Futurist Shawn DuBravac contends that meeting planners are already wired for change — now it’s time to harness it. In “From Operator to Orchestrator,” he shows how shifting from task-focused execution to strategic leadership can elevate an event professional’s role. It’s a mindset shift that turns everyday adaptability into a forward-looking advantage in today’s fast-changing world and the near future.

When Rashmi Airan took the stage at PCMA’s Business Events Summit in Puerto Rico, her RISE framework — Reframe, Identify, Surrender, Evolve — offered more than a compelling personal story. Airan challenged attendees to rethink how they respond under pressure, recognize blind spots, let go of what’s no longer working, and adapt with intention.

Holly Ransom has long established herself as an expert emcee and moderator at PCMA’s Convening Leaders conferences. As PCMA’s Business Events Summit opening keynoter, Ransom revealed her fluency in leadership skills, sharing how she has combined what she has learned from speaking to hundreds of organizational leaders with her own high-stakes experiences to help the audience focus on what matters most.

Business and art are considered unrelated disciplines, but artists and event organizers share a common goal, says entrepreneur and educator Nir Hindie: creating meaningful experiences.

How Adam Rosendahl’s Late Nite Art workshops use storytelling, music, and drawing to help attendees break down barriers, connect in new ways and unleash creativity.

The “Marketing Spend Decision Report,” CEIR’s latest research, gives the exhibitions industry a shot of confidence.

Two conferences — the Joint Mathematics Meetings and Bridges — help mathematicians explore the connection between math and art.

How art deepens connection and opens participants to new ways of thinking at — and about — events across a swath of sectors.

Art lights up social networks in our brains.

The European Congress of Radiology’s 2026 annual meeting used its venue’s built-in 3D and LED capabilities to to bring ancient Greek mythology — and the program’s “Rays of Knowledge” theme — to life.

These educators integrate art into teaching strategies, so it’s only natural that their own continuing education program at their society’s annual conference would tap creative expression as a learning tool, too.

As we celebrate Convene’s 40th anniversary, we’re looking back into our archive. Here’s how two contributors imagined the future at the turn of this century, writing from a world operating with 56K dial-up computer modems and a fax machine in every office.