TIME AND PLACE
his month got me thinking about memory and why certain points in time stick out to us . Well , subject is one reason , emotional attachment another – some strange chemical reaction that causes the brain to fixate on a moment .
Take the Royal Funeral for example . The BBC reported that 5.1bn people watched the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – that ’ s roughly 63.2 % of the world ’ s population . While it ’ s a moment of mourning for so many across the globe , it ’ s also a collective memory for so many internationally .
For many , however , it ’ s the legacy of an event , which is the reason it lives long in the memory . I was chatting to Kike Oniwinde Agoro this month about how events are critical to a community of 150,000 young Black professionals . It ’ s the conference ’ s impact on the lives and careers of these professionals that makes the event memorable .
Remembering a time or moment is one thing , but what ’ s a memory without a place to set it in ? Venue selection is becoming ever-more critical for organisers , with different event formats , sustainable actions and cost all becoming bigger constraints on planners .
In this issue of Conference News , we explore what venue aspects organisers are playing close attention to , what venues are doing to be more sustainable , how large-scale events can impact local communities , how hybrid investment is being used in today ’ s market and more .
We ’ re also launching the Shaping a Sustainable Future whitepaper , in collaboration with Manchester Central , to provide the industry with actionable insights on how we can push the sustainable agenda .
Events are in a unique moment in time . It ’ s time to use our collective experience to create a memorable period for events , working to be more sustainable , innovative and being impactful for our communities . CN
Cameron Roberts Editor Conference News www . conference-news . co . uk