No wonder even our home-grown flowers can now be connected through an app so that we can ensure that they thrive in the right pot and humidity. That is all done thanks to what is known as the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT is defined by Oracle as “the network of physical objects—“things”—that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the Internet.”

When it comes to our world of meetings and events, we have certain restrictions as to what we can connect to IoT in a strictly in-person meeting environment. And now, post-COVID, we see the difference between the data that can be collected online, at a virtual meeting, versus that onsite. We face a lot of privacy issues onsite, with facial recognition or RFID tracking for example, but we don’t have the same issues online, where tracking seems to be a norm, but where we observe literary every move of each participant. After globally streamlining what are cookies, enforcing GDPR, and having clear opt-out options at each website or online communication, it seems that we all feel alright with giving our consent by clicking a button, but we have an issue when real people are involved.

The problem that I can identify is the lack of clarity on how event organisers use the data collected onsite and the lack of confidence in keeping the attendees’ confidentiality. We need to work hard to gain the trust of delegates, especially because actual human beings are involved in this process. And because the collected information will help the future programming of the event, ultimately to the benefit of the delegate. Only then we can fully make use of IoT and make sure that the technology around one event can be as supportive as possible and not in an obtrusive way. For that we need transparency and to involve the participants in the process.

Moving forward, many of the positions within a professional conference organisation (PCO) like ours, will come down to reading and understanding complex data and applying it to future scenarios. However, an interesting side-effect of the increased use of technology and IoT would be the need to hire talents with an increased Emotional Intelligence (EQ). A future of high automation and heightened use of AI would mean redistribution of labour, and what would be more important than ever, especially in events with the high frequency and interaction of people and team members, would be a real human experience. Having kind, understanding people that can truly support the delegates would be making a difference.

Here I end with a few big questions. What will be the implications for the future of education? How can we optimally use IoT for better conference programming and having actionable results for the delegates? What does that mean for speakers? How do we translate this to our talents and apart from high EQ, what other skills would we need?

The opportunities are endless.

 

By Ori Lahav, VP Clients & Operations

The AD/PD Conference 

The Kenes Original Event AD/PD™ Conference 2022 marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the AD/PD™ series of conferences. By merging with the AAT-AD/PD™ Advances in Alzheimer’s Therapies Focus Meeting, AD/PD™ is now transformed from a biannual into an annual meeting, with a continuing focus on the ADVANCES IN SCIENCE & THERAPY of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases and related neurological disorders. 

This year’s edition of the AD/PD™ Conference provided up to 42 points of CME/CPD accreditation to international medical and scientific professionals worldwide engaged in the neurodegeneration field, from basic scientists to clinical investigators, and from established leaders to young upcoming talents.  

A large number of reports about the AD/PD™ 2022 have already been published, inter alia, by the Alzheimer’s Forum, Video Journal of Dementia, BioSpace and more.

A hybrid experience  

The lessons learnt from the virtual experiences in 2020 and 2021 were foundational for this successful execution of the first hybrid AD/PD™. During six consecutive days, there were six parallel halls – four of which were streaming in real time – 49 exhibition booths, 929 mobile app installations, 1,601 e-poster viewings and 107 sessions were broadcasted  live, with an engaged interaction from the delegates on VirtuOz who exchanged more than 1,200 messages through the Q&A and chat options during the event. 

To ensure a smooth operation of the live broadcasting and the interconnection of speakers on-site and online, the IT department at Kenes assembled a support crew of technicians in Rome and another one in Lisbon. In total, 57 team members participated in the procurement of the hybrid format: 20 took care of the streaming, 30 produced the pre-recorded sessions, five moderated the Q&A, and two handled the monitoring of three cameras on-site. 

VirtuOz Navigation Video:

In the words of IT Director Uzi Drori, the main challenges included:

“finding the appropriate technology, combining software and hardware, recruiting the right people, training them during the weeks prior to the conference and getting all the required equipment to the venue.” 

The Organising Committee consolidated by Abraham Fisher, Roger M. Nitsch, M. Windisch, Ezio Giacobini, and Gabriel Gold, stated that:

“the live video transmission worked exquisitely well, so that even on-site participants used them for convenience and personalisation of their congress experience. Also, the Hybrid Forum discussions were a tremendous success with both onsite and online participants over multiple time zones.” 

The Online Community for all Neurodegenerative Disease Professionals AD/PD™ Education complements the AD/PD™ Conference during the rest of the year, before and after this core event. The AD/PD™ Education Community supplements the live conferences and provides a space for education, reflection, and interaction in the field of neurodegenerative disorders. There are also several services at the AD/PD™ Education platform, such as eLearning courses, discussion forums, meeting materials, and much more, which are offered free of charge.  

AD/PD™ KEY FIGURES

Top 3 countries, in-person: 

1. United States, 491 participants  
2. United Kingdom, 218 participants 
3. Spain, 170 participants 

Top 3 countries, virtual: 

1. United States, 567 registrations
2. United Kingdom, 94 registrations
3. Japan, 87 registrations 

#ADPD2022 

Social Media has increasingly been used by healthcare professionals to nourish the scientific conversation. Therefore, Kenes events have a strong focus on reaching the right audiences on social media channels during each congress.  

The AD/PD™ 2022 had a noticeable impact on social media engagement. The most interaction of all was registered on the microblogging service Twitter where 962 users joined the conversation using the hashtag #ADPD2022, generating 3,316 posts and a total of 8.1 million views. 

#TogetherAtADPD

In total, 48 pictures were shared on social media as part of the Photo Contest. These are the two winning photos:  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kenes Group continues to develop new strategies, methodologies, reflections, and training to enrich all educational formats, including large international conferences and events.

Kenes Group excelled with Gold in two People’s Choice awards – one in Brand Experiences with World Stroke Day 2021, and the second one in Marketing, Communications & Strategy with the campaign #25DaysOfGratitude. The World Stroke Campaign was also awarded Bronze in Cause Event. This is not the first recognition of the campaign. It won a Gold award in the Cause Event category at the 2020 Eventex Awards.

Two events finished with Silver – ESPNICX 2021 in the category Virtual Medical Meeting – an event organised on VirtuOz, and in People’s Choice Events was the World ATM Congress 2021 with its strong return to an in-person trade show after the pandemic.

VirtuOz, the wizard solution to virtual events that Kenes Group launched at the end of 2020, finished with three accolades – Silver in Virtual Event Platform, as well as in Virtual Events Team, and a Bronze in People’s Choice Suppliers.

Audrey Alloul, VP Digital at Kenes Group, commented: “We have been on a winning streak at Eventex Awards for the past five years and have expanded in different categories too. I couldn’t be prouder of all our teams delivering such great work consistently. I also wish to highlight the team behind VirtuOz, who are currently driving virtual events to new heights. Kudos to you all.”

Kenes Group was one of the companies with the most accolades at the 12^th edition of Eventex Awards – eight in total. Eventex Awards 2022 received 606 entries from 33 countries. It’s truly an honour to be recognised and awarded among so many other brilliant events and projects from around the world. Founded in 2009 to celebrate creativity, innovation, and effectiveness in the industry, today Eventex Awards is the most esteemed accolade in the world of events and experiential marketing.

 

For more information, contact:

Magdalina Atanassova

Marcom Director

Email. matanassova(at)kenes(dot)com