EMEC
Changing the conference game
CMW’S STUART WOOD HURRIED TO THE HAGUE IN FEBRUARY, HOST CITY OF
MPI’S 2019 EUROPEAN MEETINGS & EVENTS CONFERENCE (EMEC). IT WAS A CONFERENCE
THAT TOOK A HEALTHY DOSE OF INSPIRATION FROM THE FESTIVAL INDUSTRY
he tagline of EMEC 19
was ‘Changing the game’,
and organisers - the MPI
Netherlands
Chapter - made a concerted effort to
break down traditional conference
formats over the course of the five-day
event.
The spirit of festivalisation ran
strongly through all activities on offer,
from the opening networking dinner on
9 February to the closing ceremony on
12 February.
At the dinner, themed food trucks
each provided a different stipulation.
One required delegates to order food in
rhyme, while another required delegates
to be in the company of somebody from
a certain country to order, encouraging
the seek out of new connections.
On the Sunday, delegates were taken
14 /
CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
/
on one of many ‘learning journeys’
around The Hague. These had been
pre-selected upon registration.
CMW attended a crisis management
wargame, which put us in the shoes of
an imaginary company which had been
hacked by Anonymous. We played out a
scripted storyline which forced us to
adapt to an escalating crisis on the fly,
exercising our diplomatic and persuasive
skills to the fullest.
Sunday evening saw all delegates –
which numbered around 500 –
attending the opening keynote by
Dutch artist and environmentalist Daan
Roosegarde. We were then locked into a
surprise ‘escape the room’ game, where
we had to split into teams of three, each
solving a small piece of a larger puzzle,
before being released back to our hotels.
The event officially opened on the
ISSUE 99
Clockwise:
1 – Some very
serious networking
taking place at the
Hotel Van Oranje
2 – A choir member
strikes a pose at the
closing keynote
3 – Europe’s oldest
boulevard in The
Hague
“One food
truck
required
us to order
our food in
rhyme”
Monday morning, with a flash mob
choir performance in the main
auditorium of the World Forum.
Performers in technicolour dress
streamed in through each entrance of
the hall as delegates gathered on the
stage, before launching into song.
Following this, the talks themselves
began.
Highlights of those CMW attended
were Kim Myhre, MD at MCI
Experience, discussing design thinking
and how we can think events past being
a ‘broadcast medium’.
Juup Laarman also delivered an
interesting talk about how events can
learn to better accommodate introverts.
On Monday evening, delegates were
rounded up for a tropical beach-themed
party in The Hague’s Hotel van Oranje.
There were rapids, giant inflatable
flamingos and plenty of cocktails.
Any hangovers were quickly erased
the next morning, however, by a
fascinating final keynote, delivered by
ID&T’s Irfan Van Ewijk. Van Ewijk
founded storied Dutch festival
Mysteryland, and offered insights into
how festivalisation can be utilised
broadly in events.
It was a fitting close to an event with
a heavy focus on festivalisation, and
getting delegates outside the convention
centre. EMEC 19 did a fantastic job of
bringing its attendees together through
a series of wider, social activities,
without sacrificing education.
In that sense, it provided an exciting
example of how conference organisers
can ‘change the game’ by offering an
experience that is more flexible and -
dare I say it – more fun.