Here’s what happens when creativity and commerce connect.
The ‘creative future of business events’ was the hot topic at this year’s Melbourne Edge @ AIME event, held at Cargo Hall on the South Wharf in Melbourne.
Karen Bolinger, CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau opened proceedings with a dynamic speech in front of 250 national and international event strategists and meeting planners, and highlighted the key themes of disruption and risk as factors all meeting professionals must consider in 2018 and beyond.
She challenged the audience to think about the future when designing events, to reimagine the spaces used at events and to factor in the rapidly changing youth demographic to ensure conferences stay relevant.
Partnering with C2, one of the world’s most innovative business conference companies, Melbourne Edge delegates found themselves immersed in extreme environments (or ‘labs’) designed to spark new ideas and provoke spontaneous interactions (or ‘collisions’ as C2 calls them).
The ‘labs’ proved a talking point for everyone, taking participants out of their comfort zone to create the foundation for robust discussions and authentic conversations.
Delegates experienced classic C2 labs include the ‘ball-pool’, a pool filled with colourful balls that serves as a fun space for a facilitated networking experience; the ‘In the dark’ experience - a pitch-black room where you’re asked to publicly nominate your personal and business blind-spots, and the ‘Conversation Market’, a large-scale brainstorming experience where everyone gets a turn to share high-level insights on topics relevant to the industry.
These ‘collisions’ provided an innovative way to network and eliminated personal boundaries which enabled deep connections to form remarkably quickly. In particular, the unusual nature of the ‘In the dark’ lab sparked interesting debates about the need for event professionals to take more risks and to challenge their clients to do the same.
Wrap Up of Melbourne Edge 2018
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More Information:
To find out more about how Melbourne Convention Bureau can support your next business event or the Melbourne Edge Event Series, please call +61 3 9002 2222, email: info@melbournecb.com.au or visit www.melbournecb.com.au