For so many reasons, what Event Camp has started is an amazing step forward in keeping our industry at the forefront of thought leadership for creating more engaging life-long learning experiences. Check this out for yourself.
Why is the Event Camp Community Special
Each time we are able to bring some element, whether introducing new seating styles (exercise balls anyone?) to virtual breakouts, or transparency in learning styles, it is all an opportunity to extend the life of the meetings people attend. When we set the stage for better connections to be created, it allows opportunities for people and their businesses to see growth and return on the time invested in the education and networking available.
Thank you thought leaders for starting this and let's keep it growing. West Coast anyone?
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Face to Face - the reality, the research
There has been a plethora of research recently on how meetings are most effective - face-to-face, virtual or hybrid, or a combination of this and more. We need to consider many things in our planning to determine what is going to fit the needs and meet or exceed the objectives
Perspective on Face to Face Meetings
As much as we can seek to understand, and provide research and show tangible results, sometimes we just need to see a group bring this to life. This was our experience this week, as we welcomed 3,000+ people to Vancouver, and saw the relevant education, well thought out exhibition with full service amenities gathering space, and excellent events all bring together people again and again. Last night at the Closing Reception, the sponsor, the staff members of the association that had worked to bring this to life, and hundreds of delegates met for the final time until next year, and they ate, they talked and finally, unexpectedly, they DANCED. My favorite moment was the man who put to the side first one cane, and then the other and DANCED until we finally, 30 minutes past the stated end time, ended the music and as they finished their beverages and conversations, they trickled slowly out, leaving 6 days of meetings and events feeling fully satisfied with their experience, and knowing the value of these relationships as they go forward in their careers and back to work. Truly, face to face at its best.
- pre-assessments - what education / team building needs to happen - what are they looking for
- meeting objectives
- management objectives (corporate or association)
- sponsor and exhibitor needs
- relevant education for a variety of levels of participants
- meaningful teambuilding
- networking opportunities
Perspective on Face to Face Meetings
As much as we can seek to understand, and provide research and show tangible results, sometimes we just need to see a group bring this to life. This was our experience this week, as we welcomed 3,000+ people to Vancouver, and saw the relevant education, well thought out exhibition with full service amenities gathering space, and excellent events all bring together people again and again. Last night at the Closing Reception, the sponsor, the staff members of the association that had worked to bring this to life, and hundreds of delegates met for the final time until next year, and they ate, they talked and finally, unexpectedly, they DANCED. My favorite moment was the man who put to the side first one cane, and then the other and DANCED until we finally, 30 minutes past the stated end time, ended the music and as they finished their beverages and conversations, they trickled slowly out, leaving 6 days of meetings and events feeling fully satisfied with their experience, and knowing the value of these relationships as they go forward in their careers and back to work. Truly, face to face at its best.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
You are Always Planning the Unexpected
This may be one of the greatest compliments I have ever received and it was just this week, but it was related to events both this week and from other events the giver of the compliment had experienced with us over the summer. It really has made me think about what I love about what we do. We are often asked for "out of the box" "creative" ideas that will "wow" our guests, and then find out that the budgets don't match the wishes, or that what creative means to us is vastly different from what it means to the clients.
We love to create surprises and this week has offered us myriad opportunities to do this, and for this we thank a client who had trust, and who wanted to do a little bit of shaking up of the norm. As the chief said "it is time to move this organization forward" and we embraced the challenge to keep things safe and elegant, but to add the unexpected. Adding the unexpected has generated comments from "This IS a party", to "they were in a cage" (they were not, it was a Circus SkyLadder), to simply, "WOW!"
From the fantastic keynote speaker they selected, to the surprise of the performance that culminated with a flash mob coming out of the audience to help move the thousands upstairs, a fabulous reception with the Vancouver Convention Centre pulling out all the stops, to the fortune tellers that were lined up all night, the light dance and the silk aerialists that had waited 50' above the audience for 98 minutes... to the fireworks that lit up the harbour, this welcome was a memorable start.
We have continued the week with dinners, performances, venues and delightful surprises, and we are excited about tomorrow's closing... and then on to the events that follow.
Next week is a 50' violin - new group, just as much "unexpected" we believe to come!
We love to create surprises and this week has offered us myriad opportunities to do this, and for this we thank a client who had trust, and who wanted to do a little bit of shaking up of the norm. As the chief said "it is time to move this organization forward" and we embraced the challenge to keep things safe and elegant, but to add the unexpected. Adding the unexpected has generated comments from "This IS a party", to "they were in a cage" (they were not, it was a Circus SkyLadder), to simply, "WOW!"
From the fantastic keynote speaker they selected, to the surprise of the performance that culminated with a flash mob coming out of the audience to help move the thousands upstairs, a fabulous reception with the Vancouver Convention Centre pulling out all the stops, to the fortune tellers that were lined up all night, the light dance and the silk aerialists that had waited 50' above the audience for 98 minutes... to the fireworks that lit up the harbour, this welcome was a memorable start.
We have continued the week with dinners, performances, venues and delightful surprises, and we are excited about tomorrow's closing... and then on to the events that follow.
Next week is a 50' violin - new group, just as much "unexpected" we believe to come!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
One week later
It is now one week since my last post. There have been moments of silence at school, at the soccer fields, and for more than one family, there will be many, many more. Last week I wrote of the loss of our local teen, and how this has impacted our community. With no resolution to the reason or perpetrator of this, we all wait and watch more carefully over our children.
In another part of the world, another local girl, a friend shared with many, has moved into her grown up life, fallen in love and lives on a gorgeous island with her husband and small son. This last week they too suffered a tragic loss, as their newborn, at just two weeks old passed away. Again, a loss that cannot be explained or understood. Not for these parents, or their first son at just 2. One tiny life lost and an impact that will diminish as they heal over time, but will never go away. Our hearts extend to this very special family during this tragic time.
We also avidly read the blog of Omer, Janet and Elizabeth as they keep us up to date on Elizabeth's recovery from her bike accident this summer. We are so thankful to see she is healing, and now able to share time between home and Sunny Hill, and that progress is being made daily in all areas. We will continue to watch and cheer for each small victory and thank Omer for keeping this blog so current.
As our ordinary life goes on, with the incredibly busy time that autumn always is, with family, school returning and homework ramping up, fall sports well underway with practices and games for soccer, testing and tournaments for tae-kwon-do and curling beginning again in the family, we look forward to Thanksgiving weekend, and spending some time with our friends and family and appreciating what we all have.
Next week our son will attend with 15,000 children and teens from BC the Me to We event, begun as part of the Keilburger's Free the Children movement. They will have the opportunity to hear Jane Goodall, Jason Mraz and the Dalai Lama, among others share their journeys and their stories with impact with this next generation, who will continue to work on making our world a better place.
Over this past weekend I also produced an amazing show with the support of an incredible team and with clients who were willing to let us take some risks for the opening of a conference at the Vancouver Convention Centre. This involved yet another 24 hour shift - the same I said I would never do again - but in the end all worth it - so stay tuned for details of this astounding welcome our guests experienced! Yes, those were our fireworks...
The reminders to be thankful are plentiful, we do need to take time to appreciate all we have.
In another part of the world, another local girl, a friend shared with many, has moved into her grown up life, fallen in love and lives on a gorgeous island with her husband and small son. This last week they too suffered a tragic loss, as their newborn, at just two weeks old passed away. Again, a loss that cannot be explained or understood. Not for these parents, or their first son at just 2. One tiny life lost and an impact that will diminish as they heal over time, but will never go away. Our hearts extend to this very special family during this tragic time.
We also avidly read the blog of Omer, Janet and Elizabeth as they keep us up to date on Elizabeth's recovery from her bike accident this summer. We are so thankful to see she is healing, and now able to share time between home and Sunny Hill, and that progress is being made daily in all areas. We will continue to watch and cheer for each small victory and thank Omer for keeping this blog so current.
As our ordinary life goes on, with the incredibly busy time that autumn always is, with family, school returning and homework ramping up, fall sports well underway with practices and games for soccer, testing and tournaments for tae-kwon-do and curling beginning again in the family, we look forward to Thanksgiving weekend, and spending some time with our friends and family and appreciating what we all have.
Next week our son will attend with 15,000 children and teens from BC the Me to We event, begun as part of the Keilburger's Free the Children movement. They will have the opportunity to hear Jane Goodall, Jason Mraz and the Dalai Lama, among others share their journeys and their stories with impact with this next generation, who will continue to work on making our world a better place.
Over this past weekend I also produced an amazing show with the support of an incredible team and with clients who were willing to let us take some risks for the opening of a conference at the Vancouver Convention Centre. This involved yet another 24 hour shift - the same I said I would never do again - but in the end all worth it - so stay tuned for details of this astounding welcome our guests experienced! Yes, those were our fireworks...
The reminders to be thankful are plentiful, we do need to take time to appreciate all we have.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Happy Memories
Well on a slightly brighter note this week, we have finally uploaded the video of the building of the MPI WEC event this summer, and this was a BLAST! Yes, it was July - but every memory of this night was great! Check it out
www.cantrav.com/mpi-event
www.cantrav.com/mpi-event
Monday, September 27, 2010
Life IS the messy bits
I believe generally, I am a realist. Not really pessimistic, often optimistic, but always with a large dose of checkpoints on life, to make sure we are on track. My favorite quote was on a flight where I watched Letters to Juliet, and Claire expresses her view that really, "Life IS the messy bits." I generally agree.
Today I find myself continuing to be upset, completely, reasonably, hysterically upset over the senseless loss of 15 year old Laura, a teenager from our neighborhood that I did not know. National Post story
We live in a neighborhood filled with schools and churches, temples and recreation centres. Our neighborhood is full of homes filled with love, and children in every block. We live where we should feel safe.
There was simply no reason that anyone, walking across a well used path in the middle of the day, across a soccer pitch, between two schools and beside a football game in progress, would have any sense they were about to be viciously, irrecovably attacked, and that in the morning, their family would bear the unbearable loss of their child, taken brutally and for no reason. No matter what your belief system, we cannot ever believe that violence of any nature is anything other than reprehensible behaviour.
For most of us, today has been a busy day as the rest of us move on with our busy lives. Work to attend to, chores to absorb us, learning, working, and whatever else may come up, but not for this family. For this family, they have so much still go to through, and "normal" does not ever return. I know. As do many of you, who each have your own stories of loss.
I tried to find joy today. Meeting with clients who are very happy with the fantastic progress being made as they prepare for 3,000 conference delegates to descend this weekend. In seeing an instructor whose graduating class I spoke to last week who told me what a positive impact my 30 minutes of sharing my experiences in this industry made on their students. In stopping at Mink chocolates and investing in some delicious bars to share with my work colleagues, something I know will bring them pleasure, both in the receiving and in the eating. In thinking about an amazing weekend with my cousin, cooking, sharing and flying home and watching Babies, an astounding story of four babies in four parts of the world, and how each will have their own unique experience, and never passing judgement, showing how we can all find joy, laughter and love in our own place.
Still though I know I will go home this evening and talk with my children before they return to school tomorrow, where they will have a moment of silence and "age appropriate" discussions and counselling in their elementary school classrooms, where Laura was once a promising french immersion student also. How can I explain to them how important they are to us and how we would do anything, ANYTHING to keep them safe in the world. That they should not be afraid to walk across a field to schoold but they have to be always be cautious, and never be alone. That it will never be an option for them to go alone.
I tried to feel joy as the rain fell gently on my skin, and I could FEEL it gently washing away the vagaries of the day, but not enough to heal. Not yet.
Today I find myself continuing to be upset, completely, reasonably, hysterically upset over the senseless loss of 15 year old Laura, a teenager from our neighborhood that I did not know. National Post story
We live in a neighborhood filled with schools and churches, temples and recreation centres. Our neighborhood is full of homes filled with love, and children in every block. We live where we should feel safe.
There was simply no reason that anyone, walking across a well used path in the middle of the day, across a soccer pitch, between two schools and beside a football game in progress, would have any sense they were about to be viciously, irrecovably attacked, and that in the morning, their family would bear the unbearable loss of their child, taken brutally and for no reason. No matter what your belief system, we cannot ever believe that violence of any nature is anything other than reprehensible behaviour.
For most of us, today has been a busy day as the rest of us move on with our busy lives. Work to attend to, chores to absorb us, learning, working, and whatever else may come up, but not for this family. For this family, they have so much still go to through, and "normal" does not ever return. I know. As do many of you, who each have your own stories of loss.
I tried to find joy today. Meeting with clients who are very happy with the fantastic progress being made as they prepare for 3,000 conference delegates to descend this weekend. In seeing an instructor whose graduating class I spoke to last week who told me what a positive impact my 30 minutes of sharing my experiences in this industry made on their students. In stopping at Mink chocolates and investing in some delicious bars to share with my work colleagues, something I know will bring them pleasure, both in the receiving and in the eating. In thinking about an amazing weekend with my cousin, cooking, sharing and flying home and watching Babies, an astounding story of four babies in four parts of the world, and how each will have their own unique experience, and never passing judgement, showing how we can all find joy, laughter and love in our own place.
Still though I know I will go home this evening and talk with my children before they return to school tomorrow, where they will have a moment of silence and "age appropriate" discussions and counselling in their elementary school classrooms, where Laura was once a promising french immersion student also. How can I explain to them how important they are to us and how we would do anything, ANYTHING to keep them safe in the world. That they should not be afraid to walk across a field to schoold but they have to be always be cautious, and never be alone. That it will never be an option for them to go alone.
I tried to feel joy as the rain fell gently on my skin, and I could FEEL it gently washing away the vagaries of the day, but not enough to heal. Not yet.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Dinner Party Planning
What possessed me? It seems we are a family with competitive spirit. The rest of my family competes in both team and individual sports, but since my arm surgery and rebuilt nerve tunnels don't make me the best team member, I find other ways to compete. Mostly against myself, in improving a run time, or just finding the time to run. #TR30 is going to happen later in the fall - thank you #TR30 tweeps for the extra motivation to get out there and make a meaningful change! But that is not what this is about.
In the meantime, here I am at my cousin's house in Toronto, and tomorrow we will cook and talk and see if we are the right fit on Dinner Party Wars, which naturally we want to be, and naturally we hope to then win. Like I said, what possessed us to even apply? It seems like fun, and the spirit to entertain and cook and enjoy and yes, win, well, it runs in the family. Wish us luck!
In the meantime, here I am at my cousin's house in Toronto, and tomorrow we will cook and talk and see if we are the right fit on Dinner Party Wars, which naturally we want to be, and naturally we hope to then win. Like I said, what possessed us to even apply? It seems like fun, and the spirit to entertain and cook and enjoy and yes, win, well, it runs in the family. Wish us luck!
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