We spoke with Elina Jutelyte, president of MPI's Belgium Chapter, about her chapter's biggest accomplishment this year and what's in store for meetings and events in 2020. Here's what she had to say.
What do you feel was your chapter's biggest accomplishment this year?
We are very proud to have hosted several events on sustainability this year. One of them was Food Think Differently conference where the audience of planners and suppliers discussed the smart use and service of Food and Beverage at events. We were lucky to have several renowned speakers to join us at this event and share their experience. Among them:
- Isabella Rossi, production manager of Flow Festival (one of the most sustainable festivals in Europe), who shared details of their sustainability program (Sustainable Flow).
- Nicolas Decloedt, chef of the best vegan restaurant in the world the Humus x Hortenseshared, shared his approach to food creativity and sustainability of restaurant operations.
- Natalie Leys, head of the Microbiology Research Unit, Nuclear Research Centre (StudieCentrum voor Kernenergie (SCK/CEN)), took us into the world of space research to innovative food and recycling solutions which are used for astronauts and people on Earth.
- Nynke Kok from Postillion Hotels shared how they integrate emerging food trends into the future events to boost productivity based on the example of 'Brainfood' program.
As a result of this event, MPI Belgium committed to run and support sustainability programs and develop a guide for planners to start incorporating sustainability practices at events.
What new developments are you most excited about for 2020 and why?
MPI Belgium is looking forward to hosting next April the first cross-industry event that will bring together sporting events, art and fashion shows, e-gaming pioneers and technology innovators. We tend to think about event industry from the perspective of an event planner (corporate or associations) or a supplier (venues, transportation, technology). We also assign events as part of the travel industry.
We want to break this mold to with entertainment. Any event can learn from film making or screen writing about how to emotionally engage people, pass the message and make people connect for an idea. It implies a different set of skills and even greater level of professionalism.
With this event, we want to shift the industry to start thinking broader and create synergies that are crucial for development and innovation. We also want to mark Belgium as event destination on worldwide level.
What meetings trends emerged in your neck of the woods this year and what do you think next year's biggest trends will be?
Speaking of trends, we hope to see more of personalization and data analytics coming into events, more easy and affordable technological solutions allowing this shift and more connected experiences at events be it a corporate meeting or association.
What did you learn or perhaps unlearn this year in terms of professional development that you think would be beneficial to those who are just entering the events industry?
We are living at a very quick pace and our industry implies that we need to react fast. We therefore tend to do things quick and react quick too. Our advice is to take time to zoom out and leave it a space. Most often this leads to better outcomes. Especially in conflict situations. Looking at the situation in perspective is something I learned this year.
What New Year's resolution should the events industry make for 2020?
I think that event industry is still in a struggle and very much segmented. We would like to see more coherence and more industry professionalism in all aspects of event management and therefore our resolution will be to help the event industry to shine and be recognized beyond 'event planners and venues' cohort.
