An integral part of BEIW's mission is to 'bring people together to make a difference for our businesses, our communities, and our audiences'
PCMA's annual BEIW promises to be a business event with a difference, and indeed, we weren't disappointed. Over the four days we were treated to a range of thought-provoking sessions, including a keynote, destination showcase, one-day conference, sales and service summit and workshops.
An integral part of BEIW's mission is to 'bring people together to make a difference for our businesses, our communities, and our audiences', and to this end, the event blended educational sessions with a variety of valuable networking opportunities.
Over the course of the week, BEIW heard from Sharinda Williams-Simmons. Sharinda, who is Chief Creative Officer at The PTO Nomad, explored the impact of toxic corporate culture on the work-life balance of Black professionals, offering strategies for navigating socio-economic challenges and advocating for change.
The event was crowned with the Visionary Awards, a ceremony to recognise trailblazing leaders in the business events world.
Neil and I reconnected with our industry friends and colleagues, with the event providing the opportunity to share our passion for Scotland as a good global citizen, an industry leading destination in social and environmental sustainability and of course, an incredible business events destination.
The event was crowned with the Visionary Awards, a ceremony to recognise trailblazing leaders in the business events world. I was fortunate enough to be a finalist in the Professional Excellence Award in the Ground breaker category, alongside Robin Troutman from National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, and Beth Surmont of 360 Live Media. Huge congratulations to Ground breaker category winner Beth, whose work is changing the lives of so many inside and outside our industry.
Neil Brownlee, Head of Business Events at VisitScotland Business Events and PCMA Chair Elect, commented: "As with the rest of my colleagues at VisitScotland Business Events, I'm passionate about the role that business events can play in furthering social progress, and in promoting Scotland as a global business events destination. BEIW was an incredible event, which provided stimulating and relevant content, an abundance of great networking opportunities and above all a platform to showcase the incredible value of our industry worldwide."
