C’est transformer son expérience pour innover

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How can we raise enough awareness to ensure the events sector can transition to a more sustainable model?

“There are different levels of awareness, which are themselves linked to the extent of attachment to the traditional events model. I believe there are three levels to overcome in order to reinvent the model.

Level 1 is the “eco-responsibility” level. This involves the actions carried out for transport, waste, food, energy use, and water. There is no coordinated plan yet, but there are initiatives. This is an important step, but it is not enough to meet current and future challenges.

Level 2 corresponds to the “structuring” of a comprehensive approach. In this level, we are already challenging the existing model more profoundly by working on several areas, including workplace well-being, shared governance and, even more importantly, power distribution and the ability to act, the commitment of our volunteers and partners, and our purchasing policies. We are questioning our values, our vision and our impact. We take a systemic perspective of the subject by challenging the role of our event and its legacy, along with the imprint it will leave on its setting. Lastly, Level 3 is the “transformation” level. This is where we rewrite the rules by looking to the future. How do see my event in five or ten years, and will it help create a world which has more respect for living things? This challenges the very meaning of any project within a region. Accompanying change means moving from one level to the next.

“Events management is a sequence of tasks and actions carried out by people and organisations. It is a village that has to face the same difficulties as a region but according to a reduced timescale. All the players in the sector must act in order to bring about change, whether organisers, service providers, sponsors, host cities, or even the public in terms of how they “consume” the event. If we want to move beyond eco-responsibility, all players in the sector need to change their outlook on how events are constructed and what they actually mean. This will lead to choices that will have an impact on the ecosystem and the region itself. As organisers, we have to rethink appropriate sizes for events, their appeal, format and duration. This means creating spaces for dialogue and debate to enable all opinions to be expressed. We also have to shift away from a competitive approach to instead foster cooperation and mutual assistance. As we know, the economic aspect puts a major brake on change, so why don’t we consider raising funds for environmental and social innovation, in the same way we do for technology? This funding would make it possible to create secure spaces to trial new ways of working and organising.”

Is self-reinvention a chance to embody the values of a new world?

“Events can be seen as laboratories for transformation. Why not trial new public policies or mechanisms through these unique communication channels? Events help bring imaginations to life, and it is up to us to know what values and ethics we want to share and instil through these public gatherings. There is no secret to the transferability of green practices from events to homes. The public must be regularly confronted with them. Events management can therefore play a key role in building profound societal change.”

Events can be seen as laboratories for transformation. Why not trial new public policies or mechanisms through these unique communication channels?