The success of the four-day event, held from 9-12 February in The Hague, was due to a balanced combination of education, experience, and networking. The programme consisted of four different tracks: Risk Management, Design Thinking, Leadership and Meeting Perspectives. Instead of the traditional ‘sitting and listening’ the participants were constantly encouraged to interact. 

During the impressive opening on Saturday in the Louwman Museum, participants went on a discovery tour through the museum with various assignments, which resulted in networking moments right at the start of the event. 

After an optional activity program on Sunday morning, delegates went on one of the seven learning journeys. They visited companies and organizations outside the meeting and event sector, such as research institute TNO, cress-food company Koppert Cress and Blijdorp Zoo, to come up with new insights that could be applied within the sector. This not only provided knowledge and inspiration but also offered the international guests a (further) introduction to The Netherlands.

emec19_haague
Photo credit: Ramon van Jaarsveld - Clickshots

Back in The Hague, artist, and innovator Daan Roosegaarde made a big impression in the Fokker Terminal with his keynote speech. He showed how to create special projects by thinking outside the box. His speech was followed by a surprising lockdown of the Fokker Terminal. By playing a joint game, delegates managed to escape from this immense escape room.

During the deep dive sessions on Monday, delegates became acquainted with the four tracks. Within these substantive tracks, they followed various sessions and workshops in which they were challenged to interact in constantly changing compositions. Making a risk analysis, a panel discussion about diversity, dealing with changes, the value of interaction and a course of guts are just a few of the topics that were discussed.

The last day of EMEC19 was marked by the ‘Festivalisation of Events’ with, among others, speaker Irfan van Ewijk, co-founder of ID&T. He explained how Dutch dance festivals became an international success and how you can translate the festival feeling into meetings and events.

EMEC19 is designed by and for meeting professionals. For the design process, MPI Netherlands Chapter received assistance from Event Design Collective. In total, more than sixty professionals from The Netherlands and abroad worked voluntary on the event. “I am extremely proud of the team,” says project leader Sven Boelhouwer after the conclusion of EMEC 19. “Everyone worked so very hard for eleven months to create a whole new experience. We didn’t want something that everyone sees at a regular conference. I hope everyone out there will feel that we accomplished that.”

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