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EMEC 2014 Call For Proposals

MPI (Meeting Professionals International) has now opened its call for presentation proposals for its annual European Meetings and Events Conference (EMEC), scheduled February 23-25, 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey.

MPI invites you to submit your best session idea, a session that will create an extraordinary experience and transform participants into passionate and engaged members of the meeting and event community. At MPI, we are regularly searching for presenters who can innovate and engage, surprise and inspire. Does this sound like you, or do you know someone who belongs on the MPI stage? If so, we want to hear from you. Use this link to submit your proposals.


What is EMEC?

The European Meetings and Events Conference is the continent’s leading educational event in the meeting industry. It brings together professionals who aspire to build their careers through inspirational education, share their knowledge freely and extend their network.

Who is the Audience?

The audience consists of 400 to 500 MPI members and non-members including leading meeting and event industry professionals (both planners and suppliers), students, faculty and trade press from Europe and across the globe.

The majority of our participants are middle management (28 percent), senior management (20 percent) and professional staff (project manager, account executive—19 percent), followed by senior executives and C-level management. The average age range of participants is between 26 and 45 years old.

English is the official conference language, but please note that for the vast majority of the participants, English is their second or third language.

Event participants seek the following:

  • Critical event and meeting operations, planning and management skills;
  • Education on the business of meetings (business and leadership skills), rather than meetings logistics;
  • A forum to meet with other senior level professionals and exchange ideas and share inspirations and frustrations about their business and industry;
  • Content that creates transformational solutions for the future of the industry; and
  • Core business-level content that improves every day job performance skills and general personal growth and development.

Speaker Profile 

MPI events aren’t typical conferences. The audience has very high expectations of the speakers and the event experience since organizing meetings and events is their core business. The MPI speaker team works with speakers well in advance of the conference to shape presentations that will succeed on the MPI stages. EMEC is not your everyday conference; when we meet we change the world! Speaker types include the following.

  • Professional speakers, trainers and facilitators. Innovate and engage, surprise and inspire by sharing business intelligence from outside the event industry and making it applicable to the MPI audience. 
  • Faculty. Share your industry intelligence and implement your knowledge of adult learning principles to create an enriching educational experience. 
  • Subject matter experts. Dazzle with your in-depth knowledge and innovative session formats to engage our audience. 
  • Meeting and event professionals and suppliers. Share your stories, case studies, best practices and specific industry knowledge with your peers.

We desire presenters who think along and outside the box and brainstorm to make the most of the experience. We crave those who can provide multiple session proposals, additional one-on-one coaching for participants, availability for meet and greets and creative ideas in addition to a superb educational session delivery. Most speakers stay for the whole conference, soaking up the experience and connecting with the participants and other speakers. We are committed to working closely with you in order for you to excel and creating an experience that’s fulfilling and beneficial for all.


Content Needs  

MPI asks for high quality, credible, relevant and timely session proposals that will transform our audience into passionate and engaged members of the meetings and events community. Content needs to:

  • Provide high impact, innovative personal and professional development;
  • Align with new and current industry demands;
  • Be immediately applicable to meeting and event professionals;
  • Drive organizational success;
  • Utilize varied and innovative adult learning delivery formats;
  • Be new, innovative and experiential;
  • Be suitable for multiple levels (including separate content for senior meeting professionals with more than 10 years of industry experience); and
  • Provide specialty education.

The following areas have been identified as critical learning needs for the European meeting industry.

    • Professional Development (competency based business training that’s eligible for continuing education credits and general business topics applied to meetings and events)
      • Strategic planning (development of strategic, business continuity and long-term viability plans)
      • Project management (planning and managing a project)
      • Risk management (contingency planning, no insurance-focused content)
      • Financial management (event funding, resources, budget management and monetary streams)
      • Sales and identification of new revenue streams (business models of the future, pricing and sponsorship model innovation)
      • Human resources (hiring, training and managing event staff and volunteers)
      • Stakeholder management
      • Negotiation
      • Marketing (communication/community building, new event marketing)
      • Topics specific to the meeting and event industry
      • Measurement (goals and objectives, needs assessments, evaluation)
      • Program design (development, speaker selection and sourcing, participant experience, flow, evolving learning methods, formats/experiences)
      • Technical event management (audiovisual, production)
      • Food and beverage trends
      • Corporate social responsibility (standards and best practices)
      • The global attendee (expectations of different generations, cultures)
      • Event Procurement/sourcing
      • Destination and venue selection

