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April 08, 2005

Building a European conference - Education or Networking?

I've been doing a lot of talking recently to US "folks" who are thinking about bringing their conferences over to Europe. One of the points I've been trying to emphasize is that at the moment (in Germany at least) conferences are focussed on educating the people who go there. Or rather - people who go to a conference expect to be educated.

Or even more rather: To go to a conference you have to convince your boss that you will learn something that will advance your work.

Going to a conference because "you want to hook up with the cool people there to exchange ideas, listen to visionaries discuss how to build a better mousetrap and build your network" will probably not exactly earn you smiles and funding from across the table. The company will feel that you are putting your own priorities before those of the hand that feeds you (yeah right). However, that is exactly what I spent most of OSBC doing (and I'm sure it's true for most people there). So much so that I'm sure several people I now feel I can bug are regretting me ever coming :-).

And therefore one of the problems I find at the German conferences I go to is that the sessions are one-way only (speaker to audience) and it's more like sitting in a classroom being taught stuff you can probably find elsewhere cheaper and easier. Panel discussions (common at US conferences) are virtually non-existent and if they do take place probably void of audience and discussion.

Of course cultural differences are also important to remember. Here in the US - everybody talks to you (which can also be annoying - especially when walking in an out of shops - but I digress). Even if a lot of the talk is sometimes superficial "let's stay in contact - blah blah". But even so, it certainly is easier to actually meet people - even "famous" people you probably wouldn't dream of approaching at a conference in Europe.

So, finding the correct mix will be important for any conference that plans on attracting European corporate participants.

Posted by Matthew at April 8, 2005 10:11 PM

Comments

Good points that I agree with. But the question is, if there is not enough European people who would be willing to attend an OSBC Europe conference either by footing the bill themselves personally or by insisting towards their employers exactly because an OSBC Europe conference based on the right concepts would be so much more valuable than the usual "classroom" conferences?

Posted by: Martin von Haller Groenbaek at April 9, 2005 12:35 AM

It's not just European bosses who view a conference that way; the reason I only goto local NFJS is that I have little chance of convincing my employers to send me off to conferences to learn things I could learn better from a day off and a book.

I can't even convince myself :)

Posted by: Henri Yandell at April 9, 2005 05:30 AM