Meeting Professionals International (MPI), a global meeting and event industry association, plans to take attendees on a journey of discovery during its annual World Education Congress (WEC).
The association published details online about the conference’s program, which will showcase education, networking and business opportunities and is scheduled for Aug. 2-5 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
“At MPI, we are continually making discoveries about our members, their needs and concerns, and what will make them successful in order to strengthen our association and our membership experience,” explained Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO, MPI. “With WEC 2014, our goal is to help attendees discover their own strategic potential, the right business partnerships, and ways to transform and elevate their approach to planning meetings and events.”
WEC 2014 will deliver more than 70 concurrent education sessions, including numerous professional development sessions eligible for clock hours. Several of the sessions will be repeated during the event, giving attendees the opportunity to attend more of their favorite sessions. Moreover, planners and suppliers participating in MPI’s Hosted Buyer program now have the opportunity to attend more education sessions as appointments will not overlap the sessions.
The opening keynote will be presented by spiritual leader, licensed physician and best-selling author Deepak Chopra, who will introduce his concept of “wellness real estate” and discuss the importance of healthy indoor environments for the home, office and meeting spaces.
MPI has also planned two flash-point style general sessions featuring an array of distinguished speakers, such as Sam Richter, an internationally recognized expert on sales intelligence and online reputation management, and Chris Heeter, founder of The Wild Institute, a national organization committed to connecting people to nature, themselves and each other.
This year, the conference will feature two new components, CSR Central and the Tech Café. CSR Central, hosted by Meet Minneapolis, is a dedicated zone where attendees can volunteer with local community organizations throughout the day on Aug. 4 — whether it’s 10 minutes or an hour. In the Tech Café, sponsored by Freeman, attendees will experience new technology solutions and learn how to leverage them to deliver effective meetings. The café joins the other areas of MPI’s Career & Learning Central, which acts as MPI’s learning laboratory, offering a variety of unique opportunities and resources for participants to expand their knowledge, strengthen their careers and transform their events outside the confines of the concurrent session space.
Other program highlights include the RISE Awards Luncheon, MarketSquare and MPI Foundation fundraising events. To learn more or to register for WEC 2014, visit www.mpiweb.org/wec.
