ON POINT ARTICLES
TECHNOLOGY ENABLING, NOT REPLACING IAPCO Member: MCI Group Canada Author: Juliano Lissoni, MSc, Managing Director
The COVID-19 pandemic brought an immeasurable amount
as we learned how to solve problems using co-operation, and
of stress into our lives. Limitations of movement necessitated
our tribal social instincts helped to design current institutions
by physical distancing took their toll on citizens and
and social norms.
businesses alike. While COVID-19 changed how we engaged with our teams, partners, and clients, it did not eliminate our
The advancement of digital tools is helping us to share
need to meet altogether. With restrictions imposed in every
collective knowledge and re-define the concept of community.
part of the world, players in the events’ ecosystem were being
Features of other individuals and the environment help to
flooded with questions: “Will events go back to the way it
define social situations, affecting our social strategies. Our
used to be? Will events be digital for evermore?. Trying to
brains are social by nature and built for relationship
understand what the future of the events’ business will look
optimisation. We are wired to connect.
like requires us to go beyond technology and have a deeper understanding of our human needs.
When it comes to business events, creating opportunities for people to come together in the same space is not
A biological/anthropological need to meet
about content distribution, it is about reinforcing human
The traits that make us uniquely human come from our
connections through social intelligence, and amplifying
approach to cognition, communication, and language,
the effects of knowledge spillover.
including the largely innate and physiologically complex phonation, and the mechanisms of learning. Humans came together at first for security. Our social psychology evolved
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| May 2021
