Technology

In his third contribution to Boardroom, our tech & community expert Marc Mekki shares his practical insights on how to make the most of hybrid events which are set to become the norm.

Eager to get back in the conference room and pass constructive knowledge around, for associations it is not about when their next event will take place anymore but about how safe the destination is and how valuable the impact of their event will be for the communities involved. Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) covers all the bases as the state opens for business post-virus.

Iain Bitran, Executive Director of the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) shares with Boardroom the challenge - and the success - of transforming a physical conference into a highly-engaging digital meeting.

The pandemic may have accelerated the conversion to digital platforms, but virtual events are a tool that may be here for the long-run. As with live events, one of the key factors is engagement. But without seeing attendees or speakers face-to-face, how can organisers ensure participants will be just as stimulated when they’re sitting behind a screen?

When transitioning from in-person to virtual events, two questions quickly arise: How much should events cost participants and sponsors? And how should digital events be marketed?

Countries like Taiwan made the most out of their IT industry development, against all challenges due to Covid-19, becoming a shining example for the rest of the world both for battling the virus and for organising big business events.

In his second contribution to Boardroom, our tech & community expert Marc Mekki explores the concept of iterative design thinking and how associations should use it to be future-proof.

Franco Viviani, former President of the International Council for Physical Activity and Fitness Research, and anthropologist at the University of Padua, Italy, reflects on the rise of virtual meetings.

In the early onset of the pandemic, many event organizers started to postpone events from spring to summer. But as borders restrictions and lockdown orders remained in place for months, they realized even summer may be too soon for a F2F conference. Meanwhile, associations saw an acceleration toward another option: the digitalization of events.

Virtual events still sound a little futuristic, but they’ve been happening since 1993. In some ways little has changed in 2020, though things have accelerated the past few months. Marc Mekki, co-founder of Bond, shares his insights about what to think about if you want to go virtual.

Geoff Donaghy, CEO of ICC Sydney, writes that, even though the outbreak of COVID-19 is having a catastrophic impact on businesses, people and livelihoods the world over, we can’t lose of the future.

For Boardroom, Attilio Caligiani, ESAE Board Member and Director General of the World Iodine Association (WIA), explains in what profound ways digitalisation is transforming the activities of European industry associations.

Digitalization is already underway, so embracing it is not a matter of if, but instead of when and how. In this article, Frank M. Waechter takes a look at the most effective strategies and solutions that associations can use to achieve this.

Octavio ‘Bobby’ Peralta in his latest article touches upon the trend of social media influencers.

Situated at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone rivers, Lyon is a key location for biotechnology companies and headquarters to a variety of international organisations. It was recently awarded the coveted title of ‘European Capital of Smart Tourism’.

Thanks to an attractive meetings infrastructure and one of the most innovative networks in ICT, Zurich continues to lure association events. The Swiss city is known as a global leader in many fields—especially information technology and sustainability—in addition to being one of the top in terms of life quality.