Association Headquarters

Expanding the Knowledge Base

By Chris Brown, CEM, CMP

I hoped to broaden your imagination in my last article about futuristic meetings. I described how a conference will be a forum of virtual energy. In a fraction of a second, all session content would be beamed to your brain’s synapses, and you would “meet” others who have been similarly “programmed.”

Is this a stretch? Think about PDAs and iPods® (so named from the phrase “Open the pod bay door, Hal” in the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”).

A decade since the inception of this hand held technology, kindergarten children are plugged in, tuned in, and soothed into their afternoon nap. They are rehearsing famous quotations from international figures, reciting the top ten words of the week and repeating Russian, Arabic, and Greek poetry. Listen carefully.

These students are already nine school years ahead of today’s students. At the same time, adult learning resembles LIFE-LONG multiple career development through age 95. Training is accomplished with next generation iPods, learning centers, formal continuing education and practical skill training. The future is about keeping the brain trust of the “seasoned” work force active and employed for many more years beyond the age 65 or 68.

So how does this scenario affect the events and meetings industry? This suggests continuing education levels will have to be re-defined. Advanced, intermediate and novice will no longer be sufficient to meet everyone’s goals. How about adding PNDBs, pre-natal data beaming, or “seasoned sessions” describing the “How To” of career changing on the fly.

Assemblies of like-minded individuals will likely be more frequent, with the need to be well versed in several different arenas. PATCs or public aerospace travel centers, shuttle airport hotels, and easy accessible venues will rise above the rest – as the need to locate in easily accessible settings becomes more important.

Don’t be afraid to encourage education and event planning committees to explore methods of session delivery beyond what is usual and customary. Learning is at the heart of every human being’s purpose in life. The future will arrive sooner than you think. As meeting and event planners, we will be at the forefront of this change. We can be the catalyst of future educational opportunity for our communities.

Chris Brown, CMP, CEM, is Senior Meetings, Exhibits, and Trade Shows Manager at
Association Headquarters, Inc., in Mount Laurel, N.J.