SUCCESS THROUGH PARTNERSHIP – ECTS 2022 at Messukeskus Helsinki

”Partnership” is the word Roberta Mugnai, Executive Director of the ECTS (European Calcified Tissues Society), used to describe her experience of working with our professionals at Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre (Messukeskus) to organize their annual congress in May 2022.

The road to this congress was bumpy, starting with the competition to host. Our two rivals, Latvia and Lithuania, also wanted to host an event that attracts the brightest minds and holds them for many days. It is great business both for the scientific community and for the service providers of the destination.

The capitals of these two nations boast amazing attractions, such as the largest medieval center in Europe (Vilnius) and breath-taking Art Nouveau districts (Riga). And the cost of enjoying these beautiful cities was a distinct advantage over Helsinki.  

Our first challenge, then, was to reduce the cost without compromising the quality of the service. Our venue has partnered on many occasions with Haaga-Helia, a local University of Applied Sciences. This time we took it to another level; the event management students took over all the functions of the floor staff. However, this also demanded more commitment from ECTS. The association hired an event management student as an intern for six months. One of her tasks was to plan and manage the student team together with ECTS, Interplan and Messukeskus Helsinki.

The conference was confirmed to Helsinki in the winter 2020, just shortly prior to the appearance of the Covid-19. The emergence of the omicron virus in November 2021 did not slow down the execution plans of the congress. However, low registration numbers caused worries. Early bird registration fees failed to draw attendees, perhaps, we thought, due to the war in Ukraine. We sent official statements, pictures of Helsinki and a welcoming video of our venue staff to support ECTS communication plan in showing that Helsinki is safe. In the end, however, the low registration numbers were most likely the result of a new behavior of last-minute decision-making, confirmed by other congress organizers as well. Only 20% of the participants registered with the early-bird fee in 2022, compared to 80% of the pre-Covid years. 

But finally, eager discussions, hugs, laughter and smiling faces filled the luminous halls of Messukeskus Helsinki in the beginning of May 2022. The joy of meeting face to face was tangible, as the very first hybrid ECTS conference attracted 730 people to Helsinki. Two hundred followed the scientific content on-line, but they missed the party of the year in Helsinki downtown that lasted to the early hours of the last conference day.  

Sustainability was embedded in the congress execution; especially in the catering, which is the largest producer of emissions in events. Porcelain dishes and tap water, instead of bottled water, were some of the small actions to tackle the throw-away culture. A vegan day reduced the CO2 emissions by 958 CO₂e kg, while upholding the quality and innovativeness of the catering service. Thirty event management students added valuable experience to their CV. The team members were carefully selected, their activities planned and managed by a student, Rauna Graulus, as part of her internship. The students, with the enthusiasm of their youth, and excitement to put their studies in practice, provided a very professional service.

In spite of the bumpy road to the final execution, our first international association conference after Covid-19 was very positive for our client as well. “Even though I was exhausted, I did not want to leave Helsinki when the congress was over. I was so happy there,” commented Ms. Mugnai, one week after the congress.

Partnership truly is the way to happiness in Finland.

Photo Credits: Photos 1 & 3: Krisztian Juhasz www.viennamotion.at, Photo 2: Helsinki Convention Bureau, In the last picture: Roberta Mugnai and Rauna Graulus (taken by Paula B.)