Photos : © Alexander Wieselthaler | stills & emotions

he ProfessionalConference Managers Association ( PCMA ) returned to Europe for its annual Convening EMEA conference , 28-30 September 2022 . The host destination , Vienna , was the perfect setting for combining knowledge exchange and social activities for the record 460 delegates who came from 41 countries .

Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Centre hosted the conference , which made planning , engagement , and the future its main themes . Gerd Leonhard , futurist , author , and CEO of the Futures Agency , said in his address that the next 10 years would bring about more change than the previous 100 , a result of advancing technologies expedited by the Covid-19 pandemic . While he noted that the pandemic had forced people to rely more on technology , he added that the necessity of face-to-face engagement had never been more important as we attempt to “ re-humanise ”.

“ One hug is worth a thousand video conferences . Serendipity can ’ t be replaced ,” he said . He also suggested people must learn to “ re-wild ”

themselves , which means to reconnect , adding that the digital world had turned real life into something of a luxury .

Sustainable changes Sustainability was high on the agenda once more , and it was evident there remains much interest in not just the practicalities of sustainability , but in its definition , too .

A panel including Freeman EMEA MD Jason Megson and isla association co-founder Anna Abdelnoor cited climate change as the number one issue facing the global events industry . Clients should be encouraged to invest in concrete change , they said . An example would include a venue waiving 10 % of its hire fee , so long as it is re-directed to either more sustainable materials or purposes . Abdelnoor made the point that the biggest threat to sustainability in an events context was disillusionment and antipathy . She noted that one of the biggest obstacles faced by event organisers is that they often don ’ t know where to start making changes , and once they hit systemic and structural barriers , the best laid plans

“ We know that if we expect our industry to transform , we need to lead that transformation .”

Left : Oh Vienna –

the Messe played

host to PCMA ’ s

2022 Convening

EMEA conference

are often put to rest . By way of solution , she noted that collaboration among stakeholders was the sensible place to start , and to make incremental , small steps . A switch to reusable materials and using online carbon calculators were among the recommendations for organisers .

Case study Back on the main stage , Colleen Bisconti , vice-president , IBM events and experiences , shared details of how her team had re-thought how they engaged with their audience . In her session , titled ‘ The future of B2B events ; change is the only constant ’, Bisconti noted that budgets across the board were reducing and said that IBM had reduced the number of annual events it hosts from 6,000 to 3,000 . Rather than bring people to them , they go to where their audience is . One example was at a major trade show in which IBM would historically have a large presence .