18 November 2024
12h00 to 19h00
Barcelona
English
Thank you for attending the BEFuture Global Innovation Forum in Barcelona!
The highly successful event delivered on its objective of promoting innovation in the business events sector and enhancing the implementation of new business models.
As part of BEFuture, the Global Innovation Forum was designed to address four key challenges, with a clear call-to-action for entrepreneurs and creative thinkers to present solutions. It explored global trends across several critical areas, including climate change and circularity, talent and inclusion, governance and impact, and event experiences.
The event brought together over 150 participants including business events professionals and experts, startups, tech developers, innovators, and problem-solvers passionate about creating impactful solutions. We discovered forward-thinking ideas responding to pressing industry needs, offering a valuable opportunity for those driven by entrepreneurial spirit and innovation to make a meaningful difference.
Key programme highlights included:
Workshops, presentations and networking opportunities provided not only plenty of inspiration, but also concrete tools and pathways for tangible change.
For those who like to be punctual, we'll begin with a light lunch and an opportunity to network.
Opening remarks by the BEFuture project team.
The White Paper “New Scenarios and Business Models for the Future of Business Events” is the result of BEFuture research and highlights key findings.
Gain valuable insights into the outlook and discover future scenarios for the industry. We will outline essential workstreams needed to build a resilient future business model and provide a comprehensive overview of the current situation, highlighting gaps and challenges with existing solutions.
Join us to discuss new models, actionable steps, and the essential stakeholders needed to tackle these challenges head-on.
The BEFuture Acceleration Programme is an exciting opportunity for SMEs and other organisations to innovate and create new opportunities in the meetings industry. The programme will support at least 80 innovative projects with up to 30000€ from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
A brief dynamic session focusing on how to spark innovation to enhance company competitiveness, streamline efficiency, anticipate market needs, and deliver outstanding results. We will break down innovation in practical terms, highlighting the key success factors—when, how, and who—that contribute to turning innovative ideas into reality.
Insightful thematic talks where top industry professionals will unveil the latest breakthroughs and innovations in each field. These sessions will not only highlight the key challenges shaping the future of the industry, but also inspire fresh, cutting-edge solutions.
It's an unmissable opportunity to stay ahead of the curve and ignite your own innovative thinking! Stay tuned, we will soon present the speaker.
Download the presentations:
This is a collaborative session where participants will collaborate in working groups to align challenges with project solutions, developing strategies for impactful ideas. By sharing insights, fostering creativity, and refining concepts, these teams will craft innovative solutions aimed at delivering meaningful results and addressing the proposed challenges.
After a productive day, take advantage of this valuable opportunity to build groundbreaking projects, connect with potential partners and mentors, and engage with forward-thinking professionals in the business events sector. It's the perfect setting to spark new collaborations and fuel your innovative ideas!
Venue
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat - Espai Bital
Contact
For further information, contact us:
Miriam Pijuan Mota (she)
Catalan Tourism Board - Catalunya Convention Bureau
Phone: +34 935 570 153
befuture.act@gencat.cat
Guy is a recognised expert on creating regenerative destinations and events. He is the founder of the GDS-Index and Chief Changemaker of the Global Destinations Sustainability Movement; a transformation platform that inspires, educates, and empowers destinations to become more regenerative, flourishing, and resilient places to visit, meet, and live in. Guy has worked with over 100 DMOs and NTOs to help them create, implement, improve, and communicate their regenerative tourism strategies.
Moderator
With over a decade of experience in the association meetings industry, Sina is a renowned and award-winning event strategist and technologist. As the founder of DigitalMind.events, she offers her expertise as a flexible, on-demand event manager, consultant, and strategist. Deeply passionate about event technology and artificial intelligence, Sina consistently integrates cutting-edge solutions into her projects and is a sought-after speaker on AI in the events industry. Committed to innovation, she also focuses on connecting associations with event technology to drive forward-thinking progress across the industry.
Javi is considered to be one of the primary strategists and thought leaders in open and contributive business models, collaborative economy, institutional and citizen innovation in Europe and Latin America.
