Conference Matters 144

EDITOR’S NOTE

Trends

Trends often conjure up images of fleeting hypes: products, behaviours, or expressions that last no more than a few years. And as with everything in our rapidly changing eras, these lifespans seem to be getting even shorter. Yet, there are also movements that cannot be captured by the temporary or the transient. What if you want to identify those developments that are likely to endure, have a significant impact, or even become the new norm? The German Convention Bureau and the Fraunhofer research institute refer to these as mega trends in their Future Meeting Space project. This long-term study focuses on developments that have the potential to fundamentally transform the way meetings are organised. Last year, they mapped out the impact of thirteen megatrends on the meetings industry. The top three: artificial intelligence (AI), sustainability, and demographic changes. For 2025, the focus shifts to the interplay between demographic shifts and the rise of AI and automation. Hybrid meetings are also mentioned, as part of the broader megatrend of digitalisation and connectivity. The expectation was that hybrid events would become the standard after the pandemic, but that has not materialised. Only a handful of hybrid conferences are being held, and interest in online participation is often limited. Finally, sustainability. Looking back through old editions of Expovisie - the predecessor of this magazine - from the 1970s, I see that sustainability was already a key topic of discussion back then. Despite renewed momentum in the past decade, that drive now seems to have faded - especially with the EU significantly relaxing its CSRD regulations through the Omnibus simplifi cation package, and across the Atlantic, the new mantra is ‘drill, drill, drill.’ The good news: governments do not create trends; these usually arise from people’s intrinsic motivation. Less administrative pressure might actually create space for real improvement. However, we must conclude that the long-term megatrend of sustainability has yet to become truly mainstream. But is AI still a trend? The topic remains incredibly popular and is evolving rapidly, but it has become so deeply embedded in our digital lives that it already feels like the norm.

Edwin Nunnink Editor-in-Chief Conference Matters edwin@zynchrone.com

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