All About Experiential Learning: Pushing Boundaries at #EMEC20

There could not have been a better way to celebrate my four-year membership mark with Meeting Professional International by attending the European Meetings & Events Conference (EMEC) in Seville, Spain. As a first-time attendee, I had the opportunity to immerse in a community of the friendliest meeting professionals! Even though many attendees were from Europe, I was surprised to learn that nine Canadians attended the conference. A few of these colleagues included:

• Brent Taylor (Edmonton) – President of Timewise Event Management & MPI International Board of Directors
• Ryan Young (Ottawa) - Co-Founder of The EVENT & 2019 MPI Rise Award Winner
• Jennifer Beatty (Ottawa) - Vice Chair of Programs for MPI Global Board of Trustees; Responsible for Grants/Scholarships 

Every experience at EMEC was intentionally designed to purposefully connect with other meeting professionals and learn by enhancing all five senses. The planning committee really focused on listening to the needs of various attendee segments and designing the experiences based on the four important learning objectives. The conference was jam-packed with experiential learning exercises led by industry thought leaders. The theme for the conference was Pushing Boundaries and every experience definitely helped me grow as a meeting professional and leader. In this article, I’ve listed examples to share my experience journey throughout the conference.

The objectives and experiences based on my schedule included:

1. Stress Management – Airbus Tour (Learning Journey)
   

   There were many learning journeys to choose from however I was so intrigued by the Airbus tour because many meeting professionals need to deal with stress management. We learned from a professional pilot before experiencing the flight simulators as the pilots, instructors and decision makers. Mistakes happened and communication was key!

2. Leadership - Cooking Experience (Hosted Buyer Program) & Sherlocked Experience
   

   Cooking Experience:

   Our team made Paella and Sangria! This was a great team building exercise as we participated in a competition with other groups from the Hosted Buyer Program. Instead of appointments all-day long, we bonded with suppliers and planners by cooking and working together.

   Sherlocked Experience:

   As we assembled our team, we had to work together to solve the puzzle in order to attend the Opening Experience. This game allowed us to push our boundaries including exchanging important personal items to display “trust” with our team members. This exercise was incredibly fun and allowed us to network/transfer to the Opening Experience with so much adrenaline.

3. Design Thinking - Using #EventCanvas – Prototyping For #EMEC21
   

   
   As a Certified Event Designer, prototyping is the most exciting part of the process for me. This session was interactive as we worked with attendees to design experiences for next year’s EMEC in Brighton, England. We worked in pairs to brainstorm ideas based on our instant feedback, stakeholder alignment and goals. #EMEC19 was an award-winning event and #EMEC20 has lived up to that reputation.

4. Storytelling - Dear World
   
   I’ve always observed others participate in Dear World and I finally decided to push my comfort zone. For my message, I wrote “I am so proud of you”, which is the words I heard from my mentor as I entered the meetings and events industry. The support and encouragement of industry leaders is what continues to inspire me to make a difference in my community.

Attending #EMEC20 was an amazing experience and I’m feeling so inspired as I’m back home in Toronto. I can’t wait for Brighton in 2021 and re-connect with all the colleagues and friends I met in Seville. If you were there, I’m sure all of you have the song “Let’s All Go To Brighton” stuck in your mind. See you all next year!

Zaman Ishaad, CED, CMP

Conference Coordinator

Academic Internship Council