Human connection specialist and award-winning author, Simone Heng, has been announced as one of the keynote speakers taking part in the #peoplepowered conference program at IBTM World 2024.

Heng (shown above), who has shared her wisdom with organizations including the United Nations, Harvard University and Google and is the author of Let’s Talk About Loneliness, the winner of the 2024 Silver Nautilus Book Award for Social Change & Social Justice, will speak  on the second day of the show, which runs November 19 to 21 at Fira Barcelona in Spain.

Her session – “The power of human connection” – will give attendees the opportunity to discover techniques for forging meaningful relationships across divides in today’s often polarized world. It will also explain why these connections are imperative as humans move deeper into the age of artificial intelligence.

“This year’s conference program is an uplifting and exhilarating tribute to people, the power of working together, and the limitless potential that can be achieved when we do so. We’re delighted that so many incredible speakers are prepared to share their wisdom with our wonderful community who are always so eager to learn, so ready to be inspired, and so prepared to engage,” said Claudia Hall, exhibition director, IBTM World. “All sessions are carefully curated to ensure maximum benefit for attendees, and I can’t wait to watch our industry come together and put the building blocks in place to create an even greater, more dynamic and thriving events industry of the future.”

Other speakers on the conference program include:

Heather Gallagher, former chief of technology officer and head of design at Burning Man, who will lead a talk on the show’s Main Stage exploring how Burning Man grew from a small gathering into a global cultural movement, without the use of traditional marketing. Taking place on the first day of the show, her sessions is titled “From gathering to global: the transformational journey of Burning Man.” In it, she will use images and interactive elements to guide attendees through personal and collective experiences that ignite deep connections, lasting memories and a fiercely loyal community.

Jameka Pankey, head of Experiences for Artist at Amazon Music, will deliver a session titled “Turning events into cultural experiences” on day two of the conference program as part of the new Exceptional Experiences program. Pankey will share her insight into reframing briefs through an experiential lens to elevate events from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Jimmy Knowles, global head of Experiential at Canva, and Madolyn Grove, Creator Community at TikTok, will share their experiences of creating strong global brand propositions in “Building and expanding a world-class event brand – what differentiates good from great?”  Their session will and delve into the importance of brand equity as an intangible asset, and its impact on creating events which are market-leading.

Goc O’Callaghan, global experience lead at Buro Happold, will take to the Main Stage to deliver a session on “The global shift towards experientialism.” Taking place on day one, O’Callaghan will bring to life new research and understanding about how experience design is changing the way people live and work around the world as well as looking at how the experience economy is adapting to revolutionary technological changes, and how all this filters into experience design in the meetings and events world.

Samantha Murray, intimacy coordinator at Sam Murray On Set, will lead a session on the subject of consent. Having worked on some of the world’s most high-profile film sets, Murray will share her expertise to support event organizers and delegates to create safer, respectful and more inclusive spaces. The session – “The importance of common consent, from a Hollywood intimacy coordinator” – will run on the Main Stage on day one.

Jules Griffith, director of Sales & Marketing at mccglc, will contribute a talk titled “Behavioural psychology and how it impacts people and events” to the conference program. In it she will share her insights on the psyche of modern-day delegates and consider how event professionals can adapt to changing audiences and create events that resonate in this new landscape.