Interview with Jan-Jaap in der Maur, jury member of the Conventa Best Event Award competition
Ahead of the Conventa Best Event Award 2024, the central and one of the oldest event competitions in Europe, we spoke to jury members who shared their thoughts on the most important event criteria, selecting winners and the role of event competitions.
Q1: What do you consider the most important criteria when evaluating projects?
ROI, ROI, ROI … and did I already mention ROI? And I don’t mean ROI in the sense of ‘the client was very happy’, or ‘we scored an 8,5 with the participants’. I mean tangible, measurable results that prove that something changed or got better; proof that participants changed their behaviour. I’m not impressed by big budgets, complicated organisational challenges, and large numbers of staff & tech. I’m impressed by brilliant ideas, executed to perfection.
Q2: How would you define the mission of the Conventa Best Event Award?
Better meetings & events. So with better ROI/effectiveness.
“THE EFFECT OF THE MEETING SHOULD BRING MORE TO THE WORLD, THAN THE FOOTPRINT INVESTED IN IT.”
Q3: What do you believe should be the key message when selecting the winners of the competition?
If you don’t know why you are organising, don’t do it. Too many meetings and events are purposeless and therefore useless. Side thought: the most sustainable event is the event that isn’t organised. Unless you can prove to me that a large footprint can bring world peace or solve hunger: then it’s worth the investment and for that reason sustainable. So sustainability means: the effect of the meeting should bring more to the world, than the footprint invested in it.
Q4: What is the role of European event competitions?
Setting the bar.
“I’m not impressed by big budgets, complicated organisational challenges, and large numbers of staff & tech. I’m impressed by brilliant ideas, executed to perfection.”
Q5: Which achievements and milestones are you most proud of in your career?
Bringing people together and helping them do great things. Making a difference in the lives of moderators, helping them take the next step. And taking the profession of moderation/MCing to the next level.
Find out more about Masters in Moderation here.
