Where: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands
When: Opening Call for projects: 5 December 2024
The BEFuture Acceleration Programme offers up to €30 000 in funding to at least 80 SME-driven projects from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
The selected projects will receive technical and financial support for digital and green transformation that can help reduce the environmental impact of business events while contributing to communities and destinations’ socio-economic development.
Several information sessions will be organized over the next months.
Target: SMEs and other organisations based in the consortium countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands).
Where: Salon d'honneur, Versailles
City/Country: Paris, France
When: 11 December 2024
Language: French
Boosting innovation and shaping the future of business events
Why?
For whom?
Activities:
Where: Maarssen, Utrecht, The Netherlands
When: 11 December 2024
Language: Dutch
Boosting Dutch Innovation
This co-creation session is open for experts, stakeholders and suppliers in the Business Event industry as well as potential applicants for the Acceleration program in the Netherlands.
During the session, best practices are shared, and project ideas are pitched. Future applicants can receive feedback on their proposals in a co-creation setting with experts, addressing potential and constraints, in order to further develop future innovations.
For whom?
Co-creation & Innovation HUB
Where: Randstad, The Netherlands
When: January 13th 2025
Language: Dutch
The Independent Dutch Event Association (IDEA) acknowledges that Live Communications is at a crossroads. The association sees a thriving sector in a rapidly changing world. 'We must vigorously anticipate those changes.' IDEA represents around 60 leading agencies and 10 event-focused universities in the Netherlands.
Sustainability, corporate social responsibility, inclusiveness and diversity are key focus points in their strategy. By harnessing the connecting power of live, the industry can contribute positively to these pressing social issues. In order to take faster and more focused steps on these issues, IDEA and its members have established the "Green Ambassadors’ in 2023. After successful editions focusing on, for example, food innovation and impact, BEFuture is proud to be hosting the next session ‘The Agency of the Future’ together with the Green Ambassadors. This session focuses on future skills and the importance of creativity in innovation and design.
Experimenting with toolkits for creative thinking to adopt a playfulness mindset
Embrace failure, a deep dive into experimental learning
Upskilling and attracting and retain young talent; how to accelerate innovation.
Where: Hamburg, Germany
When: Thursday 28th & Friday 29 November 2024
Language: German
The BEFuture Bootcamp, held on November 28 and 29 November 2024 in Hamburg, is an intensive, hands-on session designed to help startups and innovators refine their business ideas and prepare for market entry.
Participants will benefit from expert mentoring, targeted networking opportunities with industry leaders and potential investors, and practical workshops focused on turning concepts into viable products. Additionally, the Bootcamp provides critical preparation for the Captain MICE Future Award, offering a pathway for selected participants to the BEFuture Accelerator Programme.
Focus Areas:
Audience: Innovators, pioneers, and start-ups in the event industry, limited spots available.
Opportunities:
Guidance:
Skills:
The Bootcamp serves as an ideal preparation for the national Captain MICE Future Award on 25 February 2025.
Where: IBTM, Barcelona, Spain
When: Wednesday 20th November 2024 - 16.15
Language: English
Join us for an exciting creative session in the framework of BEFuture project, aimed at accelerating the transformation of the meetings industry!
In this session, innovative minds will pitch their bold ideas addressing four industry challenges: climate change and circularity, event experience, talent and inclusion, and governance and impact.
After the pitches, participants will engage in small groups and in mentoring sessions in order to refine these ideas. Finally, in a second round of interactions, groups will act as potential clients in order to provide feedback and insights to help fine-tune projects for real-world impact.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to collaborate and lead the industry's transformation! As part of BEFuture, a call for projects will provide funding of up to €30 000 to accelerate innovative solutions.
Find more and register
Registration to IBTM required
Where: Barcelona
When: Monday 18th November 2024
Join us to meet and exchange with cross-sector experts at the BEFuture Global Innovation Forum in Barcelona.
As part of BEFuture, the Innovation Forum aims to promote innovation in the business events sector and enhance the implementation of new business models.
This innovation-focused event is designed to address four key challenges, with a clear call-to-action for entrepreneurs and creative thinkers to present solutions. It will explore global trends across several critical areas, including climate change and circularity, talent and inclusion, governance and impact, and event experiences.
The target audience includes startups, tech developers, innovators, and problem-solvers who are passionate about creating impactful solutions. It aims to attract individuals capable of developing forward-thinking ideas that respond to pressing industry needs, offering a valuable opportunity for those driven by entrepreneurial spirit and innovation to make a meaningful difference.
Key programme highlights include:
Where: TIS, Sevilla, Spain
When: Friday 25 October 2024 - 10.00
Language: English
About the event
As part of BEFuture ,we participate in the panel in order to explore the role of technology in event management and attendee engagement, from event apps and digital registration systems to interactive presentations and virtual networking platforms, enabling MICE stakeholders to deliver seamless, interactive, and memorable experiences for participants.
Jonathan Ysaÿe
Founder TechForMICE
Miriam Pijuan Mota
BEFuture technical coordinator/Catalunya Convention Bureau
Gorazd Čad
General Manager Toleranca marketing / Conventa
Find more and register
Registration to TIS required
Where: City DNA Autumn Conference, Brugge, Belgium
When: Friday 18 October 2024 - 12.20
Language: English
About the event
In this interactive workshop, the BEFuture project will share their findings on business events’ future and introduce the concept of Smart BE destinations. CVBs and the BE industry join forces to tackle shared challenges and forge collaborative solutions. We will explore a key question:
How can we collaborate to build SMART BE destinations through impactful events?
