Hi, Harold,

RE: ‘Communities can offer a diversity of opinions and experiences. It is essential for every citizen today to develop and engage with a diverse network of knowledgeable people in order to make sense of the world. Citizens also need somewhere to integrate their learning and get trusted advice’

I guess that pretty much explains the poor state of conference events nowadays and why more and more people are looking elsewhere to have that “time for reflection and deep conversations”, as you well stated. That lack of a strong sense of belonging, when you are treated as just another number to profit from at the expense of, is probably one poignant issue that should worry event organisers.

But also time, involvement, scale, purpose, co-creation, etc. etc. Conferences have stopped focusing on the people attending them, whereas communities of practice, as you well know, focus mostly on their community members: the people. That’s essentially why I think plenty of folks are thinking deeper whether it’s worth attending a conference event in the their current state, or instead invest their energy, intent and effort in engaging in communities. I know the answer to that one. I made that choice already. My communities.

I guess there is a lot of upcoming work to be done for event organisers to get their act together, but, for as long as they see their events as entertainment, and not as a deeper learning experience, I don’t think they would ever recover.

Time will tell …