Megatrends events - We'll never stop meeting, but how?

Whether it is business meetings, academic conferences, product launches, hundreds of millions of people all over the the world attend events. Events mirror society and all the changes we see in the world around us, we see reflected in events. In the Western World, for example, we are dealing with an aging population that is remaining economically active for far longer than people did in the past. This means that audiences become more diverse in terms of age groups. Event organizers will have to learn to cater to different groups. We also live in an information age. Much of the information about developments associated with any discipline is now widely available trough a range of other media. This change is forcing many established events to reinvent themselves and, in order to remain attractive, to shift their focus to other aspects of the meeting, like networking, informal sharing of ideas, or experiencing new places. There are certainly challenges ahead, but in general the event industry has a bright future. All that is required to maintain success is to stay in close touch with the wider world and to be ready to adapt and to adopt. In 'Megatrends Events', trendwatcher Adjiedj Bakas lists the trends that shape the event industry in the coming years.