The ICCA Congress 2025’s Sharing Hubs sessions, unified under the theme Charting the Course, covered five core tracks focused on purposeful exploration and bold innovation across the global events industry – Impact and Sustainability, Future Leadership and Resilience, Purposeful Business Models and Start-ups, Innovation and Technology, and The Creative Edge.
For the Impact and Sustainability track, the conversation has shifted from mere sustainability to regeneration by creating systems that improve both the environment and community well-being. This expanded role leverages business events to drive global equity by empowering under-represented voices and creating policy for vulnerable communities, all while demanding data-driven credibility through transparent reporting on metrics like carbon footprint, food waste, and measurable impact outcomes.
Meanwhile, discussions during the Future Leadership and Resilience Sharing Hub indicate that in an era of rising member activism and geopolitical ‘noise’, the most critical leadership skill is principled neutrality, and anchoring the organisation in its core mission to serve as a calm, de-escalating force.
Simultaneously, association leaders must shift their value proposition from being mere knowledge providers to competence builders, focusing on actively developing the skills members need to succeed. The events industry’s long-term viability also depends on renewing the social contract with host cities, ensuring that events deliver shared prosperity, while improving the local quality of life.
During the Purposeful Business Models and Start-ups Sharing Hubs, it was found that the most entrepreneurial associations are now transforming events by making purposeful business models a reality. This is done through embedding impact requirements directly into RFPs, which establishes legacy as a contractual deliverable for host cities.
Events are also intentionally convening experts to produce lasting policy frameworks, where this approach proves that purpose is the ultimate competitive advantage, driving profitability and brand differentiation. To achieve this, there is a call to co-create and move beyond transactional bids to genuine engagement and partnership.
As for the Innovation and Technology track, the key consensus among stakeholders is that AI should be treated as a co-pilot, not an autopilot, using it to augment human capability and boost team efficiency rather than replace staff.
Leveraging AI for hyper-personalisation – delivering tailored session recommendations and matchmaking – is also now a core strategy for maximising attendee ROI. The ultimate goal for data usage is to move beyond simple engagement metrics and utilise information to prove impact.
Finally, during The Creative Edge Sharing Hub, it was found that the most authentic events tap into the DNA of a city by integrating its history, culture, and spirit into the delegate experience. Moving beyond the visual, events must be designed for all five senses, utilising soundscapes, scents, and textures to create immersive and memorable multi-sensory narratives.
This requires viewing local talent not as hired entertainment, but as co-creators, turning the event into a canvas for authentic cultural expression. Finally, a key design challenge is to intentionally design for serendipity, creating beautiful and effective spaces where valuable, unplanned connections can naturally occur.
