Cameron Roberts uncovers how events can be built with a purpose , by reporting on-site at Anthropy

omething that is becoming more prevalent for event organisers is the purpose of an event , what will the audience take away from the content sessions or networking opportunities ? Ideally , an event is more than just a moment in time , a conference should , in many cases , be a springboard for businesses partnerships , new connections and real-world change .

I was fortunate enough to attend an event that put the purpose first , Anthropy was a three-day conference taking place at Eden Project ( yes that one ) in Cornwall . With the intention of shaping the future of Britain , the event brought together over 1,000 attendees from varying backgrounds and industries .

While onsite , I not only got to talk to some inspiring people , but also the team at TRO , the agency responsible for pulling the event together . I found out what it takes to put together an event with purpose .

Seeds of change Even the biggest ideas start somewhere , for Anthropy it was in a ‘ virtual pub ’ between Anthropy

“ I don ’ t think Anthropy will ever be done . But if it is something that a year ago felt impossible , hopefully I ’ ll be looking back in threeor four-years ’ time and say ‘ Wow , what a movement have we created here ’.”

- Michael Wyrley- Birch , CEO , TRO

founder John O ’ Brien and Sir Tim Smit , director , Eden Project . From there , TRO were brought on board to deliver an event with the lofty goal of changing the future of Britain .

O ’ Brien said : “ I was thinking about the Davos World Economic Forum , I thought there is an attractive and remote location , which means that people have to decide very carefully to commit to do it . Because if you do something in a city like London , your visitors will dip in and dip out , and they ’ ll just come to tick the box and not engage with the event . It ’ s too easy .”

This semi-remoteness meant many attendees ( myself included ) travelled upwards of five hours to the event , but the logic tracks , you don ’ t travel that far and then not pay attention to the content and engage with fellow attendees . But Eden Project ’ s remoteness was not the only factor in its selection for the event .

“ I thought , where is there an attractive place , a place of consequence , not just convenience . I thought instantly of Eden Project in Cornwall , which is the most extraordinary illustration of a redundant industrial hole in the ground turned into a beautiful , inspiring , sustainable , environmental educational initiative that ’ s also had a great economic impact in the area ,” said O ’ Brien .

John O ’ Brien , MBE

It ’ s not just the message from the top that made Eden Project the place to be , the people responsible for delivering the event had to be bought in . Lucy Knill , client partner , TRO , said : “ I can ’ t honestly imagine a better place to host the event , because it ’ s so integral to what we are trying to achieve with the event . Our vision was to put people in a place where they are going to be able to think out of the box and think creatively .”

But having an event in a ‘ non-traditional ’ conferencing location is not without its challenges , as we learned with the G7 , bringing in suppliers , conference equipment and the delegates themselves can be a challenge , but one worth overcoming .

Knill said : “ It was an interesting