    • Experiential learning labs
      • Meeting design
      • Hybrid meetings
      • General session production management
      • Corporate social responsibility onsite projects
      • Technology trends and innovations

    • Specialty education
      • Women in business
      • Creative/Innovative thinking
      • Entrepreneurship
      • Productivity
      • Brain food & beverage
      • F&B that improves the meeting experience
      • Peer-to-peer learning (meeting and event case studies)
      • Education for the under-30 crowd
      • Exclusive sessions for senior meeting professionals (more than 10 years of industry experience)
      • Future trends 


    Session types available include the following.

    • Opening general session. Includes a conference emcee and keynotes with short but powerful speeches and engagement experts to help participants network from the start.
    • Flash Point session. Provides a diverse platform of 15-minute presentations showcasing innovative non-industry thinkers who will inspire the audience. Participants benefit from the quality of speakers and the innovative, fast-paced format that gets to the heart of the story.
    • Master class. Allows participants to select topics of interest from the Flash Points and gives them a dive deeper into the subject.
    • Concurrent educational session. Presents education/training and experiential learning around business and industry specific skills/intelligence.
    • Unconference. Provides for peer-to-peer learning in a non-traditional format.
    • Campfire. Presents short, 20 to 30-minute sessions with limited availability (up to 10 people) that provide a personal learning experience around expert topics.  

Proposal Submission

Presenters must submit a proposal to participate as a speaker at EMEC. Presentation proposals will be accepted through May 31, 2013 online using MPI’s proposal form. Multiple proposals for multiple topics may be submitted, but must be sent individually. Notification of the status of submission(s) will start September 2013.

Important: Please provide video material of yourself presenting in front of an audience.                             


Selection Criteria

Proposals will be reviewed and scored based on content, format and presenter credentials and scored on the following elements.

  • Content – Is the proposal credible, relevant, timely and innovative? Is it free of grammatical and spelling errors?
  • Format – Is the format conducive to adult learning? Are participatory learning formats used? Are horizontal collaborative learning opportunities (vs. vertical one-to-many lectures) utilized?  Is it designed to address all learning types?
  • Presenter – Is the presenter knowledgeable, experienced and credible in the proposed content area and is this verifiable through credentials? 

Additional Proposal Considerations

The following considerations will improve session score. Proposals of a commercial nature that promote or market particular products and/or services will not be considered.

  • It focuses on how (versus only why or what).
  • Its presenters collaborate on multiple MPI content initiatives.
  • It has an appropriate and engaging title.
  • It has a clear, concise description that accurately reflects proposed content.
  • It has achievable and measurable objectives/learner outcomes.
  • The presentation plan enhances the learning experience through appropriate length, format, method and audience interaction.
  • It has a practical, real-world application or solution (best practices, case studies) relevant to the industry’s body of knowledge and timelines.
  • It has advanced-level content.
  • It’s an introduction to new ideas and methods, or it promotes the development of new skills and knowledge.
  • It’s based on evaluation data from previous conferences.
  • Its presenters are geographically close. 

Additional Information

  • Session times vary and include 15 minutes, 30 minutes to two hours and are subject to the final program schedule.
  • Submission does not guarantee inclusion in the conference.
  • MPI records its conference presentations and the recordings and/or transcriptions are provided to conference participants. Presenters who grant MPI permission to record their presentations are given preference in the selection process.
  • Proposals missing required information will result in delay and may lead to rejection.
  • If submitting a proposal on behalf of another presenter, enter the information of the person who will be presenting.
  • MPI actively seeks presenters who employ interactive learning formats and utilize collaborative learning opportunities. The design and delivery should be appropriate to all learners. Targeted content may be identified for a specific experience level (novice, intermediate and/or advance practitioners).

The MPI speaker team is committed to working closely with you in order for you to excel and create an experience that’s fulfilling and beneficial for all. We look forward to receiving your proposal.

Submit your proposal here