Insider Events – MPI Montréal Quebec/Believe Serie

Basic details of the Series

Title: Believe Serie: The survival of our industry
Believe is a transformation of the series “Stronger Together” (Plus fort ensemble). Stronger Together was launched in March 2020 in response to the pandemic; sessions were held at regular intervals during the lunch hour. The idea was to transform this discussion forum into something perpetual and more positive.

Starting date: November 2020
Frequency: Once per month
Subject: Specific subject each time from various backgrounds
(hoteliers, tech industry, partners in general)

City, Country: Chapter Montreal / Quebec

Online Venue Platform: Airmeet Virtual Platform. At the beginning we were using Zoom but then, we wanted to try a new product to present it to our members. Airmeet worked well for the series.

Organizing Team: Montreal Chapter’s education committee

Specific Project Questions:

When was the idea first proposed?
Stronger Together was born from the pandemic. In March 2020, three weeks into lockdown, we were wondering how everyone was doing and how our members were coping with these difficult times. The idea was to start a discussion forum during the lunch hour.

In the fall 2020, we realized that our discussion forums we were mostly talking about what was wrong. We decide to turn it around and talk about the future; focusing on how our industry could get back on its feet?

Who was the targeted audience for Believe?
Our main audience was the MPI community. The series was opened to both members and non-members. For the sake of open networking and making new connections we wanted to be inclusive and we wanted to be accessible to everyone. The idea was to gather as many people as possible and to leave no one behind.


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What was the main objective of the series?
With Stronger Together our objectives were to connect with the community, to stay informed and to share best practices. We wanted to be like weaving links. We demonstrated to the industry that together, by exchanging opinions and ideas, we can rise and be stronger.

What was different about Believe?
The exchange portion of Believe was unique in the sense that we prepared a content/topic but what we wanted was to create an exchange, a shared discussion. It was not a training session but we opened the conversations.

What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome?
Our biggest obstacle was how to keep members engaged in participating in the events and create an interest for our attendees to return for the next session.

What was your biggest triumph?
We were successful because we have always had a good group of attendees (around 20 to 30 people).  It creates a trusted group to lean on. We were able to connect people who would otherwise have never connected.

What is next for September?
Believe will come back in September. Will it be called Believe? I don't know yet…maybe the format will be changed but the series will come back. We are thinking about longer meetings to go more in depth into specific topics.

Last word…
This was a success for the chapter but above all a success for the industry to have been present and to have given its time, its opinions, and its words.


Article compiled by Elodie LORTAL, BHM, CMP | LinkedIn at National Arts Centre | Centre national des Arts: My Company | LinkedIn

Article edited by Darlene Kelly-Stewart, Stonehouse Sales & Marketing Services