Last year in Dublin, the Forum’s emphasis on community, inclusion, and innovation centred on how associations can design outcomes that outlive the closing session. Guadalajara built directly on that idea, but with a twist; it treated heritage and local identity as a tool for better decisions about sustainability, legacy, and the real-world applications behind both.
Trust, continuity, and the value of “same standards”
One reason the BestCities model resonates with associations is the sense of continuity it offers as relationships do not reset to zero with every new host city.
With 13 destination partners aligned around shared expectations – particularly around sustainability, values, and long-term impact – the alliance’s pitch is “we can help you deliver your purpose, faster, and with fewer misunderstandings.”
In Guadalajara, that trust was clear in the way conversations flowed outside formal sessions. The Forum’s small format made it easy to move from big-picture debate to specific topics like what’s actually feasible with limited resources; where measurement helps; and what associations can reasonably ask of venues and suppliers without turning sustainability into an impossible task.
Sustainability and measurement moving past the comfortable answers
Sustainability in Guadalajara was handled in an open and somewhat provocative way. In “The Real Cost of Sustainability”, Natalie Lowe, Alexis Kereluk and Milda Salciute challenged the industry’s favourite shortcuts and urged planners to focus on what they can influence directly.
(Natalie, Milda and Alexis from left to right in the photo)
A key provocation was that, in many event contexts, food waste may be a more immediate and solvable priority than aviation, because organisers can act on forecasting, menus, and on-site processes. The panel also questioned the over-reliance on carbon offsets without mitigation. Natalie’s “cupcake diet” analogy captured how offsets can make us feel we’ve fixed the problem, while the real work (cutting emissions and waste in the first place) gets postponed.
The speakers advocated clear goals, stronger supply-chain collaboration, and a start-small mindset of reducing waste, using practical tools, and building momentum through measures that can be repeated year after year.
Guadalajara also extended Dublin’s 2025 focus on innovation by tackling impact measurement. The discussion explored where generative AI and structured frameworks can help teams that are time-poor and data-rich, pulling insights from multiple sources, analysing qualitative feedback at speed, and turning evidence into reporting that different stakeholders can actually use.
This matters because measurement – done honestly – can separate nice stories from demonstrable outcomes, and make it easier to defend budgets, refine programmes, and build partnerships that last beyond a single cycle.
Intermoda and the venue as a partner
The Intermoda case study offered Guadalajara’s most convincing demonstration of “innovating with tradition” as a practical strategy. As moderator Gustavo Staufert, CEO of the Guadalajara Convention & Visitors Bureau, said, it was “a case study that has put Guadalajara on the map when it comes to sustainable events.” He also explained the logic behind choosing fashion, an industry with, in his words, “the worst fame in sustainability”, as the place to prove change is possible and transferable to wider events.
Expo Guadalajara implemented specific measures: four-stream waste stations, staffed waste separation, biodegradable food-service requirements, and a shift from print to digital, while making the commercial point that sustainability can lift event quality and venue performance. Intermoda’s approach focused on recognising designers and entrepreneurs pushing more responsible practices, paired with guidance for exhibitors on how to participate and communicate what they are doing.Perhaps the strongest insight for associations was that once exhibitors, suppliers and staff learn new habits, they carry them into other shows and even home communities, turning a trade show into a training ground for wider change.
Culture, craft, and leadership
Guadalajara’s biggest contribution may have been how deliberately it integrated culture into the Forum’s fabric, not so much as just entertainment, but as context. An early session at Hospicio Cabañas, a UNESCO World Heritage site, showcased that protecting heritage (architectural, social, environmental) requires bold choices, investment, and long-term thinking, the same ingredients sustainability demands.
That mentality was evident in two of the Forum’s most important conversations. Entrepreneur Marisa Lazo offered a leadership story rooted in craft, people, and patience, building an empire without sacrificing the values that made the business meaningful. Meanwhile, dancer and cultural ambassador Isaac Hernández inspired the delegates with what his story implies for youth development, skills, and social mobility, and how cultural investment can sit firmly within an event’s legacy ambitions.
Alongside the big themes, BestCities also found a smart way to turn participation into something tangible. Through the Engage for Good initiative, delegates were encouraged to stay active in the attendee app (yes, it was one of the few conferences where being on your phone actually counted in your favour). By completing simple engagement goals before and during the Forum, participants earned points that translated into a donation for Centro de Formación y Promoción de Danza Clásica Isaac y Esteban Hernández (Centro Relevé A.C.), supporting ballet training for children and young people, particularly those from vulnerable backgrounds. The mechanism was simple and playful – a leaderboard included – but it reinforced a serious idea that legacy is what we choose to support collectively.
The BestCities Global Forum 2026 was a working environment for association leaders who want to sharpen how they think about place, and purpose. If Dublin in 2025 asked how meetings can strengthen communities through inclusion and innovation, Guadalajara’s answer in 2026 was more specific, that tradition is not the opposite of progress. In the right hands (city partners, venues, entrepreneurs, and cultural institutions) it becomes a platform for sustainability. Next year, the BestCities Global Forum returns to Dubai for its 10th anniversary to continue building the work done in Guadalajara.
Want to follow what’s next? Learn more about the BestCities Global Forum and the 13 destination partners at bestcities.net.