MPI President and CEO Paul Van Deventer kicked off the EMEC 2025
opening plenary session, sponsored by IMEX Group, with an emotionally
charged message as he recalled his very first EMEC 11 years ago, which
also took place in İstanbul.
Van Deventer shared good news as
he summarized some of MPI’s key wins over the last year. Revenue grew by
10%, the community expanded by 34% and the MPI Foundation, which has
provided 14 million Euros, celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Looking
ahead, he noted some key goals for 2025, which include: further growth
with personal development offerings from the MPI Academy, strengthening
the global chapter network and enhancing the European Regional Council.
Clearly
there is a lot going on, and in many ways that is down to the energy
and enthusiasm of the volunteer leaders. As he reminded us, “Events
bring us together and then together we go forward.”
Hand in hand with change
Elif Balcı Fisunoğlu, vice
general manager, tourism operations and development, Türkiye Tourism
Promotion and Development Agency, was next to take to the stage. She was
delighted to welcome everyone to Türkiye and took the opportunity to
demonstrate the sustainability credentials of the region. There is a
robust Sustainable Tourism Program that venues go through. There are
thousands of accommodation facilities verified and certified by the
program, which is independently audited by third parties.
What
makes it stronger is the fact that annual evaluations are necessary for
properties to keep their certification, which means ongoing improvement
is always a key consideration. And as well as at venues, sustainability
is evidenced elsewhere as the Turkish Riviera embodies the city which
has the most Blue Flag-certified beaches in the world.
To
conclude the opening we heard from Filiz Akdede, global VP of HP 3D
Business, who has been named one of “Türkiye's Most Effective Women
Leaders.” She talked about the importance of understanding people and
the impact they have on a workplace and an industry. In particular, she
spent time talking about Gen Alpha, which is made up of people born
after 2010. According to Akdede, this cohort will make up 11% of the
workforce by 2030 and will be doing jobs that don’t currently exist. It
takes a moment to reflect on the pace of change that the world is going
through.
She emphasized that Gen Alpha want purpose-driven
careers and, being digital natives, will push the edges of what’s
possible. So, what does that mean for the other generations already
working? She encouraged attendees to unlearn and then relearn. In other
words, holding onto things that worked in the past won’t necessarily
work as effectively in the future.
But the big thing about any
change, and we are seeing lots of it with the development of artificial
intelligence (AI), sustainability and inclusiveness initiatives, is
that we need to go with it. After all, walking hand in hand with change
is the way to success, according to Akdede.
And, with this,
the scene was set for the great days to come of an EMEC that has
possibility, and where attendees will walk in harmony with change.
Photos courtesy Butino
Opening plenary sponsored by
