COMMUNITY CONVERSATION
Felicia Asiedu , senior marketing manager , Cvent , tells Conference News how Cvent ’ s BIG Community Conversation came about and what its primary mission is
echnology conference , Cvent CONNECT , came back a little differently this year . The 2022 agenda introduced many new elements , including Cvent ’ s BIG Community Conversation . Conference News sat down with Cvent ’ s senior marketing manager , Felicia Asiedu , to understand what the Community Conversation entails and the impact it hopes to have on the industry .
“ Recently , I was talking with my network about D & I ( Diversity and Inclusion ) and noticed that it was primarily Black women around the table . We had a great chat , but someone pointed out that we are the same people , talking about the same problems to ourselves ,” says Asiedu .
This ultimately raised the question of : how are we going to change this and ensure everyone is not only talking about D & I , but also making positive change themselves ? This prompted Asiedu to reach out to associations and the wider industry and ask them to join a bigger , community conversation at Cvent CONNECT .
“ We always have these
“ Everyone is trying something , which is great , but if we don ’ t have a shared route , it will make it difficult to make any progress .”
Felicia Asiedu
conversation type sessions at Cvent CONNECT , so why not have a community conversation about these issues that are important to us ? We wanted to start with D & I because we have already had lots of conversations about sustainability .
“ The room was very mixed – we had a lovely big group of men and women from many different races across Europe , as well as individuals from LGBTQ + community ,” she explains .
Asiedu says the panel had representatives from : The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers ( ABPCO ), Association of Event Organisers ( AEO ), Event & Visual Communication Association ( EVCOM ), UFI , Meeting Professionals International ( MPI ), Society for Incentive Travel Excellence ( SITE ) and New Intent
– a new D & I and environmental action advocacy organisation . “ All showed a real desire to make a conscious change , and some have also contributed to the Black in the Boardroom Report ,” she adds .
“ We discussed practical things like how to get into the industry , how to reach board level , and how to avoid tackling D & I from a ‘ quota ’ perspective .
“ One interesting point made was that D & I is a bit too broad . Yes , there can be some intersectionality within this ( e . g . a Black woman who is also neurodiverse ) – but sometimes , we need to think about how to tackle the individual elements in it – rather than always lumping it into one conversation ,” reveals Asiedu .
Keeping together
Post-discussion , Asiedu wanted to keep the momentum going , as well as the community together . “ I suggested we meet up digitally in spring to see if any progress had been made ,” she reveals .
“ EVCOM said it has shadow board that informs D & I – so I pointed out , why don ’ t all of your associations have one shadow board to talk about these issues , like D & I , that ’ s a joint a collected one ?
“ That way , you ’ re informing your boards about the same thing and it ’ s easier to create and reach goals – because with D & I I think it ’ s a bit siloed , everyone is trying something , which is a great , but if we don ’ t have a shared route , it will make it difficult to make any progress .” CN www . conference-news . co . uk