Making the most of conferences with Michael Fembek How can you turn conferences into meaningful opportunities for impact, networking, and scaling your work? In this episode of Pathways to Zero Barriers, Dr. Michael Fembek, CEO of the Zero Project and Tom Butcher, the host and a Zero Project Ambassador, will share their tips on making the most of conferences. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience organising and attending global events, Michael and Tom share practical advice on preparation, networking strategies, and follow-up that help participants move beyond passive attendance. Michael reflects on the evolution of the Zero Project Conference over the past 13 years and explains why conferences are central to the organisation’s mission of identifying and scaling innovations that support persons with disabilities worldwide. The discussion explores how technology – including AI, matchmaking platforms, and live captioning – is improving accessibility and enabling more inclusive participation. Together, Tom and Michael outline concrete “dos and don’ts” for conference-goers, from researching participants in advance and crafting an elevator pitch to approaching speakers, joining group conversations, and building a focused “hit list” of priority contacts. They also highlight the importance of meaningful follow-up and maintaining quality connections rather than collecting business cards. The episode concludes with tailored advice for innovators attending the Zero Project Conference, including how to use the conference platform strategically and identify sessions on scaling, impact investment, and replication. Michael also introduces the Zero Project’s Equitable AI initiative, which addresses the risks of bias and discrimination in AI systems. In this episode: Practical strategies to prepare for conferences, approach speakers, and build meaningful professional connections How digital tools and AI are improving accessibility, matchmaking, and multilingual participation at events Targeted advice for innovators on using conferences to scale solutions and maximise impact Resources & Links 🔗 Programme website 📄 Transcript ✅ Key Takeaways 🌐 Guest: Michael Fembek / Essl Foundation – Zero Project: [Guest Website] 📩 Contact: scaling-solutions@zeroproject.org Brought to you by The Zero Project with the support of the Essl Foundation, Fundación Descúbreme, GIZ on behalf of BMZ, and Access to Success. Credits Host: Thomas Butcher Production: Małgorzata Grobelna, Alessandro Gobello, and Judith Hermetter Audio Engineering: Antina Zlatkova / Mediengarten