Tuya Beyers,
Visit Flanders Convention Bureau
Miriam Pijuan,
Catalunya Convention Bureau
Website
https://citydestinationsalliance.eu/programme-gds-forum-citydna-autumn-conference-2024/
Registration to city DNA autumn conference required
Where: ONLINE
When: Thursday 17th October 2024
Language: English
Join us for 'Mentorship matters: Understanding Your Role in the BEFuture Acceleration Programme,' an online session designed to guide potential mentors through the structure, expectations, and impact of their involvement in our Acceleration Programme.
This webinar will offer detailed insights into the mentorship process, the benefits of participation, and how you can make a significant difference in the ventures of innovative SMEs in the business events sector. Whether you're new to mentoring or looking to deepen your impact, this session will equip you with the necessary tools and knowledge to be an effective mentor.
Main Topics:
If you would like to participate, please register here.
Where: Leeuwarden, Cycle Up, The Netherlands
When: Tuesday 15th October 2024
GROENN is a platform for sustainability of events, founded by four key players in the festival industry in the city of Groningen: Noorderzon, Paradigm, Bevrijdingsfestival Groningen and Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS). GROENN is supported by the municipality of Groningen and aims to support the Northern provinces of the Netherlands in a green transition.
MerkFryslan as DMO holds the brands MeetinFriesland, VisitFriesland and Wadden. They aim to create a positive impact in the region, and therewith contribute to the quality of life of Frisians and create opportunities for entrepreneurs, employers and education.
This training focuses on Logistics: Transportation and Mobility.
According to Climatetrade, travel constitutes a significant portion of its footprint, ranging from 70% to 90% of an event’s carbon emissions. Alternatives need to be considered, and this training focuses on sharing and discussing best practices in event mobility.
The training is a unique combination between various partners, building a bridge between the festival and business events industry. The festival industry has been using their grounds as a testing playground for innovation and alternative initiatives. GROENN started providing training in 2023 for festival organisers, suppliers and policy makers. This training is the 4th session initiated by GROENN, where the cooperation with BEFuture leads to a unique cooperation with MerkFryslan, bringing together the festival and business event industry.
DMO's, organisers, policy makers, venue and suppliers are welcome to register for this freely accessible training.
GROENN | Workshops | Workshop #5 Logistiek: Transport & vervoer (wijzijngroenn.nl)
Experimenting with alternatives on mobility
Learn from best practices from different industries
Built on a network to strengthen the (national) ecosystem
Focused on the North of the Netherlands
Unique alliance building bridges between festivals and business event
This training contributes to the following SDG's:
For this training, please get in touch with our local BEFututure partner:
Name: Amber Herrewijn, European Tourism Futures Institute
Email: Amber.herrewijn@nhlstenden.com
Where: Bruges, Flanders — Belgium
When: Monday 14th October
Language: English
As the Business events sector has gradually enhanced its capacity to define, manage and measure the impact of its events on destinations and its global communities, a new need has arisen this year that calls for new funding models for the activities that underpin this. Access to funding to finance transition towards a more social and inclusive economy has been highlighted in all the main international frameworks and agreements underpinning the transition to a fairer, more sustainable and resilient economic model globally, including from the European Commission.
The conference will discuss and investigate how associations and event organisations could fund to scale these initiatives.
We would also like to interest external organisations that are presently funding impact initiatives outside of our sphere of activity to explore with us under what conditions and models would impact projects linked to business events become potential funding targets for impact investors.
This day will be twofold.
Magdalena kerk/church: https://www.yot.be/nl/en/117
Format: 1 day conference (9h00-17h00)
Attendance: approx 75-100 people
Where: Barcelona — Spain
When: Friday 11th October 2024
Language: Catalan
The local training session is designed with a multi-faceted purpose: to build cross-sector skills and capabilities, to share critical knowledge about trends and challenges within the Business Events sector, and to raise awareness about the industry's gaps and needs among those capable of driving change.
The local training session shall serve as well to create awareness on the need to become future-proof and adapt the business models to these trends and raise interest in the BEFuture acceleration program and Innovation Forum where they can unlock ideas and funding to overcome their challenges.
The session will contribute to BEFuture's mission of fostering a more informed, capable, and forward-thinking Business Events sector.
Content Overview:
Location: Online – European Union
Dates: From the 1st of February until the 18th of March
Call for best practices aimed at gathering groundbreaking initiatives, projects or services in the business events or that could be applied in the business events industry and that are aligned with the Tourism Transition Pathways: sustainability, digitalisation, resilience...
The objective of this call is to find implemented projects that can inspire and empower business event professionals to change their business model towards a more innovative, resilient and sustainable one, by means of technology, social innovation and more.
A compendium of the 10 best practices will be presented at IMEX 2024 and showcased in the BEFuture marketplace.
Target: Online – European Union
Location: Frankfurt - IMEX
Dates: 14th-16th May
Global training session aimed at transferring knowledge and future literacy on the BEFuture main topics (innovation and technology to create sustainable and regenerative business models in the events industry).
Examples of good practices to generate resilience and enhance readiness for a sustainable and digital transition will be presented.
Target: Worldwide Business events professionals