At Momice, we know the importance of events. That is why we started the series of events – Connecting the Dots – to help event professionals take their events to the next level. The first edition of Connecting the Dots took place on March 21. The event attracted more than fifty enthusiastic event professionals. Attendees Laura Starmans (ABN AMRO), Judith Smits (Blue Orange Company) and Nick Deknudt (Flux50) share their experiences.
Added value for event professionals
Laura Starmans (event manager at ABN AMRO): “Momice aims to help professionalise the event industry. They have become more than just a software company that helps you with event registration: they now bring added value to the life of event professionals. At events like this, they go beyond the obvious topics – that indicates they understand the challenges of event professionals.”
“I like seeing Momice grow. This is not only reflected in the development of the software, but also in the knowledge they share”, says Nick Deknudt, Communications Officer at the Belgian Flux50. Deknudt: “I was curious how Momice organises events and I learned a lot from this experience. For example: How to reach your target group in a more effective way. I immediately organised a session with my colleagues for the morning after the event, in which I’ll share the knowledge I gained.”
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New insights into teams
Judith Smits presents De Netwerkshow [The Networking Show], where she connects visitors in an entertaining way. Although she expected to get a lot of information about personal growth at Connecting the Dots, she also learned a lot about team compositions. “When you work together, it is important to include multiple backgrounds and characters. This way, you look at challenges in a different way. When everybody on your team communicates their challenges clearly, your colleagues are able to better deal with points of improvement. And you can help them with their personal challenges in return.”
For Starmans, the first edition of Connecting the Dots was a personal session that gave her food for thought. “I will immediately start working on this. How can you ensure you find the right balance in your team? I think, ultimately, you need different personality types in a team in order to get the most out of it.”
Saying 'no' is challenging
Starmans is pleased about how easy it is to connect to ambitious peers at Connecting the Dots. “As an even professional, you often run into similar challenges. For example: insufficient insight into the objectives of an event or the feeling of not being heard by the organisation. Managing expectations prove to be challenging as well. Because you recognise these challenges, you get to exchange knowledge in a natural way.”
Deknudt shares Starmans’ opinion. He indicates that he learned the importance of saying ‘no’. “I feel more empowered to set my boundaries now. Without the right capacity, I can’t deliver quality. It is a challenge to communicate that clearly. In addition, I want to make more room for my creativity: a skill that many event professionals possess, but not always use. These my concrete takeaways for the day.”
Proper objectives
Starmans indicates that she and her colleagues want to attend the next editions of Connecting the Dots. “We are planning on attending all five events. It helps us think about how we can continue to innovate. By being open to new ideas, you continue to look critically at the way you do your job. I think clarifying the objectives is very important. Sometimes we are still searching for the right objectives of an event. We hope to gain knowledge about this at the next event.”
The Flemish Deknudt came all the way from Brussels to attend the event in Culemborg, resulting in a six-hour journey. Does such a considerable travelling time prevent him from visiting the next edition? “I would love to come again, but unfortunately I can’t make it. However, I hope that one of my colleagues has the opportunity to be present. The first edition was a good introduction for me, so I think there is still much more to learn.”
Conclusion
The attendees of Connection the Dots value the knowledge that was shared during the event. This knowledge comes from both Momice and other attendees. The event thus forms the basis for a community of event professionals. To the question “Are you planning on attending the next edition of Connecting the Dots?” an astonishing 100% of the attendees answered YES. Not a bad score …
Connecting the Dots
Because Connecting the Dots is a Dutch-language event, it is less suitable for English speaking attendees. However, we feel the articles we write about this topic could be of added value for all event professionals. Are you interested in the content? Read more here!
