PCMA
In this age of disruption, Europe demonstrates why we gather
PCMA CEO SHERRIF KARAMAT SAYS WHAT WE CHOOSE TO DO WITH DISRUPTION IS THE REAL STORY NOW
A s the global business events
community prepares to gather in Barcelona for IBTM World, this year’ s theme is one we cannot argue: The Age of Disruption.
It is safe to state that AI is changing how we plan and deliver events faster than most of us can keep up. Smaller budgets. Smaller teams. Greater expectations from participants, yet those who manage those respective budgets expect proof that every event moves the business forward.
Disruption on its own is not the story. The story is what we choose to do with it. And I believe Europe has a lot to offer in shaping that answer. AI can write the summary, generate the presentation and even recommend the session. What it cannot do is deliver trust.
When PCMA asked business events strategists across the EMEA region to share their top priorities, human connection landed as the top spot, chosen by 39 % of respondents and an increase of six points from the prior year. At the same time, our Future Readiness research within the‘ PCMA 2026 Outlook’ report warns of a growing‘ sea of sameness’ as AI-generated content makes events look and feel alike.
The direction is obvious. The more automated our world becomes, the more valuable it is to be in the room. Our job isn’ t to compete with the algorithm. It’ s to design what the algorithm can’ t.
Our global community wants to know what events have changed; what decisions were accelerated; and what type of partnerships were created? Barcelona is the ideal setting to apply
Above: Sherrif Karamat
“ The more automated our world becomes, the more valuable it is to be in the room” such practice. I encourage all to treat every appointment as the start of a partnership with a shared outcome, not merely a transaction.
Less is more I firmly believe that more is never better. Under pressure, our instinct is to add more sessions, more technology, etc. So, here is my challenge for all... before you leave Barcelona, decide on one thing you’ ll remove from your next programme because it no longer serves your audience. Then watch what fills the space.
Europe’ s greatest answer to monotony sits right outside the convention centre: the cities, regions and cultures that make an event impossible to copy. Spain understands this. Barcelona has effectively demonstrated how business events can drive economic and social progress. And, next September, PCMA brings Convening EMEA to Seville, part of the Andalusia region, which has made business events a strategic priority. Destinations like these don’ t just host us. They share and support our mission.
Effective disagreement, with integrity While we exist in an age of distrust, an event delivered well is one of the few platforms remaining where people who have different views can engage and disagree effectively and with integrity.
Disruption will never end. What matters is whether we meet it with fear or with purpose. So, when you walk into Fira Gran Via, carry three questions with you. What will this event change for my strategy moving forward? What can I stop doing to ensure the important things are afforded more space? And who here shares my ambition, not only my agenda?
Europe has always known how to bring the world together. In an age of disruption, it can remind all of us why. I look forward to reconnecting in Barcelona. n
ISSUE 145 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 15