Since the first edition eight years ago, the event has transformed into one of the pre-eminent platforms for facilitating creative discourse within the meetings industry. The central topic of this year’s event is encapsulated in the formula Exp = Evt2, which means “from boring events to immersive experiences”. The organisers expect over 130 attendees to attend the festival, where they will learn, network and exchange ideas in an informal ambience. Participants will come up with ideas on using the universal event language to their advantage. A quintessential part of the Conventa Crossover is the competition for the best regional events. Event agencies will compete in the Conventa Best Event Award competition to win the coveted awards.
WHAT’S ON IN 2023?
Twenty-nine expert speakers will discuss how to transform boring events into immersive experiences. The line-up of speakers includes 9 Crossover Legends – stars of the European meetings industry who organise some of the most complex and intriguing events and festivals in Europe.
The organisers envisaged the three central topics of the event in a circular way, building on last year’s programme. The speakers will delve into the following topics:
• CREATIVITY leads to INNOVATION
• INNOVATION is necessary for REGENERATION
• REGENERATION needs DIALOGUE
The organisers named a few novelties that make the festival a must-attend.
THE FINALE OF THE BEST EVENT AWARD COMPETITION
Conventa Crossover will again host the competition for the best events in New Europe. A distinguished 19-member international jury will select the winning projects. On Monday, 28 August, the best events between Helsinki and Istanbul and Venice and Baku will be presented. The award competition presents a unique opportunity for attendees to learn about best-case practices. Forty-two events are competing for the prized awards.
F*!#UPS
They say Mr. Murhpy waits behind every corner in event organising. Crossover will host event organisers who have learned valuable lessons from past mistakes. Famed organisers will admit to their mistakes, including Boris Kovaček, the founding father of Weekend Media Festival. Also taking the stage will be Ivan Petrović, the co-founder of the iconic EXIT Festival, Kathrin Schmidt, the director of the inspiring Graz-based Fifteen Seconds Festival and Dragan Perendija, the mastermind behind the Sporto festival.
LJUBLJANA TALKS
The relaxed talk format Ljubljana Talks will take place in person, delving into the future of festivals. Leading regional festival organisers will partake in the podcast. The discussion will be moderated by Jan Oršič and Gorazd Čad, who will uncover their guests’ secrets for organising remarkable festivals.
EXPERIENCE DAY
On Sunday, 27 August 2023, attendees will discover hidden, inspiring stories from Ljubljana and its surroundings. The programme was prepared in close cooperation with Ljubljana Tourism. The organisers promise a relaxed ambience in which attendees will uncover stories steeped in history that marked Ljubljana and its vicinity.
FUTURE LAB
The Future Lab will be organised as an open space, co-created by attendees and Crossover Legends. Connected by art, the event will prompt innovation and creativity. Together, attendees and speakers will seek answers about the future of attendee engagement, content marketing, branding, experience architecture and the future of in-person, online, hybrid and virtual events.
MEET THE ARTISTS
Another highly-anticipated novelty this year is a segment named Meet the Artists. Without them, events would be boring. Thus, the organisers will invite select artists to join attendees during lunchtime. One of them will be Klemen Slakonja, a singer, moderator and master imitator.
GALA AWARD CEREMONY FOR THE BEST EVENTS
This year’s award ceremony for the best events will take place as a separate gala event. The organisers of the best events will walk down the green carpet to claim their hard-earned awards. The award ceremony will honour the winning events on Tuesday, 29 August 2023, at 20.00.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT – REGENERATIVE MODELS
Among a slew of recognisable faces in the meetings industry, the event will also host Dan Podjed, an anthropologist known as a critical observer of society who studies the role of the individual. Together with Katarina Polajnar Horvat from ZRC SAZU, they will discuss the invisible life of waste. Stefan Hric from Creative Pro Group, the co-founder of Odpadnesh company, will talk about making one-off products from waste material.
SUCCESS STORIES – BALTIC TIGERS
The organisers invited the most successful agencies from Scandinavia and the Baltics – Baltic Tigers – to attend the event and share their success stories. Five exceptional, award-winning event agencies will present their projects. Markus van der Hakonsen from Apetite Production will represent Norway, Juho Hiidenmaa from Management Events Studio will discuss Finland’s best events, Lehari Kaustel from Miltton Events will showcase Estonia’s greatest projects, Aurimas Kamantauskas from Rekurai will uncover Lithuanian best case practices, and Janne Bjorge from Ystra agency will talk about award-winning events in Sweden. The maestro behind the Baltic Tigers is Mary Kirilova, in charge of the Baltic Event Club, which organises the renowned Amber Prize festival.
SUCCESS STORIES – CEE LIONS
Leading agencies will present their projects and share their perspectives to provide an overview of the unmatched creativity within the regional meetings industry. Ivo J. Franschitz from ENITED will talk about the latest happenings in Austria, Norbert Pycha from Event Arena will present the latest happening in the Czech Republic, Manuela Šola from Komunikacijski laboratorij will shed light on the situation in Croatia, Miro Antić from M2Communications will present projects from Serbia, and finally, Janos Fazakas from Visual Europe will showcase the best of Hungary. The interactive event format will offer insight into the state of the regional meetings industry.
SUSTAINABLE EVENT ORGANISATION
The organisers are committed to making Crossover a sustainable event according to Conventa’s 7R model. They will implement numerous small and large measures to help preserve the environment. Recommendations for organising sustainable events are summarised in a handbook available for download at: https://conventa.si/zeleni-prirocnik/.
THE MODERATOR
Juraj Holub, a member of the legendary Masters in Moderation team, will moderate the event. Juraj will ensure the event is engaging and help fulfil the event’s promise: “No more boring events”.
A GUARANTEE OF QUALITY
Event organisers and attendees wish to spend their time and money on meetings wisely and efficiently. Measuring event results is thus crucial. To prove they mean business, the organisers have implemented a new policy: “We will return the entry fee if attendees are not satisfied with the event”.
Conventa Crossover is organised by Toleranca marketing and Conventa trade show in cooperation with Ljubljana Tourism, the Slovenian Tourist Board and the Slovenian Convention Bureau.
Learn more about the programme, speakers and registration at: https://www.crossover.si/.
