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At Convening Leaders in January, PCMA soft launched two new AI-based initiatives and rolled out the Ascent Pathways 100 Program to help empower underrepresented professionals in our industry.
If you’ve ever heard me speak or have read my columns in the Convene magazine, you have undoubtedly heard me use the word “transformation.” One of the things that drives me forward is my passionate belief in the events industry’s capacity to create social progress and economic transformation, and the meaningful role our industry plays in solving the pressing problems we face in the world today.
As we embark on the new year, I’d like to share some new ways the global PCMA community is moving our industry forward. I believe that large-scale, transformative change comes not solely as a result of innovative ideas and the willingness to take risks, but through communities where individuals are equipped and empowered with the tools and the skills to actively collaborate and lead change themselves.
Sherrif Karamat, CAE, President CEO, PCMA and CEMA.
One example of how we are leading innovation is Spark. When we introduced this AI tool to our global community less than two years ago, it was because we recognized we could not stay on the sidelines — we needed to help drive change and equip professionals with a tool designed by and for event professionals, to help us become more creative, effective, and efficient in our roles. Today, Spark has more than 10,000 users in 120-plus countries.
At Convening Leaders in January, we began the soft launch of two new AI-based initiatives — Destinaitor, an AIpowered destination and venue search tool, which, like Spark, is being built in collaboration with the industry, and your feedback will ensure we develop a tech solution that meets your needs. Another new development is Spark Studio, which will enable users to take on more complex tasks and share their workflows and successful prompts they’ve used with others in the Spark community.
We also rolled out the Ascent Pathways 100 Program, to help empower underrepresented professionals in our industry with access to education and professional development opportunities — 100 recipients will be selected each year — in partnership with Visit Baltimore and via a PCMA Foundation grant. As we witness DEI programs being scaled back or entirely dismantled across industries and sectors, we’re going in the opposite direction. We’ve invested in Ascent Pathways to support professionals in our industry who have encountered barriers due to their gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, different abilities, or unique life experiences.
The importance of having diverse perspectives to solve the world’s problems — like the climate crisis — came up in Convene‘s February cover story on the circular economy, where organizers behind Greenbuild and the World Circular Economy Forum talked about their efforts to make both events multidisciplinary and accessible.
Inclusivity also means being multigenerational, which is why I look forward each year to hearing how our latest class of 20 in Their Twenties is moving the events industry forward. You can get a sense of what’s important to our future leaders here.
We recognize that transformation only happens when everyone has access to the right tools and is given a seat at the table.