Think about your impact—both big and small

The events and meetings industry is a robust, trillion dollar worldwide industry. Events can touch people on so many levels. From the local people employed to help an event run tothose attending who get to network face-to-face, the opportunity to connect is one we should not take lightly.

Just last year, the Events Industry Council released the Global Economic Significance of Business Events study, which showed that 1.5 billion people in more than 180 countries participated in business events in 2017 alone.

In the featured article for this month’s CMP Today “The social impact of events” we hear Jessica Levin, CMP, MBA, CAE, DES, discuss how events and charity can go hand-in-hand and better ourselves and our society. What’s more interesting is her approach to being charitable. By using the same strategies one might use while planning a meeting, Levin is elevating community service from a “feel good” project to something that can invoke real change.

(It’s important to note that Levin is one of the speakers at CMP Conclave this year. Be sure to check her out along with our other amazing presenters!)

We as event and meeting professionals have the power to make an impact. For some of us, that might mean advocating for our events to take up a charitable cause. For others, it might mean making an event more sustainable. It also might mean introducing more innovative ideas to our event spaces and sparking greater conversations among attendees.

Whatever it looks like to you, I urge you to consider how your role as an event and meetings professional can make the world a better place, whether it’s big or small.

Aleka Garcia, CMP-HC