On Thursday 27 and Friday 28 April, representatives of international associations will gather for the 11th edition of the European Association Summit.
The year, the EAS will take place at Sparks, in Brussels. On Thursday evening, the Brussels Meetings Ambassadors, organisers of large meetings with international appeal, will be honoured, just a little further down the road at KBR.
The European Association Summit will address the major topics facing international associations, with the aim of the conference being to enable associations to function as well as possible in a rapidly changing world.
With more than 2,400 setting up their headquarters in Brussels, the number of international associations in our capital continues to rise. This puts Brussels top of the tree as a hub for international associations. Brussels can also call itself the world’s leading destination for international association congresses. It has climbed to first place in the UIA’s world rankings. It is, therefore, no coincidence that the European Association Summit takes place in the Brussels Capital Region.
Programme
The programme includes some 20 inspiring sessions. Topics such as sustainability policy, diversity policy and preparing the new generation of association professionals are at the forefront of the agenda. Quite a few sessions and workshops deal with concrete topics and case studies. From leveraging the potential of diversity within associations to exploring the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence.
In total, more than 40 speakers will take to the stage. Martin Sirk (International Advisor Global Association Hubs) will kick off the event. Keynote speakers include Isabel De Clercq (HR Consultant) and Jo Caudron (Transformation Consultant). Much of the focus this year will be on networking. After COVID-19, there is a clear need to get to know industry colleagues and exchange ideas.
Thursday 27/04/2023
After an agenda-setting opening plenary session, participants will be invited to dive into the rich offering of this year’s programme and choose sessions dedicated to the tracks BE.SMARTER, BE.BRIGHTER an BE.CLOSER. After an exciting first day including a Brexit session, an inspirational Deep Dive into Virtual Worlds and insteresting case studies, we’ll conclude the day with a networking drink at Sparks. This will be the perfect moment to catch up with your peers and get together during the summit.
8:30 Welcome coffee
09:00
Opening session “Brussels. Europe. Global” | 60 min
Martin Sirk
Plenary room
10:00
Skilling up for the future – Learning for Associations | 60 min | be.closer
Moderated by Colm Clarke
Panel: Raffaella Donadio, Giulia Meschino, Angela Guillemet, Andrea Lapegna
Plenary room
Maximise the money, minimise the risk: strategies for revenue diversification | 60 min | be.closer
Moderated by Jeroen van Liempd
Panel: Kai Troll, Anna Shepherd
Conference room
11:00 Coffee break
11:30
Mentorship Matters: Empowering the Future of Associations | 60 min | be.smarter
Moderated by Andrea Bardyn
Panel: Joyce Dogniez, Sophie Charrois, Susan West, Jessica J.J. Lutz
Plenary room
Trailblazing Advocacy: Paving New Paths to Make a Difference | 60 min | be.brighter
Moderated by Ilaria Graceffa
Panel: Yann Finger, Barbara Weizsäcke, Olivier Devaux
Conference room
12:30
Representativity on the Board: What’s the Cost? | 30 min
Introduced by visit.brussels
Keynote speaker: Antoine Druetz
Plenary room
Brexit session | 30 min
Brainstorm room
12:45
Case study Glue Up | 15 min
Conference room
13:00 Lunch, networking and energiser
14:00
Effective Advocacy: Making your message heard | 90 min | be.brighter
Moderated by: Lydia Pernal-Stoddart
Panel: Roberta Dall’Olio, Robin de Wouters, Juliette Jacques
Brainstorm room
14:15
Breaking Barriers: How Inclusion Drives Better Associations | 60 min | be.smarter
Moderated by Benita Lipps
Panel: Milan Šverepa, Kim Smouter, Veronika Kuprianova, Rachael Moore
Plenary room
15:15
Revitalizing Association Management with Eudonet CRM: A Case Study Session | 30 min
Keynote speaker: Agneta Ronceret
Plenary room
15:45 Break
16:00
Demystifying the Metaverse | 30 min
Keynote speaker: Jo Caudron
Plenary room
16:30
Conclusions of the day
Presented by visit.brussels, moderated by Benita Lipps
Plenary room
17:00 Networking drink
Friday 28/04/2023
The second day will be dedicated to the new trends and novel approaches for international and European association management, seen from different angles and contexts such as automation and artificial intelligence, sustainability and new and future ways to engage with association members. There will also be a GAHP sponsored session with presentations from destinations, a hands-on workshop and an inspirational Deep Dive about future scenarios for associations.
8:30 Welcome coffee
09:00
Opening session “Competition & Competitiveness”
Martin Sirk
Plenary room
09:30
Sustainable at Heart: Empowering Association’s Sustainability Practices | 60 min | be.fresher
Moderated by Johanna Roodt
Panel: Charlotte Otten-Gleissner, Will Surman, Georgios Kostakos, Sven Bossu, Pauline Benoît
Plenary room
AI and Automation for Associations: The Future is Here | 60 min | be.smarter
Moderated by Remi Dève
Panel: Loredana Bucseneanu, Marco Badoli
Conference room
10:30 Coffee break and energiser
11:15
Beyond Membership: Engaging Associations’ Community for Greater Impact | 90 min | be.closer
Moderated by Jeroen van Liempd
Panel: Adriana Martins, Paul Walsh, Caroline Moulins
Plenary room
12:00
Finance and Tax Issues facing international non-profit associations | 45 min | be.smarter
Moderated by Adrian Harris
Panel: Antoine Druetz, Ruth Wirtz, Charlotte Watteyne
Conference room
12:30
Future-Proofing Your Association: Embracing the Evolution of Work in a Rapidly Changing World | 30 min
Keynote speaker: Isabel De Clercq
Plenary room
13:00 Lunch, networking and energiser
14:00
Associations 3.0: Navigating the Future of Work | 90 min | be.smarter
Moderated by Lydia Pernal-Stoddart
Panel: Irina Varlan, Wouter Lox, Martin Sirk, Paul Walsh
Brainstorm room
Spark the Change: Igniting Sustainability in Events | 60 min | be.fresher
Moderated by Frances van Klaveren
Panel: Fanny Senez, Julie Nysten
Conference room
15:00
Case study Conferli | 30 min
Panel: Bregje Frens, Nienke van der Malen
Plenary room
15:30
Conclusions of the day
Plenary room
Brussels Meetings Ambassadors Night
A number of event and meeting organisers will also be honoured on Thursday 27 April during an evening with Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region Rudi Vervoort. For the first time, this annual, invitation only, VIP event will coincide with the European Association Summit. This year, the spotlight will be on 12 organisers who successfully set up a meeting with international appeal in Brussels for at least 500 participants in 2022. From now on, they will bear the title of meetings ambassador.
