Call for Presentation Proposals
MPI’s European Meetings and Events Conference
Malaga, Spain – 28 Feb / March 2, 2010

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is looking for presenters who can provide cutting-edge education that supports our industry’s ability to create well-executed meetings, speak the language of business and drive positive short/long term business results. MPI is looking for session topics that meet the needs of our European community which is comprised of international meeting and event professionals with various skill levels, from students to senior meeting executives.

The European Meetings and Events Conference is THE leading meeting industry event in Europe, where meeting and event professionals that are doing business in Europe continue to redefine how meetings drive business success and are empowered to withstand the economic influences and tremendous change surrounding this professional discipline.

Conference Objectives:
1. Provide cutting-edge, high-level education, quality networking, and a platform for doing business in Europe.
2. Create a sense of urgency around EMEC being a must-attend conference, THE place where our industry and its
    leaders will gather to forge solutions for the future.
3. Provide “aspirational” content to collectively move industry professionals toward a strategic approach to meeting 
    management and use of meeting measurement principles as an industry standard.

The audience:
The audience consists of MPI members and non-members. All are leading meeting and events industry professionals (both planners and suppliers), as well as students, faculty and trade press. English is the official conference language, but please note that for the majority of the attendees English is not their first language. Attendees typically come from all over Europe and we will have some US and Middle-East based attendees as well.

* Meeting professionals (both planners, suppliers and students) who are at the core business level and looking to improve their every day job performance skills and general personal development. They Seek to learn critical  event and meeting operations, planning and management skills.

* Meeting professionals (both planners and suppliers) at the intermediate-to-advanced level in their career who seek content on the Business of Meetings, rather than meetings logistics and are looking for personal growth.
* Senior and executive level industry professionals (who have progressed beyond the need for meeting and event management education) who seek MBA level content, focused on business executive leadership skills.

Submit a Presentation Proposal:
For consideration for MPI’s European Meetings and Events Conference 2010, presentation proposals will be accepted through August 30, 2009. All proposals must be submitted online using MPI’s proposal form (scroll to bottom of this page). You may submit multiple proposals as long as the content of each presentation is different. You will be notified of the status of your submission(s) in September.

Looking for a broad range of Speakers: 

About MPI:  Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the meeting and event industry’s largest and most vibrant global community, helps its members thrive by providing human connections to knowledge and ideas, relationships, and marketplaces. MPI membership is comprised of more than 24,000 members belonging to 70 chapters and clubs worldwide.

Education Direction:
Our content team has created a list of topic areas to stimulate your presentation ideas. This doesn’t mean that topics are limited to what is listed below, this is merely a general direction. MPI is planning to provide 80% critical meetings and events industry and general education in the following tracks: 

    Future of Meetings

        - Technologies on the fringe of industry acceptance 
        - From logistics to Content Management 
        - Meeting design 
        - Innovative meetings 
        - Meeting formats of the future 
        - Innovative networking formats 
        - Personalization and Customization 
        – How to Satisfy the ‘New Attendee’

    Meetings Effectiveness

        - Proving the value of meetings 
        - ROI methodologies 
        - Case studies, presenting best and next practice presentations 
        - Destination Marketing excellence

    Green Meetings & CSR / Latest Trends and Research

        - Green meetings & CSR 
        - Case studies and best and next practice presentations 
        - Industry research presentations on FutureWatch & EventView

    Thriving in a Complex World 

        - Personal/Professional Development. 
        - Speak the language of business 
        - Influencing 
        - Impactful presentations 
        - Unconventional sales training/ techniques 
        - Career / personal branding workshops 
        - Working global 
        - Trends in Event Marketing 
        - Embracing / effectively handling change 
        - Work / live balance in a ever-changing world

20% of education is senior-level content in the following tracks: 

    Strategic Meetings Management

        - Small Business Owner 
        - Strategic Meetings Management (SMM)
        - Drive positive short/ long term business results 
        - Challenges and opportunities of an uncertain economy 
        - MBA type content

Selection Criteria:
Proposals will be reviewed through a double-blind peer review process consisting of MPI members from the different segments and levels of the industry. They will be scored based on content, format and presenter. 

In addition to the scores received through the peer review process, many factors are considered in determining the selection of proposals. Consideration is given to the following:

• Appropriate and engaging session title.
• Session needs to be delivered in English in order to be considered for selection
• Session description is clear, concise and accurately reflects the proposed content.
• Objectives/Learner Outcomes are achievable and measurable. Please avoid the following verbs: comprehend, believe, appreciate, understand, enjoy, know, and learn.
• Presentation Plan: length, format and methods to enhance the learning experience; interaction with audience.
• Practical, real-world application of the concept or solution presented (best/next practices, case studies).
• Relevance to the industry’s body of knowledge and timeliness.
• Target audience: advanced level of content is desired.
• Experience and expertise of speaker in the proposed content area.
• Overall quality and potential to contribute to a well-balanced educational program.
• Innovativeness: introduction of new ideas and methods; potential to promote the development of new skills and knowledge.
• Needs assessment and evaluation data from previous conferences.
• Availability of the presenter in the geographic proximity of the conference site.
• Proposals of a commercial nature which promote or market particular products and/or services, will not be considered.
• Proposals for keynote presentations will not be considered.

Information for keynote presentations can be submitted to the following addresses:

BEFORE SUBMITTING – Please note the following details.

• Session time slots range from 60 minutes – 3 hours, depending on the final programming schedule.
  Sessions are scheduled across the three full days of the conference: Sunday-Tuesday (February 28 – March 2). Please do not submit a proposal unless you are available to present on any of these three days that may be assigned to you.
• Your proposal(s) will be considered for the European Meetings and Events Conference 2010 only. Submission does not guarantee inclusion in the conference.
• Your proposal(s) will be considered for a concurrent session only. Keynote proposals will be seperately considered (contact Miranda van Bruck via mvanbruck@mpiweb.org ).
• MPI records its conference presentations and the recordings and/or transcriptions are provided to the conference attendees. Presenters who grant MPI permission to record their presentations will be given preference in the selection process.
• All proposals must be submitted electronically and individually. Click on the “Presentation Proposal Submission Form” link below to begin. Please double-check your submission to ensure that all necessary information has been provided. Proposals missing required information will result in delay and may lead to rejection.  If you are submitting a proposal on behalf of someone else, please enter the information of the person who will be presenting.

Proposal Submission Deadline: August 30, 2009
Notification of Proposal Status: September, 2009

Click here to submit a proposal