We’ve come a long way: after more than two years and many exciting adventures together, our journey finally reached its grand finale.
The BEFuture Signature Event was our opportunity to look back on our common achievements, chart the road ahead – and, of course, to celebrate in style!
BEFuture is the first EU-funded cross-sector and transnational single market project for the business events industry. It was launched to leverage innovation and technology in support of the transformation of Europe’s business events sector into a regenerative, resilient, and responsible industry, promoting a new generation of events with positive and lasting impact. Aligned with European Tourism Transition Pathways and Sustainable Development Goals, we contributed to strengthening the competitiveness of the sector, turning Europe into a global benchmark of innovation, technology, and sustainability.
With BEFuture, we have built a pioneering ecosystem driven by open innovation, entrepreneurship, and startup models, setting a benchmark for resilience and collaboration. Together, we’ve created a platform that anticipates and shapes the future of events.
The Signature Event brought together the BEFuture community, including some of the 80 entrepreneurs from 6 different countries funded under the project, to celebrate and learn from key highlights and achievements.
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The future is here
Thanks to our vibrant community of innovators, the event served as a showcase of what a business event in the future might look like.
From an interactive online event assistant over smart cloakroom access requiring nothing but your (eco-friendly) badge to check in and out to AI-powered matchmaking, a networking ‘heatmap’ and a 3D avatar recapping takeaways in real time: every aspect was powered by cutting-edge technology, with sustainability and accessibility always in mind.
Our community is the key
A varied programme of insightful panels, workshops and keynotes enabled participants to identify concrete opportunities to sustain and grow our industry and build on what we have achieved. Event accessibility for all, R&D investment and ambitious innovation initiatives emerged as key drivers of this process.
The future of BEFuture after the end of the project is still to be determined, but the partners made very clear their desire to build on the work done and the EU-wide community created over the past two years. One thing is clear: the connections created will be key to ensuring our pioneering work lives on.
One immediate action is already in the pipeline: in the coming weeks, we will be publishing 5 petitions of the BEFuture consortium to the EU to call for a better integration of the business events sector into the EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy that the EU Commission is preparing.
Stay tuned in to BEFuture’s digital channels to stay up to date with our next steps!
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Programme highlights
- The BEFuture Gallery offered a snapshot of the exciting innovations developed as part of the BEFuture project.
- Keynotes and thematic workshops covered BEFuture’s key themes: innovation, sustainability, inclusivity and entrepreneurship.
- A drinks reception provided opportunities to mingle, network and celebrate.