Coffee, tea, cocktails
THE American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) is celebrating its 100 years anniversary this year. The ASAE was supposed to hold its in-person annual meeting and exposition for its centennial celebration in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America, last August 10 to 12, but the pandemic made it pivot to a virtual event. Interestingly, its past annual meeting attendance was 6,000-plus participants; this time, more than 14,000 registered for the 3-day online learning, networking and expo.
The virtual program, themed “Make your Mark: Co-write the Future through the Powerful Work of Associations,” highlighted the association community’s significant contributions and profound impact on society over the last century. It also asked associations to focus on a future that requires them to innovate and exceed expectations.
Through three keynotes, 92 timely educational sessions, five game-changers, 57 virtual exhibit booths representing technology, business, hospitality, meeting services and endless networking opportunities during the event, the Asae encouraged associations around the world to work together to create, learn and connect to advance their missions and commit to continue making a mark in the world.
The ASAE is a membership organization of more than 46,000 association executives and industry partners representing 7,400 organizations worldwide. Its members lead, manage and work in or partner with organizations in more than a dozen association management disciplines, from executive management to finance to technology.
I have been a member of the ASAE since early 2000. As a member and a task force volunteer for Asia-pacific, I was invited for free to attend the event.
The timing was on the Eastern Time zone in the US so the event started at 8 p.m. in the Philippines. With this time difference, the daily 8 a.m.-to-8:45 a.m. slots, which were for international meet-and-greet sessions, were dubbed “Coffee, Tea, Cocktails.”
I attended the global gathering for three days and was also able to virtually meet old and new friends in the association world through chat rooms and video conference platforms.
While virtual events will not replace face-to-face events, associations like us will have to live with doing meetings and events online in the meantime so we can engage with and deliver services to our members.
Around 70 percent of associations have already run virtual events. Moving forward, hybrid events (part in-person, part virtual) will be increasing in number. There is also a consensus among event planners that virtual events will be part of associations’ offerings for meetings, conferences, and exhibitions in the future.
Welcome to the virtual world, everyone, and enjoy attending online events while drinking your coffee, sipping your tea or having cocktails!
The column contributor, Octavio “Bobby” Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific and the Founder & CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives. PCAAE is holding the Associations Summit 8 on November 25 and 26, 2020 with the theme, “Leading with Agility.” The two-day virtual event is supported by Adfiap, the Tourism Promotions Board and the PICC. E-mail inquiries@adfiap.org for more details on AS8.