News & Trends

What’s happening — or coming up next — in the meetings and events world and beyond.

Beyond the Old Boys’ Club: How Women Are Networking Their Way

Research shows traditional networking methods don’t work for women. A growing number of female-only events and spaces are trying to get it right.

BY Jennifer N. Dienst October 11, 2024

Architects of Connection

Planners share how they are being more intentional about helping their event participants make more meaningful connections.

BY Convene Editors October 11, 2024

Building Authentic Connections: The Human-Centric Vision of C2 Montréal

Since it launched in 2012, the C2 Montréal conference —conceived by creative agency Sid Lee in partnership with Cirque du Soleil — has set a high bar for daringly different session formats, environments, and approaches to connecting diverse participants. How has that evolved?

BY Michelle Russell October 11, 2024

Advanced Networking in the Curriculum at Higher Ed Event

From its session for first-time attendees to constituent roundtables and Connect and Collaborate sessions, the National Association of College and University Business Officers Annual Meeting focuses on helping its 2,000 attendees find — and connect with — their peers.

BY Michelle Russell October 10, 2024

Event Attendees ‘Don’t Want to Waste Their Time Anymore’

The creator of Braindate, a platform that links event participants with shared interests, on what attendees are looking for now.

BY Barbara Palmer October 10, 2024

Leaning Into Connections Is the Secret to This Event’s Success

A session that served to reconnect attendees after the pandemic has become an essential element of the Exponent Philanthropy Annual Conference program.

BY Michelle Russell October 10, 2024

Are You Delivering What the Next-Gen Attendee Wants?

A new Freeman trends report measures the gaps between the way organizers design their event programs and the preferences of a new generation of event attendees — and what the most innovative event organizers do differently.

BY Barbara Palmer October 9, 2024

Why Are These Women-Only Networking Spaces So Popular?

Convene breaks down the secret sauce behind the Female Quotient’s sassy style of pop-up Equality Lounges.

BY Jennifer N. Dienst October 9, 2024

3 Things That Keep Event Planners Awake at Night

Development Counsellors International’s latest study sheds light on current challenges facing planners, as well as their preferences and behaviors around site selection.

BY Michelle Russell October 9, 2024

‘Right Now, We’re in Triage Mode’

Event and hospitality workers are playing a big role in helping devastated areas throughout the Southeast recover from Hurricane Helene. In the Gulf, Category-5 Milton threatens to batter Florida’s Gulf Coast once again. Here’s how you can help.

BY Jennifer N. Dienst October 7, 2024

FTC’s New Impersonation Rule Means to Stop Scammers

Members of the PCMA Catalyst Community share how their organizations deal with companies posing as authorized partners of their events — and how the ‘Government and Business Impersonation Rule’ can help.

BY Convene Editors October 7, 2024

How Fair Is It to Compare Generative AI Tools?

When a competition pitted Spark AI against other gen AI tools, it became clear that the outcomes depend more on the users than the tools themselves.

BY Barbara Palmer October 7, 2024

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