The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO) recently organized its second Festival of Learning, which brought together more than 130 association event professionals at Telford International Centre. The festival aimed to deliver education across a wide range of subjects, as well as networking opportunities for attendees.

The festival was themed “Survive and Thrive,” and its content focused on the future of association meetings, including opportunities and threats. Through panels and presentations, a wide range of speakers explored new and creative ways to run events, the technology needed to support them, and the key issues that organizers have to consider moving forward.

Some of the sessions covered during the festival included “The Association Meeting of the Future,” “Moving Sustainable Meetings Forward: The Next Step in the Journey,” “How Can We Improve the Experience of Attendees?”, “Accessibility and Inclusivity is a Must for All Conference Delegates,” “Award Winner’s Roundtable,” and “Bridging the Gap – The Events Industry and Universities Unite to Shape the Future of the Next Generation.”

The festival also included fringe updates from Meeting Needs, the Event Apprenticeship Scheme, and The Business of Events. The day concluded with a standing ovation for an inspiring and moving keynote session from Purusha Gordon, founder of the Ocean Sheroes Foundation, called “Survival to Thriving – Why Adopting a Positive Mindset is Transformational.”

Emma Duffy, co-chair of ABPCO and Festival of Learning task force lead, expressed her satisfaction with the event’s success, stating that the content was exactly what their delegates were looking for, and they received a huge amount of positive feedback. The event was made possible by the support of their partners and sponsors, including Telford & Wrekin Council, Telford International Centre, Brightelm, FanGo, and Mercure Telford.