PCMA Convening EMEA
Uncomfortable Conversations
Session: “Bake against poverty – The Vollpension's multigenerational approach” with Doris Horvath (left) of Vollpension. Photo: Alexander Wieselthaler, stills emotions
Session: “Bake against poverty - The Vollpension's multigenerational approach” with Doris Horvath (left) of Vollpension. Photo: Alexander Wieselthaler, stills emotions
460 delegates from 41 countries travelled to Vienna to attend the Convening EMEA staged by the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). This was the trade association’s most successful conference in Europe. In the shift to a sustainable economy, the Americans want to take a leadership role.
"We love the events industry, but we want to challenge the status quo," is how Magdalina Atanassova, Kenes Group; Jack Owens; Meet in Ireland; Katharina Path, Frankfurt Convention Bureau and Christina Strohschneider, Austria Center Vienna opened their session titled "Uncomfortable Conversations" at the PCMA Convening EMEA conference 2022. The four protagonists are under 30 and in the 20 in their Twenties class of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). The Future Leaders want to address uncomfortable topics and discuss what needs to change. The 80 seats in the "Change Stage", a room in the Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, were occupied and sleeping masks laid out. Participants were asked to close their eyes and listen unaffected by visual stimuli. Gen Z presented three topics that are on their minds: Mental Health, DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion), and Sustainability.
The topics were well-researched and the short presentations impressed viewers – from stress and suicidal thoughts and the need for work-life balance over gender (in)equality and compatibility of family and career to major concerns about the environment. "Climate Cancer" is what the young leaders call it, not Climate Change. After processing these impulses, delegates at the tables were asked to explain on a topic of their choice what exactly they want to do by the year 2030 (based on the Agenda 2030 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations) and very specifically by the next PCMA EMEA Convening in 2023. When it comes to sustainability, the focus quickly shifts to one's own travel patterns, since travel produces the most CO2 emissions. "How to arrange myself with traveling longer distances (>8h) by train has become an important question to me: How to use the time on the train? Does it make sense to go first class or by night train? Splitting trips up in different hops?" Thomas Berghausen, owner of meta-fusion GmbH, asked himself after his return from Vienna.
“We know that if we expect our industry to transform, we need to lead that transformation. We must become a regenerative society, with regenerative jobs, regenerative industries, and renewable resources.”
Sherrif Karamat, President and CEO of PCMA
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Encourage dialogue
460 participants from 41 countries travelled to Vienna for Convening EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) from September 28 to 30, 2022. On the general theme of "Together We Move Forward", they attended 20 presentations and panel discussions and exchanged ideas in workshops or case studies on three key topics: Future, Engagement, and Planning. In-depth sessions and networking were offered by formats such as "Conversation starters" and "1:1 Level 30 Meetings". Convening EMEA is an omnichannel conference for event professionals and creative minds to share experiences and work together on the future of the global events industry. The Vienna conference is the Professional Convention Management Association's (PCMA) most successful such event in Europe to date, said Sherrif Karamat, President and CEO of PCMA. "We know that if we expect our industry to transform, we need to lead that transformation. We must become a regenerative society, with regenerative jobs, regenerative industries, and renewable resources.” His partners in Vienna support these values. "Sustainability in all aspects is steadily gaining in importance. We want to set a good example ourselves. Our goal is to make it easier for customers to choose a green meeting," Christian Woronka explains. The Director Market Management and Vienna Convention Bureau adds: "Convening EMEA was an excellent opportunity for us to show sustainable facets and motivate organisers to implement their future events in accordance with the Austrian Eco-label".
For Convening EMEA 2023 from September 20 to 22, Karamat consequently announced one of the leading sustainable cities: Copenhagen. The conference will be held at the Bella Center Copenhagen, which hosted the UN Climate Change Conference COP 15 in 2009. “This partnership with Copenhagen is timely as PCMA continues to foster dialogue and outcomes around sustainability and regeneration for the global business events industry,” Karamat emphasized. His Regional Director EMEA, Jaimé Bennett, confirmed, “As Convening EMEA continues its journey to become the nexus of business events in EMEA, we feel Copenhagen will create the perfect environment to foster collaboration, experimentation, innovation, and legacy.”
Green Meeting
Convening EMEA 2022 was organized jointly by WienTourismus and Vienna Convention Bureau, Österreich Werbung, Hilton Vienna Park, and Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center. Certification of the conference as a Green Meeting was part of the bid. This was made possible by Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center as licensee of the Austrian Eco-Label for Green Meetings & Green Events. The requirements of the UZ62 guidelines "Green Meetings and Events" are considered to be fulfilled if the mandatory criteria are met – from mobility over accommodation, venue, and catering to communication. There are no bus shuttles for participants, but a public transport ticket for all three conference days instead. After all, Messe Wien is centrally located and well connected with its own subway station "Messe". The badges are made of paper and are issued by Shocklogic at the push of a button. There aren’t any printed programs, conference documents or conference bags, but instead a functioning app and a glass bottle for beverages.
Convening EMEA Exploration Tours
The social program features six Exploration Tours organized by WienTourismus. Participants were given a taste of the fantastic variety of options available in Vienna and supercharged with inspiration for planning future events: The Secret Food Tour: Awaken your senses; Made in Vienna: Handcrafted favourites; Street art Extended: From vandalism to the White House; A Rollercoaster Ride (In real life); A New Workspace Concept; Sustainable Urban Planning in Downtown Vienna; A Smart City within a City.
