasting impact on the professional lives of the participants .
Obviously , convention centres play a very important , and sometimes underestimated , role in creating unique experiences , both by their design , location and the creativity of their teams . A good partnership between organiser and the venue has the potential to create magic , as I recently witnessed at the Brussels International Association Forum , where the assets of the venue – including a former cinema in the attic – were matched with the content of the lectures , allowing for an amplification of the delegate experience . So don ’ t forget to talk to the convention centre when you want to create unique and life changing experiences .
ISSUE 118 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 49