The 2024 edition of Association Focus, IMEX Frankfurt’s education program for association professionals, will explore how planners can adapt to the changing opportunities and demands of the business events industry.

Taking place Monday, May 13, the day before IMEX Frankfurt 2024 opens, the program will delve into topics such as how to adapt to shifting member needs and demographics, balancing budgets, the AI future, mental toughness, transformative event design, and sustainable event impacts.

Highlights of the one-day event, which is produced in collaboration with ICCA, AC Forum and ASAE and sponsored by the Amsterdam Convention Bureau, include:

• Disabled adventurer and explorer Darren Edwards will deliver a plenary session titled The Adaptive Mindset: Five Pillars to Overcome Adversity. Formerly a soldier and avid mountaineer, Edward’s life changed the moment he suffered a spinal cord injury in a rock-climbing accident. Now an acclaimed speaker and expert in mental toughness and teamwork, he will be sharing his life lessons in the session. “In an ever-changing and constantly shifting world, a business’s ability to adapt and its staff’s mental toughness have become integral to success,” he says.
• The World Economic Forum recently stated that 23 percent of jobs will change in the next five years, making upskilling and reskilling a must. What tools are needed to this? Meredith Ellison from the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence will lead the discussion in The Race to Reskill: Building a future workforce.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) is fueling current discussion around changing roles and responsibilities and it’s a technology that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of associations and not-for-profits are already engaging with. However, there’s a need to increase understanding in exactly how to use AI to deliver impact, with 72 percent not engaged in AI education. Veemal Gungadin, founder and CEO of Gevme, leads the discussion around how associations can make it work for them in AI: Artificial Intelligence meets Association impact.
• Designing events with long-lasting impact sits at the heart of a session by Pigalle Tavakkoli, founder of the School of Experience Design. She explains: “Experience design allows us to go beyond designing the form and function of an event, to designing the audiences’ emotions, memories and behavior. When the attendee remembers the experience, the same emotions come flooding back – and this inspires change and becomes a transformative experience for the long term.”
• Every organization is on a sustainability journey, and yet there are many missed opportunities along the way. According to the latest ICCA & Destination Canada International Sustainability Report only 19 percent of planners include their sustainability efforts and impact in annual reports and only 34 percent communicate their sustainability efforts on social media channels. Guy Bigwood from GDS heads a session covering best practice examples and sharing the strategies needed to build the ripple of sustainability at events.

“While global recovery is progressing, there are still significant economic, political and environmental challenges on the horizon,” says Carina Bauer, CEO, IMEX Group. “Our international roster of speakers is set to share their take on the skills needed for the journey ahead, namely: adaptability, innovation, resilience and a collaborative spirit. Our dedicated day of learning and connections for association professionals is a sure-fire way to create a solid base for future business success.”

Association Focus takes place at the Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel on May 13, followed by the Association Social at the Frankfurt Marriott Hotel. IMEX Frankfurt 2024 is being held May 14 to 16 at Messe Frankfurt.