The need to do things differently to before the pandemic was the main topic of conversation at the recent Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA) annual conference and awards ceremony.
Members of ESSA met face-to-face for the first time in more than a year to discuss the challenges still facing the events industry and create solutions to overcome them.
In a session titled ‘CTRL ALT DELETE’, James Poulter, CEO and co-founder of Vixen Labs said the industry had some ‘serious un-learning to do’ and suggested it ‘hit delete and start again’ to build back better, instead of assuming everything had worked fine before the pandemic.
The audience also heard from James Capell-Abra of Stress Matters who hosted a wellbeing session exploring how the pandemic brought about change to the industry and how event professionals can deal with that “monumental upheaval and uncertainty.”
ESSA chair Lou Kiwanuka said: “Against all the odds, there have been some astonishing achievements during the past 21 months. We’ve been thrown everything imaginable, but we have thrown back more.
“Moving forward, we need a different and stronger relationship with government, we need to reduce waste, embrace industry 4.0 and adapt to the rapid changes in society and technology. We at ESSA have clear objectives and are very ready to follow this through.”
ESSA director Andrew Harrison added: “Welcoming our members back to the annual conference and uniting in our experiences in a positive forum has been the very tonic we all needed. We have worked tirelessly to drive the association forward during the pandemic, at a time when our members needed us most.
“One overwhelming product of the pandemic is the emergence of a strong, like-minded community brimming with support, and which recognises that we are all in this together. Together we will emerge stronger. It’s a critical time to take stock, regroup, adapt and move forward. With no clear finish line in sight and with 21 months of pandemic experience behind us, the time is ripe to ask some tough questions to make futureproof changes for the benefit of all.”
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
