Helping association professionals’ adapt their skill sets to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world will be a priority at IMEX Frankfurt 2024.
Association Focus, the one-day educational programme for Association
Planners, taking place on Monday, May 13th, ahead of IMEX Frankfurt, will offer
insights on topics including artificial technology, sustainable practices and
legacy impact.
"While global recovery is progressing, there are still
significant economic, political and environmental challenges on the horizon,”
said Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group.
“Our international roster of speakers
is set to share their take on the skills needed for the journey ahead, namely:
adaptability, innovation, resilience and a collaborative spirit. Our dedicated
day of learning and connections for association professionals is a sure-fire
way to create a solid base for future business success."
Association Focus highlights:
- Disabled adventurer and explorer, Darren Edwards, knows a
thing or two about adapting to change. A soldier and avid mountaineer, Edwards' life changed the moment he suffered a spinal cord injury in a rock-climbing
accident. Now an acclaimed speaker and expert in mental toughness and teamwork,
he’ll be sharing some of his life lessons in his plenary session: The Adaptive
Mindset: Five Pillars to Overcome Adversity. Edwards said: “In an ever-changing
and constantly shifting world, a business's ability to adapt and its staff's
mental toughness have become integral to success.”
- With the World Economic Forum recently stating that 23 per
cent of jobs will change in the next five years, upskilling and reskilling is a
must. What are the tools we need to do this? Meredith Ellison from the
Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence will lead the
discussion in The race to reskill: Building a future workforce.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fuelling current discussions
around changing roles and responsibilities and it’s a technology that nearly
two thirds (63 per cent) of associations and not-for-profits are already
engaging with. However, there’s a need to increase understanding in exactly how
to use it to deliver impact, with 72 per cent not engaged in AI education. Veemal
Gungadin, founder and CEO of Gevme will lead the discussion around how associations
can make it work for them in AI: Artificial Intelligence meets Association
impact.
- Designing events with long lasting impact sits at the heart
of a session by Pigalle Tavakkoli founder of the School of Experience Design.
She explained: “Experience design allows us to go beyond designing the form and
function of an event, to designing the audiences’ emotions, memories and
behavior. When the attendee remembers the experience, the same emotions come
flooding back – and this inspires change and becomes a transformative
experience for the long term.”
- Every organisation is on a sustainability journey, and yet
there are many missed opportunities along the way. According to the latest ICCA
& Destination Canada International Sustainability Report only 19 per cent
planners include their sustainability efforts and impact in annual reports and
only 34 per cent communicate their sustainability efforts on social media
channels. Guy Bigwood from GDS will head up a session covering best
practice examples and sharing the strategies needed to build the ripple of
sustainability at events.