The Exploration Tour "Sustainable Urban Planning in Downtown Vienna" takes you on a walking tour through Vienna. Photo: tw tagungswirtschaft
Photo: tw tagungswirtschaft
Convening EMEA Exploration Tours
The social program features six Exploration Tours organized by WienTourismus. Participants were given a taste of the fantastic variety of options available in Vienna and supercharged with inspiration for planning future events: The Secret Food Tour: Awaken your senses; Made in Vienna: Handcrafted favourites; Street art Extended: From vandalism to the White House; A Rollercoaster Ride (In real life); A New Workspace Concept; Sustainable Urban Planning in Downtown Vienna; A Smart City within a City.
Green is the new digital
In his keynote address, futurist and humanist Gerd Leonhard postulated, "Green is the new digital. This is the top!" The CEO of "The Futures Agency" predicts: "The next 10 years will bring more change than the last 100 years. The question is how we all embrace these changes." He identified six characteristics for business events of the future: exponential, convergent, combinatorial, holistic, circular, human. Leonhard attaches particular importance to "human". Especially in crises, he says, it's about bringing people together and connecting them. "At events you can rebalance and reconnect," he explained. "We need to be architects of the future, not victims!" Event organizers will need to answer the why question. His keynote showed little that is new but gave a good overview. That went down well with most of the audience, especially since Leonhard's charts are virtually cinematic and take full effect on the huge screen.
„By hosting the largest PCMA Convening EMEA conference to date, we are sending a strong signal to the industry from Vienna.“
Christian Woronka, Director Market Management and Vienna Convention Bureau
The plenary sessions were streamed online. In the panel "Audience-first approaches to understanding changing behaviors," Tom Reiser, executive director of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostatis (ISTH), reported, "There's a lot of enthusiasm for coming back in person, but at the same time, people expect a virtual version." He advocates a willingness to take risks. "A hybrid event comes to life when both events offline and online come together, both formats have a different why," said Giulia Sarri, creative strategist of AIM Group International. "Find one common why and connect people." Daniel Waigl agreed with her. "We came back in 2022 with conferences as in 2019 added by digital formulas as of 2020 and 2021. We look at conferences as an all year around event," is how the Executive Director of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) described his vision. He knows that the business model must still follow. And Waigl is always good for a surprise: he sells only a single ticket for participation and leaves it up to each individual to decide whether he or she participates on-site or offline.
Flight or train: What do I take for ecological sustainability?
Marco Oelschlegel, Director Conventions at visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office, travels by train from Berlin to Vienna for the PCMA Convening EMEA 2022. A short report on his experience.
People want to meet and exchange, but why do some people cancel events? According to a recent survey Cvent and Northstar Meetings Group: 85 percent of respondents say that rising costs are having a material impact on their events. “The shift is real and the change is permanent,” said Colleen Bisconti in her keynote “The future of business events: Change remains the only constant.” She's Vice President Global Conferences and Events at IBM, and she's rethinking her events. Instead of having thousands of people travel, their events go on the road, for example the event series “IBM Think 2022”. Think on Tour is a series of exclusive, invite-only, in-person event experiences held in 17 cities around the world. Each event will explore data and AI, cybersecurity and business modernization with hybrid cloud. The next dates are: think Riyadh on October 31 and think London on November 7. For those unable to travel, the content is available digitally and on demand via think on demand. "How do we call it? Hybrid?" Bisconti asked. Whatever, she says, and she's sure of it. “It is here to stay! People have less time: So how do we maximize their time with us?”
Where is the value next?
This is a question that also bugs Patrick van der Pjjl, CEO of Business Models Inc, and his business designer Niki Seelen. In their session "Planning through a business model lens", they presented the Business Model Canvas. “It is more than a framework to make money but see where new values are going and you are able to monetize this,” said van der Pjjl. Covid fueled digitalization and also changed consumer behaviour. “Your customers expect what they get from Amazon: same day delivery. This puts pressure on the ecosystem.” The Business Model Canvas is a tool for dealing with uncertainties. With an on-hands approach by way of a best-practice, IAPCO President Ori Lahav, CEO, Kenes Group, and his IAPCO Council Member Sissi Lygnou, CEO, Operations & Development PCO Services, AFEA Travel and Congress Services presented their session “Risky Business – budgeting in uncertain times”. In the pandemic, they needed to adapt their format for international association congresses several times, and 20 budget amendments were not uncommon. “We changed from full risk to shared risk,” the duo stated. “The biggest asset which kept us alive was collaboration!”
The teams of PCMA and the Vienna Convention Bureau form a team for Convening EMEA. Photo: Alexander Wieselthaler, stills emotions
"With the reception of the largest PCMA Convening EMEA conference to date, we are sending a strong signal to the industry from Vienna," sums up host Christian Woronka. The feedback he takes away from the participants is the joy of seeing each other again. Woronka knows: "The complexity of topics is increasing more and more in times like these. Live events are still seen as an important tool in finding solutions and looking ahead." PCMA EMEA Regional Director Jaime Bennett is aware of this and takes it as a mission into the wrap-up session. "This year's event can’t just be a talking shop,” was her résumé, and she spread the hashtag news in the social media: “We must put into action all the things we’ve discussed during the event. Discussions included everything from #leadership, #mentalhealth and #wellbeing to #sustainability, #DEI and #technology. There’s a lot to do!“