Creating Positive Impact at Convening EMEA 2023

One of Convening EMEA 2023’s exploration tours invites participants to view Copenhagen, Denmark, via a boat tour on the city’s canals and inner harbor. See more of the tours at the end of the story.

Repeat attendees of Convening EMEA will notice subtle but intentional changes to the annual event taking place Sept. 20-22 at the Bella Center in Copenhagen — all in service of the event’s three themes: belonging, impact, and the future.

The future always will be a Convening EMEA theme, Jaimé Bennett, managing director of PCMA EMEA, told Convene, but this year the program will focus on “navigating the future in a place of belonging and collectively making not just an impact, but a positive impact.”

David Meade

Corporate speaker and TV personality David Meade once again will moderate the event and also will lead a session that is sure to create positive impact — “Water Works: Purpose Driven Collaboration.” Participants will work with representatives from the Water Works Program to help build water filtration systems that can contribute to the wellbeing of communities around the world by giving them access to safe drinking water.

One of the Convening EMEA tweaks occurs before Meade even takes to the main stage. The popular exploration tours will open the event on Wednesday to immerse attendees in the host city and its own history of making an impact.

The three-day program builds in time for conversation and hygge — the Danish custom of taking quiet time to relax with others — but also is rich in sessions, workshops, and networking events.

Uncomfortable Conversations, a popular collaboration format from last year, will once again be hosted by members of the current and past classes of PCMA’s 20 in Their Twenties.

This year, some of the keynote speakers will further explore their topics with hands-on workshops following their presentations. Nathan and Susannah Furr, co-authors of The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown, will delve into “uncertainty balancers” — routines, comforts, and rituals that bring certainty to challenging times — in their workshop. Philip Davies, EMEA president of brand strategy company Siegel+Gale, will present a Friday morning keynote, “When Belonging Is Complicated, Simple Is Smart,” and a related workshop about simplicity leadership.

While much of Thursday’s program focuses on the intellect, on Friday, participants will shift their focus to matters of the heart, Bennett said. Julie Fedele, aka The Corporate Mystic, will present a workshop meant to help attendees implement human design into their lives to build fulfilling professional and personal lives.

The closing keynote features Sharon Dolev and Emad Kiyaei from the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), which seeks to eradicate weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East through policy, advocacy, and educational programs. They will speak about their own journeys that resulted in the creation of METO, which Bennett said will be a “super impactful closing.”

A Message From Sharon Dolev and Emad Kiyaei

Learn more about and register for Convening EMEA.

4 More Exploration Tours

Convening EMEA participants have four other exploration tout options along with the boat tour of Copenhagen’s canals and harbor (photo top of page). They are: