17 min
How do business events impact the wider destination? Backstage Leadership Conversations
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- Business
In the sixth episode of the Backstage Leadership Conversations podcast, host Nick Hall explores the post-pandemic trends in business travel with a focus on the impact of business events on destinations. He is joined by Geneviève Leclerc, co-founder and CEO of Meet4Impact, a nonprofit organisation aiming to transform the business events industry by creating a positive societal impact. With over 25 years of experience in congress management and strategic consultancy, Geneviève shares her insights on the challenges and changes in the meetings and event sector throughout her career.
The conversation delves into the growing sustainability consciousness among event organisers and destinations. Geneviève discusses the shift towards holistic sustainability, with a focus on managing waste, reducing carbon footprint and creating societal value. She explains how impact, often misunderstood, requires long-term change and sustained behavioural transformations to make a difference at a population and planetary level.
Nick and Geneviève further explore how the events industry can work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and tackle global challenges. They emphasise the importance of managing both negative (footprint) and positive (value creation) impacts of events. The episode also focuses on the power of events in creating lasting legacies, improving population health outcomes, and promoting education and creativity.
The episode concludes with Geneviève sharing her experiences and brilliant discussions from the Abu Dhabi Business Events Week. She emphasises the need for connecting local and international expertise, raising destination profiles, and fostering partnerships that lead to immediate and long-term positive impact. The importance of face-to-face events in driving change for destinations and communities is highlighted, and exciting ideas for reimagining the future of events are explored.
In the sixth episode of the Backstage Leadership Conversations podcast, host Nick Hall explores the post-pandemic trends in business travel with a focus on the impact of business events on destinations. He is joined by Geneviève Leclerc, co-founder and CEO of Meet4Impact, a nonprofit organisation aiming to transform the business events industry by creating a positive societal impact. With over 25 years of experience in congress management and strategic consultancy, Geneviève shares her insights on the challenges and changes in the meetings and event sector throughout her career.
The conversation delves into the growing sustainability consciousness among event organisers and destinations. Geneviève discusses the shift towards holistic sustainability, with a focus on managing waste, reducing carbon footprint and creating societal value. She explains how impact, often misunderstood, requires long-term change and sustained behavioural transformations to make a difference at a population and planetary level.
Nick and Geneviève further explore how the events industry can work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and tackle global challenges. They emphasise the importance of managing both negative (footprint) and positive (value creation) impacts of events. The episode also focuses on the power of events in creating lasting legacies, improving population health outcomes, and promoting education and creativity.
The episode concludes with Geneviève sharing her experiences and brilliant discussions from the Abu Dhabi Business Events Week. She emphasises the need for connecting local and international expertise, raising destination profiles, and fostering partnerships that lead to immediate and long-term positive impact. The importance of face-to-face events in driving change for destinations and communities is highlighted, and exciting ideas for reimagining the future of events are explored.
17 min