Education
As always, FICP is pleased to offer exceptional education to attendees. Topics for the event aligned with the areas of interest noted below.
Permission: Granted to Get Rid of Your BS
Risha Grant, Award-Winning D&I Consultant, Author, International Speaker
Represented by SpeakInc Speakers Bureau
Area of Interest: Professional Growth and Personal Development
CMP-IS: Domain E: Human Resources
Whether implicit or conscious, bias is the number one threat to humanity and any company’s success. If your company’s goal is to create cohesiveness within your organization and events, increase revenue, be innovative and/or elevate your reputation - the bias in your workforce and community is a roadblock. You know the problem. Permission: Granted is your answer. In a safe and productive environment, Risha allows attendees to express their biases, while giving them easily applicable tools to get over them, however screwed up they may be. Although diversity can often be an uncomfortable topic, Risha’s approach helps attendees to understand the concept, without feeling bored or judged.
Attendees will leave this conversation with:
- An understanding of Diversity & Inclusion
- A thorough awareness of his/her biases
- A realization of how his/her biases originated
- A recognition of the symptoms and results of bias
- Tools to address bias internally and externally
- Tips to navigate bias in the workplace and events
A Two-Way Conversation: Ethics for Event Professionals
Steve Bova, CAE, Executive Director, Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals (FICP)
Area of Interest: Meeting Planning Solutions, Financial and Insurance Industry
CMP-IS: Domain F: Stakeholder Management
Industry professionals are no strangers to the “perks” of the job, like five star dinners, holiday gifts, discounted vacations, reward points, you name it. In many instances, these incentives are a genuine attempt to build relationships between meeting and hospitality professionals alike. Yet, there are times when people on both sides cross the line into unethical behavior that could sway the process of choosing a supplier. That line, however, is not always clear. Join your peers for a robust conversation on how to navigate the “gray” and lack of universally adopted guidelines.
Meeting Design and Theatrical Thinking: How to Think and Plan Creatively
Dianne Budion Devitt, Chief Experience Officer, The DND Group Inc.
Area of interest: Meeting Planning Solutions
CMP-IS: Domain G: Meeting or Event Design
True meeting design is based on a holistic approach to a meeting’s performance and the many elements it takes to bring a vision to life, tell a story, involve people, and deliver business results – with no rehearsal! This interactive session explores the meaning of Meeting Design and the Theater of Meetings by presenting how creative thinking can help you to plan for your next event including sustainability, décor, entertainment, and the role these elements play in planning.
Ripped from the Headlines!
Roger Rickard, Founder and President, Voices in Advocacy®
Area of Interest: Meeting Trends and Strategic Thinking
CMP-IS: Domain A: Strategic Planning
Every day we hear about fake news. This session will be anything but fake. The reason: YOU drive the content. During this highly interactive program you will examine, deliberate, and discuss meetings industry issues such as transportation, technology, safety and security, cyber-security, taxes, infrastructure, diversity/inclusion, and education. Then as a group, we will prioritize and report out the key issues.
Learning Outcomes:
- Increase your awareness of the diverse issues in the industry and how they can affect your meetings and events.
- Make one aware of the key issues and successful strategies that enable you to protect and defend your organization, your industry and your profession.
- You will leave with the tools needed to communicate the issues that face meetings and the meetings industry to key stakeholders.
Mitigating Risk in a Volatile World
Joe Fijol, Managing Partner - Florida, 360 Destination Group; Dana Keeler, CMP, Meeting & Event Manager - Leadership & Sponsorship Events, Liberty Mutual Insurance; Isabel Mahon, Director of Sales Incentive/Insurance, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts; Roger Rickard, Founder and President, Voices in Advocacy® (moderator)
Area of Interest: Meeting Trends and Strategic Thinking
CMP-IS: Domain C: Risk Management
This panel discussion is centered on how meetings professionals and hospitality partners are proactively addressing the current social and political climate impacting events. From the threat of terrorist activity to publicized instances of violence or illness, many destinations have a perception problem that is rarely the reality for groups taking advantage of them. Learn tips for communicating through the perceptions to put stakeholders and meeting participants at ease. Other topics will include managing a meeting held in a destination mired by controversial legislation, planning around protests or strikes, and assessing the risk any of your attendees or speakers may pose based on public views.
Learning to Love the Turbulence: Creating a Flight Plan to Clear Any Goal for Take-Off
Amelia Rose Earhart, President, Fly With Amelia Foundation, Around The World Pilot
Represented by Eagles Talent Speakers Bureau
Area of Interest: Professional Growth and Personal Development
CMP-IS: Domain E: Human Resources
When we set our minds toward any big goal, we imagine creating our plan and executing it to completion. We tell ourselves that if we work hard enough, we will soar from Point A to Point B gracefully, leaving others to wonder how we ever pulled it off. We begin our journey and everything seems fine. The wind is at our backs and the view is spectacular. Suddenly, there's a terrifying jolt. We've been thrown off course by something we never saw coming: turbulence. Suddenly, our well thought out plan is thrown out the window. We are now in crisis mode. This was not supposed to happen. Which way is up? Who is on our team? Is there any safe place to land? This is the point where we have to ask ourselves if we are doomed for a crash landing or if we are willing to learn to love the turbulence.
Key takeaways:
- Become the pilot of your life and trust your flight crew
- Learn to embrace and overcome obstacles
- Create a personal flight log tailored toward your own personal and professional goals, filled with eight weeks of content to propel your journey
- Discover your pilot’s mindset, determination, and a perspective sure to distinguish your ideas from the crowd
Areas of Interest
Designed to provide a focused and well-rounded experience, FICP education centers around the following areas of interest:
Meeting Planning Solutions: Sessions will focus on the day-to-day responsibilities of the meetings professional, highlighting best practices, efficiencies and creative ideas.
Meeting Trends and Strategic Thinking: This area of interest will dive into changes in the marketplace, providing a look into the industry now and in the future.
Professional Growth and Personal Development: Focusing on brain and physical fitness, productivity tools and more, attendees will emerge as more engaged professionals.
Technology Solutions: Sessions will address two areas: technology to aid meeting planners and technology to enhance events.
Focus on Senior Level Professionals: Designed to guide senior level professionals, sessions will focus on management skills, corporate navigation, reverse mentorship and more.
Focus on Emerging Professionals: Future leaders will be developed through sessions highlighting professional development, networking and mentorship opportunities.
Financial and Insurance Industry: Sessions in this category will provide key insights into the Financial and Insurance industry, helping meetings professionals plan for opportunities and potential changes.