As she watched organizations continue to transition their events from live to virtual, Liz Lathan, CEO of Austin, Texas-based Haute Dokimazo, noticed the increasing importance of creating real human connection and conversation within a digital platform. From there, the Age of Conversation Summit was born. 

With the widespread cancellation of corporate events and no clear timeline of when they may be back in person again, it’s a good time to look for inspiration on ways to hold a truly unique virtual event.

For the first time in its 11-year history, the San Francisco Giant Race presented by Alaska Airlines is going completely virtual.

PCMA Foundation has launched the Accelerating Reskilling initiative, a massive fundraising campaign designed to help event industry professionals recover, adapt and thrive through the pandemic and beyond.

IBTM Americas this week announced details of a virtual summit that will take place Aug. 25-26. The interactive digital experience will be hosted on the Go To Webcast platform and will bring together 16 speakers to share topical insights and learnings that will provide tangible benefits for attendees, all under the theme of “humanizing the change."

As meeting and event professionals continue to grapple with the impact the pandemic has had on the industry, the Event Leadership Institute has developed a new online certificate course in partnership with MPI to provide planners with strategies, tactics and resources to move forward with modified in-person events and meetings.

A new weekly peer-to-peer roundtable series for event professionals launches this week. Hosted by mdg, a Freeman Company, the “Leading Through Disruption” program focuses on helping event professionals manage change and gain the insights and connections needed to navigate the pandemic. 

Each hour-long session, scheduled to run for six weeks starting Aug. 5, will have a theme introduced by thought leaders who then facilitate the discussion.

The State of the Industry Town Hall at last week’s CEMA Digital Summit 2020 focused on the future of digital events. Following the 75-minute session, a consensus emerged that while everyone misses live events, digital platforms have opened up exciting new avenues for communicating with customers.

Corporate Event Marketing Association held its first online conference, CEMA Summit 2020, July 27-28. With more than 500 event marketing leaders in attendance, the event marked the highest attendance in its 30-year history—in part due to the fact that the conference was open to non-members this year for the first time. Nearly half the attendees were first-timers, including more than 100 non-members.

Instead of kicking off the new year with its usual in-person fervor, CES 2021 will be an all-digital experience connecting exhibitors, customers, thought leaders and media from around the globe in early January next year.

Representing one of the industries hardest hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, American Hotel & Lodging Association continues to seek help for hotels and hotel workers from the legislators currently working on another relief package.