» 18:00 – 19:30 — Registration & Exclusive Viewing of The International Olympic Museum

The opportunity to register early and discover the Olympic Museum and relive the highlights and memorable moments of the Olympic Games as if you were there, through the museum’s exciting presentations and fantastic special effects.

» 19:30 – 22:00 — Celebration of Nations Welcome Reception

Join your colleagues and industry friends from around the world as we celebrate being back together, why not come along in your national dress or wear a colour that represents your culture as we enjoy our Olympic surroundings.

» 08:00 – 09:00 — Registration & We Time

Register and connect with eachother at The Swiss Tech Convention Centre prior to the programme opening.

» 09:00 – 09:15 — PCMA EMEA Opening followed by Opening from Lausanne

More information will be available soon.

» 09:15 – 10:00 — Strategic Resilience: From Business Survival to Future Readiness

The pandemic revealed which organisations were able to adapt and thrive. In a world of constant disruptions, effective leaders are ones who possess the foresight to leap from old competence to the new capabilities ahead of time. Such preparedness translates into resilience during crisis time. But most importantly, it allows an organization to capitalize new growth in the post corona era. Howard Yu, a global authority on Future Readiness, will explore how your organisation and your team can build on a stronger footing for the future.

» 10:00 – 11:00 — Refreshment Break & We Time

» 11:00 – 11:45 — From Reactive to Proactive: The Strategic Resilience of Business Events

Our industry is poised to make the most of recent disruptors and usher in a new era of resiliency with new ways of doing business. Following Howard Yu’s future readiness keynote, leaders from across the business events ecosystem will share how they’re positioning their organisations to weather, and make the most out of, future shocks and ensure sustainable business growth.

» 12:00 – 12:45 — How EQ Leads to Personal, Professional and Business Growth

Having deep knowledge and expertise isn’t enough to make you successful anymore. Emotional intelligence (EQ) will give you and your team the necessary solution generating skills to meet complex challenges and disruptions head on. This session will explore key EQ pillars and how to apply those to recruiting talent, leading, problem solving and making smarter business decisions.

» 12:00 – 12:45 — Are You Effectively Measuring the True Impact of Your Events?

Events uniquely facilitate change, growth and awareness for audiences, organisations and communities – and all this can be measured. Learn why using traditional ROI methods is only the tip of the iceberg and how you can adopt a new, proactive measurement discipline to communicate the value of events to your leadership.

» 12:00 – 12:45 — Community Conversations

Join this facilitated conversation to share your experiences and walk away with new ideas. Conversation topics will be available soon.

» 13:00 – 15:30 — Networking Lunch & We Time

» 15:30 – 17:30 — Offsite Exploration Tours

• The Vineyards of Lavaux a UNESCO world heritage site
• The Montreux Jazz Digitalisation Project
• Lausanne past, present and future
• EPFL’s stellar trajectory!
• SolarStratos, a mission “To the edge of space”

» 19:30 – 23:00 — Gather Dinner at The Beau Rivage Palace an evening of Swiss Splendour on the shores of Lake Geneva

» 09:00 – 10:00 — Keynote: Insights into the Invincible Organisation

In this seminar, Yves Pigneur outlines what is required from leaders and organisations to survive and thrive in today’s world. He describes how to design an innovation culture, innovation portfolios, while remaining world-class at managing the existing business. He will introduce a new concept that helps companies visualise if they are ready for the future or if they should fear disruption. He will also briefly outline Business Model Patterns that allow established organisations and startups to compete on better business models rather than just compete on new products, technologies, and price.

» 10:05 – 10:50 — Digital Event Insights to Guide Future Audience Engagement

Integrating digital experiences into events has become a valuable approach to engage audiences when travel isn’t a viable option. Digital trends, platforms and services are rapidly evolving making this a moving target for event strategists everywhere. What are the benchmarks for digital events and what does that mean for the foreseeable future? This session will break down the findings of the Digital Events Insights research, conducted in collaboration with AC Forum, and reveal what we can learn from 2020 digital events to guide our approach in 2021 and beyond.

» 10:05 – 10:50 — Selling and Marketing Destinations and Venues in a New Age of Events

A significant shift in consumer behaviour and buyer decision-making requires suppliers to rethink their value proposition and how they market, sell and win business. You’ll hear case studies supporting key business trends – what’s working and what isn’t – impacting selling and marketing destinations and venues.

» 10:05 – 10:50 — Community Conversations

Join this facilitated conversation to share your experiences and walk away with new ideas. Conversation topics will be available soon.

» 10:50 – 11:30 — Refreshment Break & We Time

» 11:30 – 12:10 — The Future Role of National Convention Bureaux

As the business of events continues to evolve, the Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux is more determined than ever to strengthen Europe’s position as a leading destination. To sustain and further develop Europe as a major competitor for international business, the alliance is exploring the future role of DMOs. A panel of destination leaders will share their path forward and what this roadmap means for the industry.

» 11:30 – 12:10 — Gain Confidence in a VUCA World with Scenario Planning

Our VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) world frequently demands revising strategies and tactics to fit the ever-changing circumstances. You’ll examine proven frameworks and case studies to become more confident in turning what-if scenarios into tangible solutions and prudent decisions to create future-proof plans.

» 11:30 – 12:10 — Community Conversations

Join this facilitated conversation to share your experiences and walk away with new ideas. Conversation topics will be available soon.

» 12:20 – 13:10 — Keynote: Talent + Challenge = Change

We’ve all been thrust into a new era of work – hyperconnectivity and a renewed focus on wellbeing has sparked new workplace preferences and styles. This, coupled with the multigenerational makeup of the workforce, adds another layer of complexity to talent recruiting and retention.

Former UN Youth Delegate, Jahkini Bisselink will share the latest research on the characteristics of this generation and how to attract and retain young change makers. An intergenerational dialogue of industry leaders will follow to discuss how a multigenerational ecosystem in your organisations and events will allow us to create a bright future together.

» 13:10 – 13:30 — Simply Connecting and Event Wrap Up

More information will be available soon.

» 13:30 – 14:30 — Networking Lunch & We Time