There is no place in this world for racism, intolerance and hate. I am sickened by what happened to George Floyd and so many other victims—and I am sickened and saddened by the ongoing racism and violence that continue to be prevalent in our world and are especially targeted at our black communities. We must and can do better—as individuals and as organizations. I am committed to listening to those affected; I am committed to proactively supporting and leading change; and I am committed to harnessing the breadth and influence of the MPI community to take action and drive meaningful change.
“I am committed to harnessing the breadth and influence of the MPI community to take action and drive meaningful change.”
By bringing people together and providing inclusive platforms to exchange ideas, the hospitality industry can be a big part of the solution! And by being open minded, listening and proactively taking action, MPI can be part of the solution. We stand with the black leaders of our industry who penned an open letter to our industry; we stand with MPI’s volunteers and leaders who have passionately given their time to MPI’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee to raise awareness and lead change; and we stand with our entire community in leading change.
As MPI’s Director of Publishing and Editor in Chief Rich Luna so profoundly says in his blog post: “We need to go back and hold ourselves and our employers accountable. At MPI, like many, we’ve done some things right. Like many, we have work to do. But for everyone who responds with calls of support for the black community, it is now time to determine how we can change internal practices and policies that are at the core of the problem. Let’s not allow the experience of outrage, shock and grief to fade. We say, ‘When We Meet, We Change the World,’ I suggest we get to it.”
As a community of meeting professionals, let us harness the power of this moment to drive real and meaningful change. And let’s harness the power and influence of the live events industry to lead that change.
Paul Van Deventer
MPI President and CEO
pvandeventer@mpi.org
Follow me on Twitter @MPICEOPaul
