The Spanish Chapter of Meeting Professionals International surprised attendees with a dynamic and participative educational session, held at the ME by Melia in Madrid, addressing new formats, technologies and trends in the meetings and event industry. Held on 23 January, it was the first of two sessions organized by MPI Spain, the second being scheduled for 9 February in Barcelona.
New formats, technologies and trends in the meetings and event industry
Eminently practical, the Madrid workshop allowed participants to get to know and discuss the latest innovations in the meetings and event industry. With an innovative workshop-type format in which the moderator interviewed the keynote speaker and constantly encouraged the audience to participate, new techniques and applications were presented for engaging audiences and getting the most out of events.
The first part of the session, in which a number of networking and gamification tools – educating through play – were presented, was followed by an even more informal and entertaining discussion between the speakers and participants. Among other issues, they discussed the need for shifting from traditional event formats to hybrid ones – in which virtual attendance is just as important as physical attendance – and ways of achieving this.
Speakers included Mireia Iglesias, project manager de Meeting Support International and organizing committee member of The Fresh Conference, an experimental event held recently in Copenhagen. "For this session, we haven’t only let ourselves be inspired by this congress, but we’ve also asked them to collaborate. Many of the new trends presented in Denmark are unknown in Spain; however, they fit in perfectly with the creative and ground-breaking spirit that the industry needs," said Jesus Gomez, president-elect of MPI Spain and the session’s moderator.
Alda Egurrola of Elite Meetings International and Rosa Garriga of the ROI Institute will be moderating and speaking at the second session, scheduled to be held in Barcelona on 9 February. The conclusions of both sessions will be used to draft a reference document geared to improving and professionalizing the meetings and event industry.
MPI educational sessions
MPI’s educational sessions form a part of the association’s educational programme, comprising six sessions held in Madrid and Barcelona, with the attendance of top industry professionals. The sessions address issues of interest to its members and guests, which include suppliers and event planners: hotels, venues, complementary services, convention bureau, agencies and corporate and association planners.
