There’s a scene in one of my favorite movies, The Hunt for Red October, in which CIA agent Jack Ryan turns to Soviet submarine Captain Marko Ramius, who has just defected to the U.S., and says, “Welcome to the new world.”
Apropos for our lives these days. We most certainly are living in a new world that is both changing rapidly while seemingly at a standstill.
We are finding new ways to connect as we social distance ourselves, work remotely, conduct meetings through videoconferencing, get our groceries delivered or venture out minimally behind a face mask—all the while awaiting the day we can safely reunite with our friends, our colleagues, our MPI community.
This is a collective experience from which we will learn, innovate and adapt.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed our way of life and will change the way we do business. Face to face will return, but our plans for reopening and how we gather will be just as important as how we have managed and endured through these times.
One of the changes you will notice is in how we deliver The Meeting Professional. Beginning with this issue, all of our distribution will be digital only. Our mission will not change just because we no longer print. We will continue to deliver award-winning content focused on our members and on relevant and timely news and information about MPI and the meeting and event industry. The digital edition allows for easier access to our MPItv videos, our podcasts and links to additional content. Our reach will expand, as well, with delivery to 100,000 meeting professionals including the entire MPI and Plan Your Meetings databases in North America and Europe. The digital format also allows our partners to showcase their message and brand in more unique ways.
We’ve announced another change at MPI. We’re moving our signature education event, the World Education Congress (WEC), to November of this year. The impact of the coronavirus on the meeting and event industry and the future of how face to face will help the global economic recovery will be at the forefront for “Reunite for Recovery,” Nov. 3-6 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas, with a robust live experience as well as a fully virtual conference component.
Coronavirus Podcast: Rising From the Ashes
A huge shout out to the nearly 11,000 meeting professionals who joined our Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID): Virtual event. The 12-hour, worldwide broadcast focused on education, inspiration and networking. Thanks also to Judith de Boer, press officer for Rotterdam Partners, for her idea to put a collage of industry faces on our cover this month.
Please continue to follow daily industry updates in our e-newsletters—MPI NewsBrief, MPI NewsBrief Weekend, MPI Pulse, MPI Pulse Canada and MPI Pulse Europe—and at mpi.org/Trusted Resource.
Reunite for Recovery: WEC Grapevine, Nov. 3-6, 2020
We will come through this together. This is difficult, no doubt, but a collective experience from which we will learn, we will innovate and we will adapt.
From all of us at MPI, be safe and healthy. #WeWillMeetAgain
Until next time…
Rich Luna
Editor in Chief
rluna@mpiweb.org
