
September/October 2023
As face-to-face events return in full force, organizers and venues are assessing additional new risks, like potential disruptive behavior, that can make their events feel less safe and welcoming.
Cover illustration by Liam Eisenberg
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We look forward to an exciting future for our global business events community. And that future starts now.
Shelters From the Storm
How convention centers help communities recover in a crisis.
How to Get Your Boss to Sign off on Your Event Strategy
At a CEMA Summit session, senior event organizers broke down how they get executive buy-in for their event plans — from using data that shows your event’s impact to thinking like a politician.
How to Plan for Possible Protesters at Your Event
A veteran of dealing with disruptive behavior at meetings shares six recommendations to help organizers prepare for the prospect of attracting protesters at their events.
Keeping Digital Events Relevant
Some event management students in professor’s undergraduate class believe that virtual events are “outdated.” PCMA’s Catalyst Community offered their ideas on how he could dig deeper for more insight.
How to Think Like an Event Content Strategist
What’s the first thing event content strategists need to do? According to speakers at a recent CEMA Summit session, you need to define your scope, because event content can encompass everything from signage to main stage messaging.
Leading Your Team With Compassion and Transparency
A session at CEMA Summit 2023 offered leaders ideas for navigating their teams through periods of upheaval — mergers and acquisitions included.
Capitol Hill Addresses Visa Wait Time Issue
Convention attendees and exhibitors from some non-U.S. destinations have been contending with visitor visa processing times as long as 800 days, negatively impacting international participation at U.S.-based events. New legislation targeting the issue offers some hope.
Do You Need a KPI Event Playbook?
A session at CEMA Summit 2023 spelled out the alphabet soup for event success — KPIs, OKRs, and all the Rs.
When Freddy Krueger Met Snow White — Online
Association listens to its members — academics and students — and launches its first virtual-only conference that brings the worlds of academia and pop culture together.
Media Mixer + Makers
The PRSA Travel & Tourism 2023 Section Conference’s closing event venue gave participants a sense of the host destination’s past, while a pop-up makers market showcased its present diversity.
Tactics to Help Resolve Competing Priorities in Planning Your Event
According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), the business-to-business exhibition industry is still in recovery mode, which has been challenging on many fronts for event organizers.
Medical Group Takes Training Workshops on the Road
To better support physicians’ soft skills development, the American College of Chest Physicians launched a country-wide tour of its empathetic listening training workshops, focused on the critical first five minutes of clinician/patient interaction.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ‘Actively Practiced at Every Level’
In an EduCon 2023 session, DEI consultant Zoe Moore shared how event professionals can integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of their organizations’ operations by implementing a supplier diversity program.
How Events Can Mimic Private Membership Networks
“Paid membership community” may technically describe a traditional association, but it’s now more generally recognized as an online business model that facilitates member connections around a common mission or interest. Here’s what events can learn from them.
10 Ways to up Your Event Planning Game
We find ourselves in a unique position — we can still explore new ideas, but the window of opportunity is closing fast.