He is the founder of Ideas for Change, a Barcelona (Spain) based boutique consultancy, which helps corporations and institutions to design and develop "futures that rock": new ways to generate and capture value that can produce more impact, with less resources, and better outcomes for the people and the planet.
He has been actively involved in the advancement of Digital Rights, serving as VP of the Open Knowledge Foundation and President of Ouishare in Spain. Since 2017 he has participated in the creation of new social institutions for the collective governance of data for common good, namely Salus.coop and Datalog.
Montse brings over 25 years of experience in leading innovative programs that leverage cutting-edge technologies like IoT, Blockchain, and AI, all while maintaining a strong humanist approach. She is a community builder, mentor, and expert in strategy and ecosystems.
With an extensive expertise and visionary leadership, she is a frequent lecturer and active contributor to social innovation programs and a visiting professor at leading universities and business schools.
Amber Herrewijn is researcher and lecturer Event Management in the master's program International Leisure, Tourism & Events Management at NHL Stenden University. Following the design-based philosophy of her university, Amber seeks interdisciplinary cooperation in the event and festival industry to work on innovative prototype developments.
Working for the European Tourism Futures Institute (ETFI), her interest in circularity & sustainability leads to collaborative research on nudging visitors towards sustainable behaviour. She is a capacity builder and researcher on future skills and a passionate connector between education and the industry.
Jochem Jansen is senior lecturer and researcher at the European Tourism Futures Instititute of NHL Stenden University. He has a background in tourism management and has worked in higher education in the field of leisure and event management 10+ years. Through this he has gained extensive experience in workshop facilitation and training, as well as in bridging the academic context with professional practice. His prime interests lie in subjects related to (sustainable) tourism destination development, placemaking and strategic foresight and scenario planning. Following his passion about future(s) studies, he is also working on a Professional Doctorate research focused on anticipating on the future(s) in the context of tourism destination governance and development.
Marta is an accomplished professional with a background in International Business from Pompeu Fabra University and a Master's in Business Development from Copenhagen Business School. She is a founding partner of B.Link and has over 15 years of experience as an EU-funding expert, where she has coordinated and managed numerous projects aimed at boosting SME competitiveness, innovation, and development.
Her work has had a significant impact in areas such as sustainable tourism and tourism digitalization. Marta has been actively involved in creating and managing financial support mechanisms that accelerate SME-led innovative projects, ensuring that these businesses receive the resources and guidance needed to thrive.
Felix is the co-founder of futurehain, a visionary solutions studio that sits at the crossroads of science, innovation, and society. With a unique blend of strategic thinking and creative meeting design, Felix harnesses the power of interdisciplinary collaboration to address the world’s most pressing challenges.
Based in Berlin, he consults for international clients across science, policy, and industry, and serves as an advisor to several non-profit organizations. He is the former Executive Director of the Falling Walls Foundation.
As the founder of Brain Fuel, he designs and executes dynamic brainstorms and meetings that blend high ambitions, bold results, and team collaboration. These sessions are well-organised and tightly managed, addressing core challenges by mobilising and combining the experience, knowledge, and judgment of all participants.
Frans creates meetings, workshops, and brainstorming sessions on a wide range of topics, including climate change, strategy, innovation, and product development, each tailored to align with the goals and reach of the organisation.
Sònia is the Catalunya Convention Bureau’s director and responsible of the definition of the MICE strategy for Catalonia. She is a member of the Strategic Alliance of National Convention Bureaus in Europe and has an active role in different international associations such as ICCA, ECM, MPI, PCMA. She teaches at universities on MICE planning in the destinations. Over her 22 years of experience in the public and private tourism sector, Sònia has worked in different sub-sectors of the industry. Her professional experience includes destination marketing, market research, new project and business development, product creation, quality plans and tourism policy.
With over a decade of research into the future of work and talent management, Iolanda designs transformative experiences that explore the relationship between people and technology.
Founder of the Institute for Future, she is dedicated to learning models and innovative workspaces that reflect new ways of working, from a future foresight experience. Her international experience has enabled her to build interconnected communities of innovation and learning. Committed to the UN's 2030 Agenda, her work aims to harness collective intelligence to meet the evolving needs of the market while promoting sustainability and social responsibility.