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Bidding, planning, design, and management are principles of successful conference execution. In this chapter, an appreciation of context and the specification of concrete guidelines are shared on how to make a conference a success. Micro examples inform the perspectives on how to apply event domain literature in the management of an academic association conference. Practical viewpoints, including strategic planning guidelines, operational documents, and event design philosophies shed light on professional conference management. Key success factors and challenges related to its design provide a yardstick on how to execute a conference. Key summary issues and special tips for success are also highlighted.

Events feed our desire to connect, celebrate and share experiences. Visiting or taking part in Children's events forms part of many a child's upbringing. They are part of family life. All well-planned events share the same core principals whatever their size or type. Children's events are no different. Events designed with children in mind require no less time or effort. The audience may well be young but don't be fooled into thinking that they are any less demanding! Your event needs to work on many levels to please this audience and their parents and or guardians. While the process of planning a Children's events is the same as that aimed at adults, they are more difficult to deliver because of the requirements of the legislation designed to safeguard and protect children, while at events. The legislation and best practice guidance is all designed to ensure children attending events are kept safe, free from harm and if they, for example, get lost, there is a procedure in place to reunite parents and children. This chapter is specifically about events where children are the primary audience, either specifically or because of the nature the event programme children often attend with their parents. It will give you an overview of the seven steps event managers take to ensure they deliver successful and safe children's events.

Events that are designed around the needs of children are particularly challenging to plan and thus choosing the right venue to stage such an event is a substantial task. Venue considerations for such events includes location, access and nearby amenities, capacity and flow, facilities, catering, decor as well as safeguarding. Given that event managers can now choose from purpose-built event spaces, hotels, academic, sporting and unique venues, the decision is even more complex. This chapter provides a comprehensive assessment of key venue considerations for event managers when planning child-centric events and outlines the typical characteristics of a range of venues, as relevant to organising events for family audiences.

Purpose: An examination of the uptake and application of Robotic, Artificial Intelligence and Service Automation (RAISA) technologies by the events industry.

Design/methodology/approach: Academic and practitioner literature review and analysis pertaining to the relevance of RAISA in events.

Findings: The events industry has tended to rely on automation in staging and event production and the application of RAISA in events has been limited but holds great potential for the future. Whereas, in the hospitality and tourism industries RAISA has been applied across a range of service functions. For example, in such industries, artificial intelligence, machine learning and service robotics technologies have become commonplace. Nonetheless, the same level of adoption of RAISA in events is less evident particularly in front-of-house operation, due largely to the incompatibility with the raison d'être of event attendance – the purposive congregation of people seeking an event experience.

Research limitations/implications: The findings are the views of the authors and are therefore reliant upon existing events management literature on RAISA and their interpretation of this information and its application to the events industry.

Practical implications: RAISA has the capacity to play a crucial technical function in the events industry. However, it needs to be acknowledged that an event is essentially an experiential product which is simultaneously delivered and consumed in a particular setting/venue. RAISA applications and techniques avail event management immense sustainability and growth potential.

Social implications: Events are expressions of human social interactions and activities. Given the recent trend in sports media consumption as a substitute for live event attendance compounded by barriers to event attendance such as heightened terrorism threat and high expense/cost, there is a real risk of degradation of the social significance of the events industry. The prudent uptake of RAISA has the potential to emolliate the barriers to attendance while facilitating effective marketing and industry sustainability.

Originality/value: This chapter provides a new perspective in focusing on the potential applicability of RAISA in event management practice.

This chapter discusses emerging issues in event management with a focus on small-scale events. The author reflects on managerial approaches to stakeholder involvement and engagement, and underlines the complexity of strategy formulation for destination development planning. This contribution also provides advanced conceptual instruments for event marketing as guiding principles that permeate destination-marketing strategies. In addition, the author investigates the role and nature of sponsorship linked to enhancing the value of small-scale events and highlights fundamental issues in developing a marketing management model for place marketing and the key drivers of event management strategies involving sponsors and event participants.

Events are social, sporty, cultural, economic and environmental or entertainment-based. They are held on specific dates and times to share common experiences. Event tourism is becoming more and more important, bringing many benefits to the destinations. National and international events are organised to create alternative tourism products, increase the number of visitors, contribute to economic development and create competitive advantage, improve the infrastructure of the destination, increase the quality of life and provide socio-cultural development support. Direct or indirect communication is important for the target audience. Today, event organisers, who want to establish strong ties with the target audience, benefit from technology as it helps to promote the event and motivate people to participate in it. Along with the development of the Internet and the social media, communication and marketing implementations have also changed. High-budgeted events are becoming an important segment of tourism. The development of technology and widespread use of the Internet and social media have added a creative and indispensable competitive element to event marketing communication.

The role of children and young people is not outlined in the sustainability transitions literature. The aim of this work is to illustrate the significance of young people's agency by showcasing Hare Krishna eco-farms organising cultural/eco-spiritual events. This work forms part of a wider sustainability study focussing on food in spiritual communities in Europe. Data were collected through observation and interviews on three Hare Krishna farms. The agency of children and youths and the significance of their presence at eco-events emerged as an unexpected theme. Findings show that Hare Krishna events in Europe are visited by a relatively high number of children and young people who learn about more sustainable practices through extracurricular activities. By describing the cognitive and experiential encounters, the authors draw attention to the significance of children's involvement in ecologically geared events in the context of sustainability transitions.

Extending the argument made in Bushe and Marshak (2009) of the emergence of a new species of Organization Development (OD) that we label Dialogic, to differentiate it from the foundational Diagnostic form, we argue that how any OD method is used in practice will be depend on the mindset of the practitioner. Six variants of Dialogic OD practice are reviewed and compared to aid in identification of a Weberian ideal-type Dialogic Mindset, consisting of eight premises that distinguish it from the foundational Diagnostic Mindset. Three core change processes that underlie all successful Dialogic OD processes are proposed, and suggestions for future research offered.