Events

Join us in Bruges for the GDS-Forum, on 15 - 16 October 2024 and the City Destinations Alliance Autumn Conference “Let Pigs Fly” 16 - 18 October 2024.

From 15 to 18 October, destination professionals can enjoy an extraordinary event week, as City Destinations Alliance (CityDNA), the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement), and Visit Brgues partner to bring you two incredible, back-to-back events, and jointly announce and celebrate the new home of the prestigious, annual GDS-Awards.

GDS-Forum, 15 - 16 October The GDS-Forum will convene destination leaders and sustainability champions from around the world. This is a dynamic and unconventional gathering to discuss sustainability and impact strategies and best practices, learn from GDS-Index journeys, and co-create new approaches and initiatives for greater regenerative destination management. It will follow an unconference format with a focus on peer-to-peer learning, collaboration, and creativity.

CityDNA Autumn Conference 16 - 18 October The CityDNA Autumn Conference provides destination professionals with a unique occasion to meet and network with colleagues from Europe and beyond, while sharing knowledge and insights on the latest trends and challenges.

The 2024 GDS-Awards, 16 October (evening) We recognise and ​celebrate the efforts of ​GDS-Index destinations:
– ​Leadership Award​
– Most Improved Destination Award​
– Innovation Award​
– Impact Award

Jennifer Jensen presents "Events as a Driver of Good: Regenerative MICE Strategies" at 16h50 local time, London. Move from a sustainability viewpoint to a regenerative approach to event management. Using the Hannuwa approach, explore strategy development, stakeholder engagement, circular economy, regenerative food approaches, social impact, measurement and reporting. After this session, you will be able to:

• Apply regenerative principles to event management
• Implement the Hannuwa methodology to design and deliver events that catalyse social, environmental and economic regeneration
• Use real-world best practices from the ESCRS Congress 2022 (Milan) and 2023 (Vienna) to design your experiences and events

17h00 local time - Changemakers, Alejandra and Beatriz will be giving the GDS-Movement perspective on "Navegando Hacia un Consumo Consciente" (Navigating Towards Conscious Consumption) in Spanish. It's great for Spanish speakers who wish to engage in ideas on more conscious and sustainable consumption practices. The panel promises to inspire participants to adopt more responsible consumption habits that contribute to the preservation of the environment and social well-being. Through constructive dialogues and the presentation of practical experiences, the panel seeks to educate, motivate, and empower participants to make more informed and ethical decisions in their daily consumption activities.

Learn how to develop your event management from a sustainability viewpoint to a regenerative approach as Jennifer Jensen presents "Events as a Driver of Good: Regenerative MICE Strategies" from 10h55 - 11h55 CET on 26 June 2024. Using the Hannuwa approach, explore strategy development, stakeholder engagement, circular economy, regenerative food approaches, social impact, measurement and reporting. After this session, you will be able to:

• Apply regenerative principles to event management
• Implement the Hannuwa methodology to design and deliver events that catalyse social, environmental and economic regeneration
• Use real-world best practices from the ESCRS Congress 2022 (Milan) and 2023 (Vienna) to design your experiences and events

Discover the transformative journey of destination management with GDS-Movement as Jennifer Jensen presents "Empowering Regenerative Destination Management" from 10h25 - 10h55 CET on 26 June 2024.

• Explore how destinations are redefining tourism and events, fostering collaboration with local communities and businesses to drive regenerative change.
• Gain valuable insights on mindset shifts, skills development, and innovative tools, and discover actionable strategies to implement similar approaches at a local level.

Discover stories of empowered associations driving positive environmental and social change through their events as Alejandra H. Zita presents "Leading the Way: Sustainable and Regenerative Event Management Success Stories" in Spanish from 09h30 - 10h00 local time on 25 June 2024. From GDS-Movement's collaborative initiatives across LATAM to our impactful presence at the ICCA Congress, we're dedicated to sharing skillsets, toolsets, and mindsets to lead the change in sustainability. Join us for an enlightening session where we share leading examples and journeys towards sustainable event management. A panel of experts will delve into the challenges and successes global associations have experienced in integrating sustainability into their strategies.  Be inspired by their stories and learn how we're shaping together a more sustainable future for the events industry. The ICCA Global Association Forum is an annual event focused on bringing together association meeting planners, senior association representatives and meeting suppliers from across the world, to provide valuable insights and practical tools and resources to support the association meetings industry.

17h30 – 19h00 CET. Join us for a dynamic 1.5-hour webinar focusing on the pivotal role of the destination organisation to combat climate change through tourism and events.

CEO and Chief Changemaker of the Global Destinations Sustainability Movement, Guy Bigwood, gives a Masterclass to attendees described as "an exclusive and inspiring session" by the organiser.